Should I get her wings clipped?

[baseballa438]

Could someone tell me if i should have my female eclectus' wings clipped. She is only 3-4 months old and is flying every where. I personnally do not have that big of a problem with it, but for her safety do you thing it is better to have them clipped. I can not let her outside because she flys up in trees. One time i brought her to my batting cage and let her fly around in it for a little. when i was bringing her inside to the house she got loose and flew away. It was very scary but i luckily spotted her bright red body in a tree in a niegbor's yard about 2 hours later. Is it healthier for a bird to be able to fly, or does it not matter. Please inform me

[pbinva]

Hi baseballa - I personally find it better for my SIE (male) to have his wings clipped. We have several pets - 2 being dogs and I don't worry so much what the dogs might do - I worry more about what Peeka might do to them. I never have Peeka out of his cage unsupervised so I haven't had a flying issue with him yet. We also have an open top 180 gal. SW fish tank and if he could fly I would always be worried....This is just what works for us. Peeka was fledged so he knows how to fly and even though that was months ago while he was still with the breeder - I have heard that they never forget how to????

You must have been worried sick when your baby got away from you - I am not sure I could have handled that one and not gone in immediately and clipped her! Have you tried using a harness with her - especially if you plan on taking her outside.

[baseballa438]

I'm going to get her wings clipped. it's to much to worry about.

[Amie]

My Scarlett was clipped for a long time, but we haven't clipped her in years. Actually, she was clipping herself by barbering all of her feathers for the last 2 years. . .but now she can actually fly, we just use a harness. She isn't crazy about putting it on, but once we're outside, she could care less.

I think that it depends on your situation. Scarlett doesn't fly a lot (I don't think she was properly fledged) so it's not a big deal to have her flighted in our house.

[baseballa438]

I dontnget the whole fledged thing. I got my bird was still being hand fed and didnt know how to fly. She learned by herself and is actually A good flier. What does being fledged mean?

[Amie]

Being fledged means that she was kept flighted (not clipped) until she learned how to fly. They all teach themselves, but it's something they have to learn when they are young. If you clip a bird before its fledged, it will never learn to fly well. I don't think Scarlett was fledged correctly, but she was fledged somewhat, because she was never a gracefull flier. She's 11, and she's JUST started to be able to fly across the house and LAND. The flying wasn't the problem. . .it was STOPPING

[baseballa438]

will my bird feel somewhat depressed if I clip her wings when she hasmbeen flying her whole life. I mean she is only 4 months old but still.

[Amie]

Birds definitely feel human emotions. . .intelligence of a 6 year old and all that. . .it depends on your bird. My bird wouldn't care less, but had we clipped the U2 we had for a while, I think he might have tried to drown himself in his water bowl!!!!

She's young, and therefore resilient. If you feel that clipping her is safest now, do it now. Don't wait until she's 2 and is in puberty, and is moody and then take away her freedom. It will only take her about 4-6 months to molt out the clipped flights and grow in new ones--so it's not something that can't be reversed. And, since it sounds as if she were properly fledged, well, she won't forget how to get into your curtains!

[hyacinthLove]

from the research i have done, i believe that birds who are kept flighted are in better mental and physical health. i can't imagine clipping ivy's wings, she flies all over the house. i KNOW she would be depressed if i clipped her wings, i can tell how happy she is when she is flying. as long as you take proper precautions in your home (ie don't have the bird out while you are cooking, watch doors that lead outside, keep toilet lids closed etc) i think it's wonderfully easy to keep your birds flighted. just my opinion :)

[Nazir's]

YES!!! I would suggest yes.

I had a clipped CAg and when I brought home Clover (my ekkie) he was not clipped. To make a long story short... He is now clipped. I didn't base my decision on him having free flight because that wasn't the problem at all. As he matured he became more reluctant and decided to do whatever it was that he wanted to do. Many common known request were ignored and he became very dominant (not aggressive) and refused to follow simple directions, such as goodnight and step up. I decide to clip his wings, as I've heard that clipping a stubborn bird could be an easy way to adjust a bad 'tude. It has worked for me, thus far. Now, that's not to say that I wont let his wings grow back out later in the future once we become more adjusted to each other but for now and at this stage, clipped it better.

Good Luck!