[parrotntn]

Consequences of Wing Clipping

Ironically, the first advantage mentioned above – that of insuring that the parrot can not fly away, is not always the advantage it appears. Owners of parrots with clipped wings often become complacent about the fact that they live with a bird whose instinct is to fly when startled. Since the clipped bird doesn’t fly, owners are not prompted to seek out knowledge about feathers and flight, since this is a “non-issue” for them. They often don’t understand how and when molting occurs. The parrot is not taught to allow a close examination of her wings so that it can be ascertained how many flight feathers might have grown out and when they might need to be clipped again. And, they don’t understand how either a slight breeze or two extra flight feathers might increase flight capability. Tragically, this often results in the loss of the bird when the complacent owner takes the parrot outdoors without harness or carrier. If a clipped parrot has grown out a couple of flight feathers on each side, is startled by something while riding on the owner’s shoulder, and encounters a slight breeze, she can travel quite a long way and be lost for good.
A second disadvantage has yet to be proven. If we remember back to the information gathered by scientists about the relationship between flying and breathing, it is possible that the overall health of the respiratory system may be compromised if the bird is never allowed to fly. I believe it possible that life span may be shortened, or the parrot may fall victim to respiratory illness, when she is denied the form of exercise she evolved to enjoy daily. Again, there is no evidence currently for this, but there is extensive evidence for the benefits of exercise in other species.
There are some very fundamental and measurable physiological changes that take place in the body during exercise. As aviculturist Gloria Scholbe explained it so well in a message sent to the Holistic Bird Internet Discussion List, “Wild birds exercise their muscles on a regular basis as they forage for food. In addition to getting them to where they are going and obtaining fuel for the body's needs, exercise benefits the body in other ways.”
”Improvements created by exercise begin at the cellular level. Deep inside each cell are mitochondria. These cellular elements produce energy. As the body expends energy through exercise, the body signals its need for more energy, so numbers of mitochondria increase to meet that need. The number of capillaries also increases when the body signals its need for more oxygen.”
”Each muscle that is worked during activity becomes stronger because of the work it is asked to do. Body systems that support the muscles are also affected by the muscle's work. The heart becomes stronger, and blood vessels increase in number and in strength. The nervous system increases in efficiency. The lungs and respiratory system dislodge bacteria and improve the work of oxygen exchange. Bones, which support the muscles,
increase in density. All around, the physical body is strengthened through exercise, but the benefits don't end with the physical body. There are emotional benefits too.”
”Sustained exercise results in feelings of overall well-being. This is partly because exercise stimulates the brain to secrete endorphins and other chemicals that help to reduce pain and lift depression. Exercise reduces tension and helps to dissipate the damaging chemicals produced as a response to the 'fight or flight' reaction.”
A third, often devastating consequence, of wing clipping is the heavy reliance upon the groomer’s judgment, and the bad wing clips that frequently result. Many young African Greys and Poicephalus are started off on a life of fear and pain when clipped too severely as babies. This not only ruins their balance, but prevents them from gliding downward if they are startled. Instead, when startled, they drop like a rock, injuring their chests and keel bones, and leading to a constant feeling of anxiety and fear in the young bird. These too-short wing clips often are the beginning of a feather abuse problem, wherein the parrot either chews off the ends of the remaining flight feathers and any incoming, new flight feathers, or starts to barber or pull the chest feathers.
Brian Speer, DVM, in his lecture given to listeners at The Parrot Festival in Houston, Texas in January 2002 discussed this very problem. He stipulated that, under no circumstances, should flight be removed from a flighted parrot all at once, and that no more than between five to seven flight feathers should ever be removed from a bird.
A fourth disadvantage concerns only some species, in which the removal of flight ability can arouse significant feelings of vulnerability. This is true for some Red-tailed (Congo) African Greys, especially the more passive personalities among this species. There is great variation in “temperament” among African Grey individuals. Some are much shyer than others and seem to routinely experience more anxiety and fear over small things. This is reflected in frequent toenail biting, falling, high-pitched peeping vocalizations, and head twirling. For these individuals, clipping can result in increased behavior problems related to anxiety.
Lastly, there is a profound disadvantage to baby parrots in never being allowed to fledge and develop good flight skills prior to being clipped. When I was raising African Greys, each baby was fledged and flew for at least 4 weeks before any clipping was done. I have also taken in several older African Greys over the years, who had lost their homes for one reason or another. Thus, I have had ample opportunity to observe the personality differences between those birds I have reared, fledged and kept, and those individuals I rescued who never had the opportunity to fly. The difference is like night and day.
When a young bird fledges, he learns to think. He learns to act volitionally. He goes through a mental and physical process every time he takes a flight. He decides that he wants to move, where he wants to go, then must figure out how high and fast he must fly to get there, and when to stall and hover prior to landing. This is a complex series of thoughts and actions.
If a parrot does not learn to think and act volitionally as a fledgling, there is little chance that he will ever do so, even if his flight feathers are allowed to grow out. I have three rescued older African Greys here who, although fully flighted, will sit in one place all day if I do not move them. They never learned to act with volition. Even though they are physically able to fly, it does not occur to them to do so.
I do not think that every species has such a profound reaction to being clipped as a youngster, but we might imagine that there is not the full development of the personality that takes place if, as a young bird, the parrot learns that he can go places if he wants to, and learns the attendant flight skills that enable him to do so. Simply put, flight enables personality development and expression.
Next, a great many individuals whose wings are always kept clipped experience a decreased quality of life as a result. Quality of life is directly related to the number of choices an individual is able to make each day. A flighted parrot has freedom of movement and the ability to make a relatively large number of choices throughout each day. Since the activities of flight, which spur an owner on to creating an enriched environment, are absent in a clipped parrot, that bird make live an impoverished existence if the owner does not go to extra efforts to move the bird frequently to different, stimulating perching sites. The resulting pent-up energy the bird experiences may be channeled into screaming or other unwanted behaviors.
Lastly, the practice of keeping clipped parrots as a society has a more global impact on our understanding of parrot behavior. Much of the information currently in print about parrot behavior is not true at all. It is true of clipped parrots only. We really must ask ourselves, is the behavior exhibited by a clipped parrot really normal parrot behavior? Or, is it adaptive behavior that results from being unable to move freely at will?