Clipping?

[Wilsonskeeper]

Just looking for overall opinions and/or pro's and con's to clipping. From reading the forum I have sensed a great amount of the people here have been surprised by the ability of clipped birds to fly away on them, not to mention the unclipped birds. BUT, How many people here do clip? A long time ago, after beginning my "socialiation period" with my birds I gradually began letting their wings grow a bit longer, and began a free flight training session with my Greenwing and Sun Conure. And today as I walked into a Pet Store near my house, I realized why I couldnt clip their wings, I saw the most pitiful looking B&G with what looked like more than half his wing missing... I couldnt do that to my bird(s), nor can I see how the Pet Store finds that in the best health/interest of the birds. I think every bird should know what it is like to fly, and if need be, have the ability. Aren't we here doing what is best for the birds? For example, on walks, my Greenwing will walk with us, and if we "throw him" off the arm, he will fly off, but he usually does a loop and comes back because there is nothing new to see on walks. But if we go "out" into town and he is lucky enough to catch a ride, he will go flying around town for a while until we wolf wistle which is our signal for him to come back on down. So I guess I just dont understand the ordeal that some people go through with their birds to ensure that they dont fly away... Or is it just me and most people here do leave their birds unclipped...?

Thanks,

Matt :)

[jmfleish]

Hi Matt,

I'm new to this board but not new to boards. It sounds like you have trained your birds for recall training and that you actually are flying them outside? Free flight is when you actually fly them outside unrestrained. Leaving them fully flighted and letting them fly inside is a totally different concept and is not considered free flying nor is flying them outside in any kind of a restraint. I do not free fly but I do know of people who do. I don't know that I ever could free fly. It takes a lot of dedication and hard work. Here is what I recently wrote on another board about leaving birds fully flighted though. Hope you find it helpful.

I do not clip for the most part because it's healtier for the birds to be able to fly, especially the heavier bodied birds who are prone to obesity and heart disease (Amazons, greys, Eclectus). Birds have wings for a reason and everything about them was designed for flight. The way they breathe and the way they metabolize is all designed for flight, so flight is the healthiest thing I can offer them. My Timneh grey absolutely loves to fly and to take that away from him truly makes my life miserable, honestly!

Having said that, clipping really is a very personal decision and leaving a bird fully flighted is definitely not going to work for everyone, but if you can take the right precautions, I think that many of us can make it work. Ceiling fans truly aren't a necessity in my eyes and I don't use them at all, period but they can also just be turned off when your birds are out. My birds are not allowed in the kitchen, end of story. Not so much because I'm worried about a bird falling into a boiling pot of water but because my oldest Ekkie almost got shut into the refrigerator one time while he was walking around! When you are cooking, it's easy enough to make sure that they are safe in their cages. I live alone, so opening and closing doors is not an issue in my house. Each one of these issues may or may not be a problem for every single one of us. Someone mentioned that they absolutely cannot live without their ceiling fans, so obviously, that does make ceiling fans an issue for them but not for me.

Another thing I really want to stress here though is clipping gives us a false sense of security. Too many people believe that if a bird is clipped, it's safe to take that bird outside. This is not a reality at all. A clipped bird not only can fly, but certainly should be able to fly. Clipping is not designed to stop a bird from flying, it's designed to stop a bird from getting lift. A good clip should allow a bird to gracefully fly to the ground without hurting itself. Take that bird outside and any noise or sudden movement or a good gust of wind and that bird can go miles before it hits the ground again. And then that bird is stuck on the ground and it's primary way to defend itself, flight, is also gone. Even birds with the worst clip in the history can and may still fly away and chances of getting a bird back alive are better if the bird is flighted.

Now, having said that, another thing to remember, RECALL TRAINING! It isn't just for flighted birds! Work with your bird, teach it how to come when called, even if it is clipped. It's the smartest thing you can ever do for yourself and your feathered companion!

