Clipping BIRDS wings!

[OtisMom]

Soooo, a few days ago I took Otis in to get his wings clipped because he was Constantly flying into things and getting off his perch to fly on the couch...:laugh: It was cute and funny at times but his flying ability needed to go haha. . .

so meeeannn little mommy :evil: took him to get them clipped.. . . They came out SOOOOO choppy:dry: and now he looks like a little kid with a bad crooked HAIRCUT!!

annnnnd even worse than his silly little hairdoo, he STILL flies.. its not as bad as before, but he still can make it about 6 feet away..

Whenever I get my cockatiels wings done they are beautifully trimmed and he cant fly at all so any idea on what to do with Mr Otis? Should I get them redone (even tho they are pretty short ) Or what?

I really am alittle nervous about him flying, I am scared he'l run into the window and get hurt

HELP

thanks

[Dave007]

You should leave the bird's wings alone. With a proper well done clipping, a grey should be able to fly at least 6 to 8 ft in a horozontal path with little altitude although birds can still fly upward sometimes. Birds including cockatiels were made to fly. If your grey's wings are clipped any shorter he'll only be able to jump off of things and very easily fracture his breast bone.

So you'd like to duplicate the flying ability of your grey with flying ability of your cockatiel?

 

""""""meeeannn little mommy"""""

Well, you said it and you were correct.

[Toni]

Alcazar can glide 8ft downward off his cage.He just cant fly upward.Thank goodness

[Lyric]

They should have done a better job clipping because leaving them ragged may cause Otis to want to chew on them. I would however, follow Dave's advice and leave them alone. You want him to be able to control his falls if he does fall off of something. Monitor them and if he does appear to be chewing on them you might consider taking him to someone else to get them smoothed out a little but I won't cut them shorter if you can help it.

[kitt79]

Don't get them reclipped... as has already been said, greys don't have the flying ability of tiels, he'll drop like a rock if they're too short and could injure himself badly.

 

I recently clipped Starbuck to protect my little tiel, whom she hates with a passion. I work in a pet store and am very accustomed to trimming feathers so I did it myself. I don't think I'd trust anyone else to do it. It only took 3 flight feathers to achieve the desired effect -- a graceful downward glide, not a fall. (Compare this to my tiel who can fly if only ONE of his flight feathers grows back in!)

[she]

Do not re clip. If you do you will be risking injury to your grey.Let his flights grow back fully and then if you have to, get a vet to clip. He should be able to fly a bit so he does not just drop to the ground. So should your cockatiel.It sounds like this clip is pretty rough so it is possible the grey may chew as they regrow. Learn all you can about the pros and cons of clipping and do see a vet if the grey is chewing at his wings or starts plucking his feathers.

[Carolyn]

Mika has had his wings clipped, he can glide approx. 8-10 ft and make soft landings. He like Toni said cannot get height upwards. I am very happy with his wing clip and he does not bother it at all.

 

 

Carolyn & Mika

[Mistyparrot]

The only time my GAG Misty ever flew into things or landed badly was when he was clipped. Luckily he never hurt himself but I know of parrots that have been badly injured in landing accidents because they tried to fly with clipped wings.

The harder the clip the greater the likelihood of a flying accident. A gentler clip is pointless as it won't stop a bird from trying to fly but it could still lead to harmful situations.

Misty is now fully flighted and a total joy to live with. He has become very skilled as a flyer and has never flown into anything or had a bad landing. It is his natural way of getting around the house we share. His cage is only for sleeping or emergency accommodation. He has fruit tree branches arranged for his play , chewing and perching area. I string apples,sweet corn,carrots etc from branches and he knows how to pull these up so he can snack on them. I am delighted if he chooses to fly to me on the couch. I take sensible precautions to protect against small "presents".

Being able to fly is a huge part of being a parrot. To me clipping is like blinding an artist or gagging a singer.

I loath the idea of a parrot being forced to live most of its life in a cage or on a perch suppressing the instinctive urge to fly for fear of injury . I am sure you love your birds but please remember they are birds and if we want to have them as companions then we have to make efforts to better suit their natural needs.

