rickster Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 After careful consideration I chose to have my cag clippied today.I read several didnt articales on clipping and then took him back to the person I bought him from to have him clipped today.She did a horribble job despite her best intentions.He cant flutter to the floor as she cut all of his primary flight feathers.I think I could have done a better job but wanted to see it done once.I feel so bad now because he drops like a rock.How long will it take his feathers to grow back in? Anything I can do for him to meanwhile?Ill pad his cage bottom, and be extra careful in his handling.the only good thing that came from this clipping is he seems a little more dependent on me and I was able to stick train him a little bit today.He usually just flys away from it.I thought it was a good idea in case another family member had to handle him in my absence.Thanks for looking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 I'm so sorry to hear this for it will be the next molt before the feathers will grow out and they will come in at different times so it will be quite a while before he gets enough back to help him land easy. I would be extra careful of letting him get up too high on a perch or on your shoulder for if he does fall from too high he can split his breastbone. Oh yeah a wing clipping does make them more dependent on you, now he cannot fly off on his own, he has to depend on you to get him from here to there. Needless to say don't let this person clip your grey again because they don't know how, thats obvious.:ohmy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 It can take up to a year for the next molt if he just went through one. The best thing to do would be not to carry him over hard floors until he knows he can't glide anymore. Pad the floor around the cage incase he tries to fly off it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 And yeah...don't EVER take your grey back to them, because someone that does that don't know what they are doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dblhelix Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 Sorry to hear of this. For the flights to come copletely back in may take a year or more. Each clipped feather must completely molt out and this happens gradually. In general Greys are heavy bodied birds and if you keep them clipped they should have a "custom" clip, based on the birds size, flight determination etc. Most only should have 4-5 primaries clipped. In any case, you wil need to take some extra precautions now to prevent injury and phobia until your bird learns that it no longer can fly. A few bad falls can really scare your bird and make it distrust its own body, it does not understand why it cannot fly...try to keep the bird from high places and pad floor/areas around where it hangs out so if a fall does happen potential for injury is reduced. Keep us posted on the status. All should be fine with some envt changes, but this will take time and patience now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemyGreys Posted March 17, 2008 Share Posted March 17, 2008 sorry to hear your bird has been clipped poorly,as Mark says only up to a maximum of 4 or 5 of the primaries need to be clipped this takes away the bird's forward flight propulsion. Without this, the "lift" part of the flight system is fairly useless. So, if the bird tries to fly away, he will flutter safely to the ground, without falling too hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acappella Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Dorian is still recovering from a bad clip about 8 months ago, before I got him. He was clipped very unevenly. When the vet saw him a couple of weeks ago he evened out what he could and left the feathers on one side that are about ready to molt out. When they do he should at least be balanced. Physically, that is. Mentally, I think he's always going to be a goofball! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlene Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 It makes me so angry when I hear of a breeder or someone else that should know better doing this. It is highly dangerous for the bird to be badly clipped and my feeling is if they really cared about the bird they would make an effort to know better. I learned from experience (with a tiel) what a bad clip can mean and whenever I hear or see it being done my blood boils. Sorry, that was me ranting. Watch your baby, don't let him ride on your shoulder and as everyone is saying, pad the play and cage areas well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 I'm with you Marlene!!! I clip wings and nails at the pet store and there have been a few birds that have come in that I could have killed someone for. One that comes to mind is a beautiful Blue Front Amazon that had ALL the feathers clipped off...and not just the flight feathers, the colvert feathers and all going all the way to the skin. I stormed out of the back room and asked the people who they had clip the birds wings before and I'm betting itwas them because they couldn't give me an answer. I brought them into the back and showed them how horrible the wong looked and explained it was a wonder the birds keel wasn't shattered. I grabbed one of the macaws off the floor and showed them what the wings should look like and told them to bring the bird in after a few feathers came in on each wing and I would show them how far back was exceptional...and then told them that having other people do the clip was better anyways...it's not as bad if the bird is mad at me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickster Posted March 20, 2008 Author Share Posted March 20, 2008 Chico has been cage bound since the clip.He will come out if i get his favorite things. He will come on top of the cage and you can see he wants things to be the same but he runs when i try to pick him up now.I think he dosent trust me now.I geuss ill just give it some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 No I think you still need to work with Chico and not leave him alone for the time being. You don't have to necessarily get him out of the cage but talk to him and be there with him a lot so as to let him know that you are to be trusted. You are not the one who clipped his wings so he shouldn't associate you with that but he is perhaps a little mad or upset that he can no longer fly to get away from you and that is what you need to work on. This will take some time and patience but the rewards are great, offer him treats and read a book while beside his cage or play with some of his toys to interest him in that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherStrella Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 The same thing happened when we had Harrison's wings clipped. But, another thing happened too. When she would fold her wings in, it would irritate her sides so she started chewing on the feathers on the inside of her wings. The vet who clipped her told us she was starting to "feather pluck"...I was devastated until I took her to another vet who told me what it really was. She had us put a little bit of Red Palm Oil on a treat and feed it to her...it softens the skin and feathers so it's not so irritating. She stopped chewing on her feathers and they're all almost grown in now. With the oil, it hardens so I transfer a small amount into a smaller jar (the jar the vet gave us) and put that little jar into a cup of hot water to soften it up. Then I pour it over a little treat. Like a piece of cracker or almond or something. I know of other members who do the same thing and it really helps. I suggest you start doing this right away. Just put a little bit...like a drop. Hope this helps. Heather<br><br>Post edited by: HeatherStrella, at: 2008/03/19 22:56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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