Wing Clip - Opinions Please?

[ade.dave]

Max has been with us for a few weeks now. We live in rural Washington so no bother with neighbors. The weather is turning warm and I am spending more and more time outdoors. I really enjoy having Max outdoors with me and he seems to enjoy the outdoors too. As it stands, he is full feathered and could fly if he realised it. He does bob up and down and give a little jump but so far hasn't put that together with the wing flapping. I like the way he looks with his wing feathers crossed at the tips over his back and tail but would hate to have him fly away. I have been debating getting his wings clipped. I don't want to change his attitude and have heard that sometimes happens, I don't want his appearance changed drastically. Losing all of the color over his back would be a shame. I am not keen on putting a leash on him though I believe he would probably allow it. He lets me touch outside and under his wings and on his chest. Some of your experiance and opinions would be very helpful.
Thanks

[Courtzrocks]

I think I would try a harness first as even clipped birds have flown away. It is not advised to take a clipped bird outside because if the clip is done properly the bird could be blown away in a gust of wind or strong breeze so even if you clipped him it would be best to harness him aswell so i would probably just harness him outside. But as the title suggests, just my opinion.

[ljhassell]

We wont clip- we have outside safe area for all to stretch wings and enjoy warm weather. I agree harness even if clipped, they do and can get a wind up draft and good as full wings. We have too many prey birds to leave unattended, but have local people that house all their birds- especially Macaws and Cockatoo's outside year round. That I could not do- they are all pets even if they were'nt I'd worry and want them in house!

[Monica]

If your not interested in clipping, I suggest using a harness (Aviator, Feather Tether, or Kaylor Collar) and do some inside flight training (jog around the house, making your bird flap, or encourage the bird to hop to you from a certain spot, or from you to a certain spot, then slowly increase distance) so that he can get his muscles up and get in good shape and health!

[SDavid]

Remember that clipping is not permanent so you can give it a try if youre curious. Depending on conditions even a clipped bird can fly a limited distance, enough to get into danger -so you need to always be cautious. A clipped bird won't fly away as a non-clipped bird would though.

Someone did post here a while back about loosing a bird that got out of it's harnass. So, I'd be carefull about that as well.

My opinion and best advice is to try different methods and settle on what fits into your lifestyle best. Everyone has different living circumstances and different things work for different people.

[CraftQueen]

Do some research on the different forms of wing clipping. Some people clip the leading flight feathers (on the outer edge of the wing) and some do what's called a Modified wing clip and it's feathers that are (closer to the body). Find someone who really knows how to do it or find good pictures/instructions because you don't want to cut too short or into Blood feathers and injure the bird.

Like already mentioned, the predatory birds (Hawks) will swoop down in an instant and snatch a pet bird and it's gone withing seconds. Once it has it's grip, there is no turning back and it's gone. So, be very careful.

I used to take my birds outside in their cages with very securely locked doors. There are a lot of mature trees in my neighborhood and I could not ever see the hawks, but I could hear them above the canopy. One day I had a scary thing while outside with my other pets, we'd just gotten a chihuahua and a hawk swooped down so close to have a look at my new little dog that I could have reached up and touched the hawk. It was that close. And I wasn't alone, my german shepherd was right there and my cat and that hawk got that close. It kind of freaked me out. Not long after we got a smaller chi too and I wouldn't take her outside without a leash for nothing until she got to be a year old because she was 7 weeks when we got her and she would fit into the palm of your hand.

You hear of lost birds every day. The outside world is Enormous compared to inside your house. There are scary sounds and other things that may startle an uncaged bird, a good breeze and chirping of other birds and they figure out that they can fly. So, yeah you have to decide if it's worth the risk. Accidents happen. I live where it gets pretty cold in the winters. I worry about all those birds who escape and are left outside. One can only hope they migrate to warmer weather and don't run into preditors.

You asked some very good questions and I think you got some very good feedback. I would like to have an outdoor aviary to use for the summer, one with a safety entry (2 doors) with an outer door and an inner door so it's safe to put the birds in without chance for any escape. When my husband runs out of renos to do on the house, I'm going to present him with my drawing of th perfect outdoor aviary.

Paulette

[ROYJOY]

Consider free flight. you have to teach him to "come" on comand. this must be mastered indoors first. it must be a conditioned reflex, so if spooked, he will automaticly turn and come back. my sun enjoys free flight out doors, and my GW is in training.

[Amie]

I just want to stress that clipped birds CAN fly. A friend of mine had a conure clipped, and he got spooked and glided off her shoulder. . .just to get caught by the wind. He had no control over anything and was thoroughly terrified. THANKFULLY he was so scared he flew to her instead of away and came out with little more than some broken tail feathers and a bloody beak that healed beautifully. But now she just allows all of her birds to be fully flighted and harnesses them.

[Macaaaw]

Clipping both sides equal, will reduce lift but they still fly in the wind outdoors. Clipping only one side will stop all flight. I am an all or nothing kind of guy. Last month we took all our pets on our vacation and I did not want to take any chances so everybody got clipped on one side. That will last till molting time when new feathers grow.

[jenseits]

The whole issue of wing clipping brings out passionate arguments on both sides, so it's a pretty personal choice, but I did want to put in my three cents:

- As others have said, just because a bird is clipped doesn't mean he can't fly. I think more people run into problems as a result of that mistaken thinking than there are people who have birds slip out of harnesses

- Even if you have a bird who recalls well indoors, don't underestimate the distractions and different-ness of the great outdoors. Just because your bird flies to you while you're inside doesn't mean he won't get startled and confused when he's outside. If he doesn't know how to fly *down* well, for example, because that's not something he practices indoors, he might fly into a tree and be afraid to come down. Things also look different from a bird's eye view, so to speak, so you might even look unfamiliar to him when he's looking down at you.

- The asymmetrical wing trim is out of favor with avian specialists, if I understand correctly. It really throws a bird off balance and can cause him to injure himself. It pretty much ensures that the bird will have no control in the air if something startles him and he takes off (which is instinctive to the bird, even if they can't fly well).

Whatever you end up deciding, I think this is one of those issues where it really helps to do tons and tons of research on a lot of different sites. That way at least you'll know all the pros and cons and be fully informed.

(Personally, I prefer to take my bird out in a travel cage. That way we can get out into the fresh air, he feels safe and protected inside a familiar cage, and I don't have to worry about harnesses or, worse, him flying away)