BlueCounty Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Hi everyone, So today I got Gizmo's wings clipped. Or should that say Wing. The vet only cut feathers on his right wing which stops him from getting any height when he tries to take flight. He had to be knocked out with the aid of gas so that the procedure could be performed. When I got him home, I'd re-arranged some toys. He sulked for around an hour until I had to leave him and go to work, now I dont know if this is because he was still a little dozey from the anesthetic or because of his toys?? When I got home, he was much more like the Gizmo of old. I think it helped that I opened the top of his cage and he could be cage free for a couple of hours, he was preening himself in no time which was pleasing but looked a little weird with his trimmed feathers. One thing I will say is that he loves chewing my work shirts and going straight for the buttons haha, the cheeky little monkey! Also I just wanted to ask, I've noticed he's making a strange noise, Its definitley not a growl but a sort of gurgle/purr? Do Parrots purr?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzzique Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 My senegal Martini purrs sounds just like a cat it is to cute! However don't let that only one wing clip make you feel like he can't gain hight. Alex recived that same type of clip from the breeder before we brought him home. No one told him that he shouldn't be able to do much flying like that! ROFL He has NO problem gaining hight. He can fly down to the floor and take off and fly up to the top of the shades. I am now waiting for the clipped feathers to molt out so that he will have even more control. Why did the vet knock him out? I've never heard of a vet doing that. Cliping the tips of flight feathers isn't any different than cutting our hair. The bird just needs to be towled. I wouldn't worry to much Gizmo should be totally back to normal by tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I also don't like the idea of knocking him out to do a wing clip, the vet may be inept at handling birds to want to do that for it is not necessary and what is it with only clipping one wing, in my opinion that would make the bird fly lopsided. Wings should be clipped equally on both sides.:huh: :pinch: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abernathy Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Glad to hear Gizmo is back to his old self after such an odd encounter. I hope he's not too irritated with his new wing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I hate to say it, but it needs to be said, clipping one wing is not the right way to clip. Both wings need to be trimmed equally so when they flap down to the ground, it is a straight and controlled flight down. This is not possible with only one wing clipped. It will spiral down and crash uncontrollably into things. It is impossible for them to correct that spiral themselves, much like an airplane with only one wing. It is odd the vet chose to knock your bird out for a wing clip. This is not a normal practice. Toweling is the normal restraint for wing and nail clipping. I hope all is well with your Grey today. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nims Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Hmmmmmmmmmm I have never heard of ony one wing being clipped. A Dan said if their wings arent clipped equally it can be more harmful. If their wings are clipped equally they will be able to fly a little and have somewhat of a more controllable landing. Im glad Gizmo is well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzzique Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I guess Alex is the odd ball then. He has the one wing clip. He fledged any way and has great control. He can even gain hight. He has never had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueCounty Posted September 12, 2008 Author Share Posted September 12, 2008 Gizmo's great thanks. He just flew down to me off his perch to get some cheese (only a small amount! ) When I got home from work he was as cheery as I;ve seen him and the flew was a messw with seed the hungry fella! After reading some opinions on here if I do get his wings clipped again, I'll be sure to take him to another avian vet. I wasnt happy with the anesthetic either but didnt know this wasnt normal practice. Also the fact that 1 wing isnt normal procedure either worries me? Strange but he seems fine at the moment. How long do you think it will be before his feathers have grown back? I'll do a bit more research on my vet next time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 It could be a year before all the wing feathers molt out, they don't lose all of them at the same time, just a few then some more and so on. I would find another avian vet also, I wouldn't feel comfortable having my grey put under anesthetic just for a wing clip. :ohmy: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzzique Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Alex will never be clipped again. However I totally disagree with putting them under anesthetic for something as simple as a wing clip. Anesthetic is very iffy with birds and only used in extream cases such as surgery. I know someone just had a post not long ago that had a great link to finding avain vets based on your zip code. I think there was one for the UK as well. Maybe the mods can find the post and make it a sticky? It is such good info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 When I got Tyco she had barbered every flightfeather on her left hand wing. because of this she was extreamly of balance and would fall really hard on her Keel. I took her to the vet and had her clip the other wing to match so she would be balanced again it was very scary to have only one wing without flights. I'm happy to say she doesn't barber her wing anymore. She is fully flighted now. I don't think she was permited to fledge as a baby because she doesn't know how to fly. I find this very sad I can't beleive that someone would do this to a bird. Birds are meant to fly thats why God gave them wings. It makes me so mad that someone would actually clip a birds wings before it has learned to fly. takeing away something that makes a bird a bird<br><br>Post edited by: Tycos_mom, at: 2008/09/12 08:42 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broomer Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Loki was clipped as of 2 months old. The Breeder did it for us. We might let him fledge later, but that depends on our next home, we might move in a year. I understand the dislike against clipping, but as I read (either on here, or one of the several books we have) if you truly want your bird to fly as it was meant to, you need an outdoor cage 75 meters wide by 75 deep meters by 75 meters high. Less then that is cruel since they never get to fly as they were meant to. I kind of agree with this assessment myself. Loki will never be recalled trained, or taken outside in any fashion without a harness or cage, even while he's clipped. I would rather he be happy playing on the playgyms I made him, and the plethora of toys that I've either made or bought him, then learning to fly, then being stuck inside a house never to be able to take to the sky's. With thier intelligence, I truly believe that they would know what they're missing and that in itself is an injustice to the bird. BUT!, this is all personal belief's. Everyone is entitled to thier own opinion and I would never argue with someone who wants an unclipped bird. I just wish I could do the same for Loki. Alas, I doubt I could afford that much chicken wire for a cage 246 foot square. :lol: :silly: That, and I doubt he would like the snow.... :huh: :blink: :silly: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane08 Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I have never heard that it is cruel if you don't have an outdoor cage of that size. I have a hard time believing that as everytime I watch my 2 fly around the house they have a look of pure joy on their faces. They fly from the kitchen up the hallway into the bedroom, back down the hallway into the living room. The joy is evident as they swoop down screaming away. They have amazing body control as well and are such confident birds. It's great to read everyones opinions and experiences which makes this a great forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nims Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 I agree Jane I have never heard that either. I was thinking of getting Indy clipped but then decided against it when talking to my breeder. She loves to fly around the house and be able to fly where she wants from her stand to me or to her cage. It means she has the freedom of choice. Nims Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmaholm Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 Both Refund and Joey are clipped right now, we did this for safety of Refund since when we first got him he'd fly off your hand, his cage, anywhere he was and crash. He's tried to fly a couple of times since the clip and has learned to go down and not crash into things. Joey was clipped by the lady we got her from before I could ask her not to. We have decided that after they molt out all of their flight feathers we're not clipping them again. Was kind of a one time thing until they were "tame" and used to us. -Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 They can fly as they were meant to inside or outside the house. A clipped bird can not in either case. believe me, they enjoy being able to fly in the house as their natural mode of transportation, rather than having to walk or be carried every where they go. The mention of a 75x75 flight aviary outside would be large enough to simulate actual long flights as they do in the wild, if they did laps back and for 100 times non-stop. They fly for 10 and 20 miles or more each day in the wild. even a 75x75 foot cage does not equal anything close to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tycos_mom Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 my house is 1500 square ft with an open concept that gives my birds plenty of room to fly and the joy and confidence they have from being able to fly is a beautiful thing to see. I hate the it that Tyco never learned to fly. I hope that she can still learn how from my other birds. My Amazon is an amazing flyer. she could land on a dime. Its just so much fun to see them spread those wing and fly the length of my home with is a fair distance from the front to the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairymyst78 Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Here is my dilema, I am still trying to decide to clip or not to clip... I would prefer to not clip but am very concerned at the safety of it for the bird, and our TV. We have a LCD wall tv and if the bird was to fly into it...would cause very huge amounts of damage. Would you experienced flighted grey owners think that I would have to even worry about the bird being attracted to the tv? If bird is fully flighted and has fledged would I have to worry about accidental flight into the tv? Also I am worried about the bird flying into the window's we have. I have been so torn at what to do...maybe someone could help me decide and be confident with that decision. Sometimes it helps to hear from those that have "been through" certain situations I am concerned about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyric Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 I've never heard of a bird flying into a tv but I don't suppose that means it could never happen. You more have to worry about windows, mirrors and open doors (to the outside). If you take your bird around the house and show it the mirrors and windows and let it touch them to see they are solid it helps. You can also put stickers or decals on such things to help them to see them. My bird's wings are not clipped and I love to watch him fly around. Sometimes it causes a little inconvenience when he doesn't want to go back in his cage and flies away from me or if he is constantly flying somewhere I don't want him to be, but I live with these things so he can be allowed to have the freedom of flight. I think it is a matter of your own judgement and what works for you. They should always be allowed to learn how to fly because this helps their self-confidence and helps them to be a little less clumsy- but once they have achieved this it is up to you. If you do have the wings clipped you can always let them grow back out again too- it's kind of like a bad haircut! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane08 Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Our 2 have never flown into the TV and don't seem interested in it all all. To be honest I never really thought of the TV as being a problem. The windows are another thing. Ours have done it a couple of times when they were quite young, but they learn't pretty quickly not to fly into the windows. Once they become really good at flying it is amazing what positions they can get out of. Our female gets up on the cupboards and rolls on her back with her egg carton and wrestles with it. Once she rolled over and right off the cupboard and I watched her falling to the ground and just before she hit the floor she righted herself and flew off. I was absolutely amazed. She has no fear and I think the reason why is because she is such a confident flier that she knows she can get out of most situations. Many times I have seen her fall and easily fly to safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nims Posted September 13, 2008 Share Posted September 13, 2008 Indy is fully flighted and like I said before when I spoke to the breeder about wing clipping he was totally against it. That being said it is a personal choice but when Indy came home to us I was afraid she would hut herself by flying into things. But you wouldnt believe how quickly they learn from their mistakes! Yes they will fly into things but they will learn from it and thats how they become experienced fliers. Good luck in what ever you decide. Nims Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairymyst78 Posted September 16, 2008 Share Posted September 16, 2008 Thank you so much for everyone's advice. It actually brought up another issue I actually hadn't thought of..and that is the bird flying somewhere it shouldn't be and having to retrieve the bird...may pose a problem since I am in a wheelchair and my reach isn't very high..YIKES. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliecag Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 hi just had my cag's wing clipped as well by a vet specializing in exotics!! I was surprised when she used a reference book to confirm the modus operandi she then clipped one wing but left 7,8,9,10 primaries.Is this okay or should i get them matched.my cag is 17wks old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaM Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Do you mean she clipped on wing with all and left the others on the other wing? Or she left the same ones on both wings? One reason to leave some of the primaries is if there is a "blood feather" coming in and then they'll leave some to protect it. Alos, if it's the birds first time having the wings clipped, it's better to go with a lighter clip until they get used to it so they don't fall too quickly to the ground. 17 weeks old...had he/she fledged (learned how to fly) yet? I don't know what age they generally do that so that's why I'm asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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