ConnieLu Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Hi every one Im very concern about my beautiful 2 years old African Grey. I by her food in the safari birds were I bouth her fromm the breeder and she told me that i needed to take her to cut nails & wings since that BoobieLu is another bird she cant fly the house like she use to, and she does not talk or sing this is not her behavior and is already been almost a month and im very concern PLEASE HELP US SHE IS PART OF THE FAMILY AND MY ONLY BABY. ConnieLu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Connie if you had BoobieLu's wings clipped then she is not going to be able to fly thru the house like she used to. Is this the first time her wings have been clipped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhorje Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Probably your baby is upset because she has lost her free flight freedom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave007 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Clipping wings often changes a grey's personality. Greys are independent birds and their personality is best when they can function the way they're used to functioning. Sometimes, problems do happen to a bird just because another person says it's correct. There are breeders that will clip wings when a bird has been just weaned. Very cruel and that would cause many physical and mental problems. Yours isn't a baby. She's developed in a certain way. Personality and regular behavior? you said it yourself ""BoobieLu is another bird she cant fly the house like she use to, and she does not talk or sing this is not her behavior"" It'll take some time for her to get used to this adjustment of her abilities. Eventually, she'll start to talk but she first has to feel comfortable and many times, that takes much longer than one month. If a bird was fully functional and adept at flying for quite a while then it will take quite a while to readjust to it's limited functions. Sorry to say this but there is no quick fix concerning a personality change when caused by wing clipping. You need patience and she needs the time to readjust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistyparrot Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I am sure you are feeling terrible about this but I have to say it: Why on earth did you clip her wings? It is a terrible thing to do to a bird!:ohmy: Some breaders seem to think that clipping will make a bird more dependent and therefor a better pet. These breeders should have their legs chopped off and disbarred from breading parrots. :evil: Your bird has received a terrible shock and is bewildered and feels insecure. There is a risk she may start plucking. Depending on how severe the clip it will take several months or more for her flights to come back so you will need to make sure that if she tries to fly she can land on a soft place like a carpet. Not a hard wood floor or she could be injured. You will have to spend as much time as possible with her and make sure there is nothing around that is likely to spook her. She will most likely adapt and get back to her old self but it will take care and patients and lots of love.You obviously have that:) I hope this will be a warning to others who may be misguided as you were. Steve N Misty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvparrots Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I am so sorry you felt BoobieLu needed to be clipped. I agree it will take some time for her to adjust to this loss of independence. Just be patient and loving to her and in time she will forgive you and your relationship can then heal hopefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cflanny Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 I have to say I dont think its always fair to tell other thats its a terrible thing they have done with regards to wing clipping. Personally I have a situation where mine is attcking and dive bombing my son ( hes 17 not a little child btw), hes afraid to leave his room when ZZero is out . I have read and tried and tried to make this better but I can not let my own son not be comfortable in his own house. We have worked this problem from differnt angles for almost a month and I am considering a wing clip even though I swore I never would. I dont think its fair to put such a judgment on somthing that is widly accepted thru out the bird world. Hang in there Connielu! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieLu Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 OH MY GOD! I hope BoobieLu could forgive me (shes only 2) I will never do it again an the big thin was that went a there only to by some good food and treats for her, and i finish doing what other person said it was good for my own baby inted beliving in what we have at home (the LOVE we had)! now I really feel very bad,sad & guilty.{Feel-bad-0002006A} thank you guys for all you help, next time I will ask for you guys subjection first.with all my appreciation ConnieLu & BoobieLu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ConnieLu Posted April 30, 2009 Author Share Posted April 30, 2009 :dry: HOPE EVERYONE READ THIS AND LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE!!SO NO PARENTS AND THERE BABY GET HURT!:huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane08 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Oh ConnieLu don't feel guilty, it's not like this is for the rest of her life. You can have her flying again, it will just take some time. Just give her all the love like you have been doing and also try not to feel guilty, sad, or sorry for her. She will pick up on these emotions and will also not feel good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 It will take some time for those flights to grow out but Jane is right, don't beat yourself up over it, lesson learned and one day she will be able to fly again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Sorry to hear you received bad advice from someone you considered a professional. As others have said, it will take time, but your Grey will come back around as she settles down and starts trusting again and adjusts to the limited mobility currently being experienced. The good news is, the wings will grow back and she will once again be able to fly as she was designed to. