kitt79 Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 Well i know this is a touchy subject...originally I wanted to leave Starbuck unclipped... her feathers have grown out and she is actually a fairly good flier. The only problem with this is... it turns out that not only does she HATE my tiel, she hates him to the extent that if he does anything but stay on his cage and perch, she will actually fly AT him to get him. I have always kept the tiel clipped as he is a little punk... but now it looks like for the safety of both my birds I am going to have to clip her as well. I for one don't know of any way to MAKE two birds get along, and I sure don't want the tiel to get hurt -- heck, she could take off a leg or even break his neck I imagine. And the tiel has no fear of anything (never has). Letting one out at a time is only a partial solution since she can still fly to his cage and possibly get him through the bars. I don't know what else to do... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted September 23, 2008 Share Posted September 23, 2008 First off, No one else can *make* two or more birds like each other. The most important thing to remember concerning clipping is that it should be done right. The end result should allow a bird to go 6 to 8 ft horozontaly ending off with the bird gliding to the floor. A more severe cut which causes that distance to shorten can cause some damage to the body and basically it isn't fair to the bird, especially one that now knows how to fly. One major problem concerning clipping is that many times, it isn't done properly. A proper clipping doesn't allow for vertical lift although that's not always true. There's the chance that some slight vertical lift remains and as the wings grow out, it increases. Also realize that if you ever wanna let the wings grow out, they will more than likely take a long time before all of those wings are even on both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I for one do think that if you can offer an enviroment in your home to allow your bird flight you should do so, but if the safty of the bird and other people and pets is in jeopardy then in the intrest of everyone they should be cliped. What is better, a flighted bird almost never out of the cage, or a clipped bird out with the family every day? I say if you feel that clipping will make both birds lifes better then it should be an opition put in the table. Right now I have Elmo full flight because my dad got a new dog (a husky) and I want Elmo to be able to escape IF they were to come in contact. I did have Elmo clipped before, but that was when she was able to have full run of the house...now she is confined to the bedroom most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I am also having the same problem with my grey and tiel.Both are fully flighted and if let out in the house the tiel flies to the greys cage,certain disaster.I put the grey in another room if the tiel is out. In the summer its not a problem as I have an aviery where one or the other can go in. I am dreading the winter though. I have thought of clipping, ,the grey has been clipped before but my vet recomended I let him fly and only clips for certain reasons so he would take some persuasion to clip him again.This is a debate that will go on and on, to clip or not. I believe it is better to have your birds flighted but can also see many justified reasons for clipping. I did find life easier with the grey clipped , but cant bring myself to have him clipped just for my conveniance. My vet has a saying "if you dont want a pet who flies, get a hamster". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitt79 Posted September 24, 2008 Author Share Posted September 24, 2008 It's not convenience -- just safety. I don't think I could live with myself if one or both of them got hurt because I didn't clip. I'm careful when I clip -- I can't imagine such a heavy bird would need much, either. When I got her (and she is a rescue), ALL her flight feathers were clipped. She would have dropped like a rock. They've grown in now. It looks nice, and I know she is fairly proud of herself when she actually lands where she planned to... But when she started aiming for the tiel, well that's worrying. The tiel is also a rescue, and still very hand shy. He's much better than when we got him, but I'm pretty certain he will never be a "cuddly" bird. I'm still very fond of him and don't want him injured. His way of socializing is simply to sit on his rope perch outside his cage and sing to the cats. (I'm not going there -- he loves cats, and they are indifferent to birds.) I don't want to take that little that he has away from him by locking him up. It's a tough one, but in the end Merlin only has maybe 5 more years to enjoy life, and Starbuck still has decades ahead to fly if all goes well. It's a messy quality of life equation indeed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I understand completely. I am leaning towards having Cracker my tiel clipped, purely because he insists on flying towards the grey when out and I am on edge. I may find a compromise by having him clipped in the winter when he cant go in the aviery of a day and let his wings grow out fot the summer, its a hard one, but one I am prepared to make for the sake of his safety,it sounds like clipping is the option for you. Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMustee Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 yeah...If I was in your shoes I would clip as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted September 26, 2008 Share Posted September 26, 2008 I have made my mind up and made an appointment with the vet for a clip on Tuesday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raposa Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 I am in agreement with BMustee. I think it is best if you can keep your bird free flighted, but there are times when it is safer for the bird to be clipped, as well as increasing the amount of time the bird can spend outside of the cage. My Jenna has been fully flighted since she came home, but there are a number of reasons to consider clipping her. Jenna is only out of her cage when I am at home and nearby, because I am very protective of her. But even so, there are concerns. 1) My mom has caregivers who come in and out of the house at varying times and are not always watchful of a flying grey parrot 2) There are 5 cats in the house, and although they are all very well used to being around a parrot and none of them mess with her(they were all around my previous parrot for many years), I still don't feel comfortable with the idea of Jenna being loose in the house where I might lose sight of her and have one of the cats suddenly take interest. 3) There are large windows and patio doors in the house, and Jenna has flown into them a couple of times. It has not happened often but I'm worried that she could get hurt. 4) There are places in the house Jenna can fly up to where I can't get her down, and in case of an emergency, I need to be able to get to her. 5) I am tired when I get home, and Jenna, of course, wants to fly all over when she first gets out of her cage. Because of the number of animals in the house, and the people going in and out, and the high places for her to perch and hide, I have to follow her all over the house for quite a while after I first get home to make sure she is safe. I love her and generally don't mind, but sometimes the thought of chasing Jenna around keeps me from letting her out, and although I feel badly about that, it is just truth. She would get more time out of the cage if I did not have to deal with that every day. I have really struggled with the decision about whether or not to let the vet clip her wings, and have just about decided to go ahead and do it. The thing that comforts me most is that wing clipping is not forever, if we decide (Jenna and I) that it was not such a great idea, we just won't do it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 To clip or not is a very tough dicision and can only be made based upon each homes circumstances when it comes to the safety of your bird. In reference to keeping one bird safe from another, there are a few things to consider. If both are clipped, one is bigger and thus faster at a run than the other, the small bird will get hurt unless the supervising person gets there in time. If both are flighted, the little guy can gain speed faster, turn faster and in smaller areas than the larger bird and thus escape harm quickly if need be. Of course the final option is, only allow one out of the cage at a time. Clipping in and of it's self does not solve the safety issue if both are allowed out at the same time. My Grey does not like my Conure and will run at him if he gets to close, say 10 inches. But, Jake see's him coming and quickly fly's to a safer location. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelly_quin Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 we were pondering this exact question when we got adanna, but in the end decided against it, because if we were to clip her wings, then she got into some type of danger, then she wouldnt be able to fly to safety, and i personally think its cruel, flying is as natuaral to them as walkng is to you and i... But only you can decide whats best for your own bird, sometimes its not practical to have the wings un clipped, and besides, the fight feathers will grow back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitt79 Posted September 27, 2008 Author Share Posted September 27, 2008 Unfortunately in our case, the tiel has no sense of the danger he's in and will often fly right at Starbuck. We are just lucky he has such poor aim, so far. Even if he just landed on her cage -- she starts straight for him, she could easily take off toes and feet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted September 27, 2008 Share Posted September 27, 2008 kitt79 wrote: We are just lucky he has such poor aim, so far. Even if he just landed on her cage -- she starts straight for him, she could easily take off toes and feet. Sounds like a clip is in the works then, yes if the tiel landed on her cage she could easily nip those toes off and you wouldn't want that, you do what you have to to keep them safe. My Josey and my sun conure do not get along but if Sunny landed on Josey's cage she does not rush to her to get her, they tolerate each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
she Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 Dan I hear what you are saying. The problem I have with Cracker is that he goes to charlies cage, accident waiting to happpen. Charlie does not so far go to cracker I am considering a clip for cracker purely so he wont fly over to charlie. I will, it goes without saying still take precautions to keep them apart and they will only get out one at a time and be supervised.I wish I could come up with another solution. I have tried training, this works with charlie, not Cracker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted September 28, 2008 Share Posted September 28, 2008 I totally understand. Each must make the best decision based on all the factors in their home and their birds personalities and traits. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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