Wow..He is flying

[Judenmink]

To my surprise Elmo flew today. He flew from his cage top onto the coffee table and then a little later up on to the back of the sofa (where I now spy a little beak shaped hole!).

Elmo is clipped. He has about 7 feathers taken off each side and I wasnt expecting this dilemma already. Now I have to think..do I clip some more or let him fly? It is so difficult to decide. He will certainly get more attention and interactiion from different members of the family throughout the house if he is not able to fly. I fear if he is flighted I might end up not allowing so much freedom as I am less in control of what he has access to. Can I trust children with doors etc...?

Decisions..decisions...

Jude

[Talon]

There is a lot if opinions posted here already about this. Everyone seems to do what works best for them. if you read them, you'll find some very good information.

[Guest briansmum]

i agree with talon, theres soooooooooooo much already on here about clipping. check all that out and if you still have questions we will be happy to offer our oppinions.

[judygram]

Trust children, never. Opps, just kidding.:cheer:

[Talon]

{Feel-good-0002006E}

[judygram]

The little monsters will leave the door open all the time.

[Talon]

Yup! I'm always reminding everyone to "CLOSE THE DOOR!!!!!!!" {Emotions-00020077}

[judygram]

But mine are gone now and I only have to worry about the grandkids, but they are not around all the time, thank goodness, I love them dearly but I don't want them underfoot constantly. Know what I mean.:blink:

[dblhelix]

One thing that stands out to me here as an important lesson to us all "To my surprise Elmo flew today"..."He has 7 feathers taken off each side". I agree this is surprising, as 7 flights is a significant trim.

 

We all need to take heed...a clipped bird IS NOT FLIGHTLESS and acting as if they are is a set up for disastrous loss...B) To clip or not to clip, that is the question each owner has to answer based upon their living situations. But the truth is that clipped or not, most of the same principles regarding the potential for escape/loss must be applied. You need to condition yourselves, children, guests etc to be mindful of the bird, know where it is and adopt good window door practices whether your bird is clipped or not. There is a wealth of information on the subject already posted, and as others have said, if you want our opinions we will be happy to provide.

[judygram]

I think we have a lot of posts that say that a clipped bird can still fly if frightened so take heed.

[Talon]

Talon could still fly after she was clipped. She would land on the floor because she couldn't get any height. But that was too dangerous because we have 2 cats that would eat her up in one bite! :evil: sO we let her wings grow out, so she would always land high enough up to stay safe.

[judygram]

I have been warned that even though they are clipped they can still fly away so I don't take mine outside without her being in a cage of some sort until I get the chance to try out the aviator harness.