 

My 2 c

 

Steve n Misty

[Luvparrots]

This one will be a hard one for me for I believe birds were meant to fly; but the fear of my vulnerable friend getting out accidently is horrifying to me. Since from what I have read it is best to wait a couple of years for muscles to strenghten, I won't have to worry about this for awhile and can just watch him fly to his heart's content-- and quickly teach him our phone number and address just in case!!!

[HeatherStrella]

I'm a reformed clipper. My baby was clipped by a vet and they did a terrible job. It took two years to grow back. She now loves to fly and I don't ever want to take that away from her. I've had to bird proof the house so that she doesn't hurt herself...to me that's better than house-proofing my bird But I respect that other people have different beliefs or are just learning. I was just learning at one point and was open to constructive criticism.

[Ajilon]

Zazu is clipped. I won't be fully clipping again though Only the first 3 flights. I have to watch him closely and if I can't be with him, he's got to be in a cage. He'll dive from the top of his playstand straight to the tile kitchen floor. Many times I've hit a rage of panic wondering if he was ok. That's quite a fall.

 

Greys weigh more than other parrots their size. I've learned that if you clip too much, they'll drop like a rock in water. Not a good idea. While I'm worried he'll get out and fly away, I'm willing to take other precautions to prevent that, including training for a harness.

[Janfromboone]

Tobie has been clipped since babyhood. He is molting now for the first time. I will clip him again for his safety. The porch door is very near his cage and if he was fully flighted he would have been gone by now. No other really good places in my house for the cage according to what I've read about cage placements. I would hate to let them grow out and let him fly then clip again. Wouldn't that be more traumatic than never letting him know about flying.

[Tycos_mom]

Please don't clip his wings again Greys are very heavy birds and if they can't fly at all they fall hard. When I first got Tyco She had been babering her left wing flight feathers for years due to a bad clip. becase she had barbered only one side she was extreamly off balance and would fall continuously very hard on her Keel it was awful and it scared the heck out of me she would land with a huge bang. I took her into the vet and had her wings evened out so at least she wasn't off balance any more she has stopped barbering now and is fully flighted but a Grey that can't fly at all is dangerous for the bird unless your planning on covering your floors with a 2 inch layer of foam rubber so when he falls he won't break his keel bone.

[Ajilon]

A baby clip is ok though isn't it?

I don't want Zazu to be fully flighted. He's well fledged and knows it. He tries to fly all the time. With my kids constantly running in and out, he'd be gone for sure. He's not smart enough to know he needs to stay in the house. While I don't want to risk his safety, I also don't want to risk his loss.

[Tycos_mom]

A clip is fine as long as they can saftly glide to the floor without dropping like a rock. If you cli the first 3to6 primary flights that should be plenty to allow your bird to fly enough to land saftly as long as he can fly downward gracefully if he can still gain height you can always clip another feather but if you cut to many you can'tput them back so go slow when you re clip clip a couple at a time and see how he does. I have an Amazon that is such a strong flyer that even with her wings clipped she can fly really well. It doesn't matter to me though I don't clipp my birds at all. I have double doors so if they get out the first door they will find themselves in another room. So I see no reason to clip them.

[Anmlhggr]

As the others have said, don't get his wings clipped again, it could be fatal if he fell to hard on his chest. Also try to keep an eye on him to make sure he isn't chewing at the ends of his ragged feathers.

 

It's unfortunate that it turned out to scraggly

[Ajilon]

I think when Zazu's grows back out I'm only going to clip the first 3 and see how he does. I don't mind him flying and I know he was properly fledged because he tries to do it all time. I'm just worried he's going to break that keel bone when he dives off the playstand.

 

I have an amazon like yours. He's a blue front and nothing will stop him from flying. He gets a full clip and can still fly. However, I've come to realize if I hold him high on my hand and sail him through the air, that seems to satisfy his needs for a while.