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christina Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 No worries ConnieLu, just like everyone said, she will adjust and her wings will grow back. Cflanny....have you tried giving your son a towel...so when he exists his room, if ZZero flies at him, he can hold the towel up, like a wall, then ZZero has to change directions and can't reach him....we did that and it didn't take much time (a few weeks) before Finnigan gave up trying to get my son. They still have an altercation every now and then, but for the most part, the game for her wasn't as much fun when she couldn't reach her quarry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmonicaman68 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I have discussed wing clipping extensively with Steve Hartman of Hartman Aviary in the Columbus Ohio area. For many years, he has been a huge advocate for not clipping a bird's wings. His scientific reasoning is that the pathways in the bird's brain never form properly if the bird is hindered in movement. Similar to what would happen if we decided to cut off our children's legs to make them more manageable when they reached the age of 2 and started to get into everything saying "no" when we tried to stop them. It would change the way they thought and the way they interacted with family, friends and strangers. Steve has some things written on many topics including wing clipping, on his website at http://theparrotuniversity.com/index.php Clipping might even lead to some unsocial behaviors like biting, if the bird feels that is the only way to avoid danger. Flying is a non-aggressive form of defense. That option has now temporarily been taken away. ConnieLu, the good news is that your beautiful Grey Boobie Lu had already learned to fly. Many of the brain pathways were formed in her previously. (much better than having wings clipped and never having those brain pathways created, because the potential for those pathways being established is only there in the first few months to first year of life). Keep her safe from falling and being injured. Keep her comfortable when strangers are about, so she doesn't resort to biting. When the next molt occurs and the flight feathers are restored, her gregarious personality may return. I'd love to hear an update on your beautiful Grey. Don't be surprised if there are some trust issues for awhile. If my wings were clipped and I finally got back my abilities, my chosen perch may be a bit higher. She is intelligent and was wonderfully socialized and obviously loves you. That trusting love will hopefully restore the fun loving nature she displayed as her freedoms are returned to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danmcq Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Welcome harmonicaman68!! Thanks for the good information and link to Parrot University. When you get a chance, why don't you go and introduce yourself in the introduction room so others will know we have a new member? Looking forward to hearing more from you. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Yes please do introduce yourself in the welcome room Harmonicaman68 and thanks for the info and link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djzenjen Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 When we adopted Mischief about a year ago, she was able to fly freely around her old house. But, we kept her wings clipped only because we wanted her to get used to her new place and her new home and not get seriously hurt. (I really hated doing it, but I knew they would grow back... :unsure:) As of a few months ago, her flight feathers fully came back and WHAM, her personality came out full force. Her talkativeness has doubled, she is more loving, and she even plays with her toys more. It's like we got a whole new bird. And all that time when her wings were clipped we perch trained her, so now she is golden! I am not a fan of clipping wings, and I actually cried when Mischief got hers clipped. But that will never happen to my baby again! She deserves to be a bird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugman Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I guess this topic is not as conversational as I thought it might be. Pretty much everybody is a non-clipper. My Grey cant fly yet and she's four, but she drops like a rock. I don't think her wings have ever been clip.I like to take my bird to and from work. I would be so afraid of loosing her if she could fly. I guess it's not so much a problem if the consensus says to let them fly. Or do the clippers not speak up to avoid the flames?:evil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovethatgrey Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I think wing clipping is a personal decision to be left up to the parrot owner. I don't think wing clipping is right or wrong since we all live very unique and specific circumstances. When Emma came to live with me she had already been clipped twice. Wing clipping did not seem to have a negative impact on her personality. She is almost 18 months old now and I have decided to not clip for now. With that being said, I also spend a fair amount of time training and socializing her too so that we can both both coexist happily in the same environment. I hope to not ever need to clip her but I also won't hesitate to do so if I feel it's the best option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbpittman Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Dixie was clipped by the shop owner as a control device for the shop. All the birds in the shop are clipped. This allowed him to let the birds out of their cages, up onto play gyms and socializations with potential new parronts. First thing he said to me when we seriously discussed my getting Dixie. The pro's and con's of clipping. It is a personal decision and he will clip wings and nails free of charge as long as I have her, if I choose to have her clipped, however, he advocated strongly that she not be clipped if it was in my power to allow her to be flighted. Not all Grey owners have the ability to have flighted birds, either due to space restrictions (their safety) or varying other restrictions. First and foremost, all Grey owners consider in clipping/not clipping is how they can best care for their Grey's. For some that is keeping the bird clipped, for others not clipping. As lovethatgrey said "wing clipping is a personal decision". I'm sorry you received advice that has caused a change in your Grey, we are here to support you through this terrible time for you. -- Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now