Clipping Budgie's Wings

[budgiegurl]

Hey guys, I need some advice as to how to clip my budgies wings. I have 7 beautiful little guys and I don't want to harm them. There is the mom and dad, and 5 babies. I found a website with a picture of where to cut....check it out and let me know if that is correct!! http://parakeets0.tripod.com/budgies/id10.html ...it takes a minute to load. God forbid if a little bleeding occurs...what should I have handy to keep it from getting infected? I am going to have my boyfriend help me that way there is two of us and we can be very careful. I watched the petstore do it and it didn't look very hard. The picture shows that only one wing is clipped is this the best thing to do? I would like for my budgies to be able to come out of there cage more often and to prevent them from hurting themselves I want to clip there wings so they can still fly but not as high and as fast as they have been. I take all precautions when I let them out. I close the blinds, turn off any hot lamps and I turn off the ceiling fans. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

[Monica]

That website.... well thats a good way to kill a budgie! (Not literally). They are saying to clip one wing, which will significantly unbalance a bird, thus causing a LOT of damage if they were to fall. Second, the type of clip, well you might as well remove them all (the flight feathers)! Anyone who clips a bird like that is only setting their birds up for injury!

Please, review the feather trimming article in my signature before you clip... And check out these articles as well!
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/feathers.html (has pics of blood feathers)
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html (shows how to clip)
http://www.petparrot.com/ParrotCareWingClipping.htm
http://forums.petlovers.com/articles..._clipping.html

[VeraT]

you do have to be carefull about how close you clip them. Dont get down to the thick part of the feather or it could hurt them. I personally dont clip but others do for thier own resons. I came close to thinking about clipping mine because we just had to move and the place didnt have screens in the windows but my husband got the ones were we moved from so alls well again.

[2horse]

Monica's trim article is comprehensive and good. A show clip in my experience does not seem to slow a budgie down very much like shown in your site. Never ever clip only 1 wing, personally I use a covert clip about 4 feathers on either wing to start, and then 1 extra if the bird is still flying too high. They still fly just not to roof height anymore. If you clip with the wing upside down you can see bloodfeathers easily. Remember to always clip the same number of feathers the same length on either wing.

[7aliens]

My two NEVER come out of their cage yet they flutter around a lot when startled. Do they need their wings clipped?

[Monica]

Getting their wings clipped wont stop them from being startled, but it might be able to help prevent them from flying into things if out of the cage, if a proper clip is done. If they will never come out of the cage, even WITH clipped wings, I see no point in doing so....

[2horse]

no 7aliens it would just stress them. Clipping I think is only for birds allowed freedom in the house for safety.

[homebird]

If you have birds that startle easily - you have to spend time beside the cage & try & calm them - talking to them like you would talk to a new friend.
~ Sit and read beside their cage - talk on the phone or watch TV or listen to the radio. My Budgie will sing all day if the radio is on - i tried all sorts of music but finally settled for classical as it is less stressful & he doesn't get all worked up.
~ offer them treats thru the cage.
~ when they're tamer - Eventually getting so you can open the cage & put your hand inside without upsetting them.. Use your voice (that they are used to) to calm them if they become fearful again. everything has to stop as soon as they are afraid. try again later. Don't make a big deal out of a set-back or a stall in training.
~ I have found a journal to be very helpful. It shows how things are in fact moving along.

Regarding the clipping - Monica's info covers it all I think.
I only have 1 Budgie & he was very easy to tame & he is flighted. I do not have experience with multiple Budgies. I have read that you can tame them by separating them & working with them individually. The babies will be ridiculously easy compared to the bonded parents.

[AbbeyNMommy]

Originally Posted by 2horse

no 7aliens it would just stress them. Clipping I think is only for birds allowed freedom in the house for safety.

Abbey has alot of freedom and wings!
What is freedom if you cannot fly?
I believe clipping wings is best for the guardian, not the budgie.

I can see it in bigger birds, but not lil tiny budgies.
Just my opinion!

[Grillis]

I agree. If your have a bird you have to safety your home. And it isnt that hard to do so! Its much better for your bird if you put up some work in safety than clipping their wings.