[Whistand]

I have lost doves to an open door by my son. I now have a conure & amazon. I really enjoy taking then outside but after reading your post I am in a quandry. My newly adopted amazon is too scared for me to come near her wings although they have been clipped prior to be adopting her.
When I volunteered at the Wildlife Animal Rescue, we used leather bands (I forget the name.) around their ankles.
Wendy

[Sprecker]

Bought all 8 of my birds with clipped wings. I have hardwood floors and every one of them (minus the 2 new ones) has suffered from it. None of the breaders or store owners gave any warning to the type of floor we have or how the bird will just drop if it tries to fly. Because I was unaware of the proper clipping technique or how a bird that was clipped was supposed to "fly", the first 6 that I got really made a mess of thier chests.
Lucky for them I took them to the vets regularly and they discovered that they had opend sores on their chests and if we had waited to take them they would have had more serious injuries. She told us the petstore where we got our quaker and greencheek another where we got our CAG and the breader where we got one of our love birds had butchered the flight feathers and he won't get better until he molts. We put a matres down in the bird room so we wouldn't have to keep the birds in their cage all day. That worked really well and they are doing much better now.
Most have all grown their flight feathers back except my quaker and CAG so the worst of it is over. I just wish my Quaker would molt some new flightfeathers so he can enjoy the aviary the way his buddy's do. My CAG is groing his flights back but he likes to thrash his wings against his cage sometimes and I fear that he may never get his flight's back fully (that's another story all tother).
So in short I will never clip my birds feathers again. It was too much for me to see my fids hurt like that.

[Northe]

We used to have our cockatiel and peachfaced lovebird's flight feathers clipped -- partly because we lived in a house with high ceilings in some of the rooms, places where the lovebird could hide up by the ceiling and no screen doors. Now we're in a house with lower ceilings, screen doors and a screened-in "Arizona Room" so it's pretty easy to catch the birds if they are perched in a high place, and have let their flight feathers grow out.

It's funny that the cockatiel almost always prefers to walk rather than fly. The lovebird flies all over the place. I think that it's good that both birds are getting more exercise.

Of course we have to be very careful about securing the birds when we're going to have the door open for some reason, make sure that they aren't going to fly onto a hot stove, close the lids on the toilets and the like.

The lovebird is a female and probably has more of an "attitude" due to being flighted. For the male cockatiel it doesn't make all that much difference.

Northe

[Cece4]

I have one clipped and one unclipped.
Both birds are rehomes and the cockatiel was flying up where I couldnt get him so I had to clip his wings.The greencheek had never had wings unclipped so he only does about two laps around the room and then goes to his playgym.He doesnt crash anymore and lands perfectly.But he did have to learn to fly..The confidence I see in him now is worth the extra work for me to keep my house flying safe...I intend to let the tiel grow his in now too..We shall see how that goes..
I should say that my birds are only allowed to in the front rooms and not the kitchen or bathroom areas.
BTW I should also say that I have nothing against wingclipping.My son is getting a cockatiel and I intend to keep its wings clipped because he is young and things can happen.

[towaslovebirds]

I have lost my newly arrived cockatiel flew into window before.
Since then, I clip my birds.
At least they don't fly high and speed will reduce to run into something.

It was several years ago but my memory is still vivid and I am so scared when I see them fly close to windows.

[SDavid]

"Aren't we here doing what is best for the birds? "

Yes, we all want that. I think it's the prospect of running through the streets, hopping over fences chasing a bird that scares most people, including myself.....lol. Seriously though, I think clipping is a result of a fear of the danger involved and of losing a bird that you love.

"Just looking for overall opinions and/or pro's and con's to clipping."

I think each persons opinion or rather personal preference on this issue depends on the circumstances of that persons life. What state they live in, city or country, number of family members, schedule, household dangers, outdoor dangers, and every possible lifestyle characteristic imaginable. Wilsonskeeper, where do you live that you can safely release your GW? For me, it's not that I'm pro one or the other, it's more what do I "have" to do (and what's possible) for my bird to be happy and healthy. I think there are sufficient benefits and dangers to both ways.

I've had my TAG for two years this month, and my Galah for less than a year. Both are clipped. For argument sake, how much flying does a bird have to do to get the proper amount of exercise? Birds in the wild fly hundreds of miles a day. So would my birds if unclipped fly that much? It's just not possible. jmfleish, where does your TAG fly, indoors? And do you take her outside and what do you do in that case to prevent her from flying away? If exercise is the goal then what difference does it make if the bird is flying indoors, free flying, or flying outdoors with a harnass?

I know that a clipped bird can fly quite a distance (I've learned that) and I know they can drop hard if clipped too short. So I take the necessary precautions. I enjoy being in the backyard with my birds but I couldn't do it if they weren't clipped. I do exercise them by releasing them but if they were fully flighted it would be too dangerous. I make sure they are clipped in a way that they can land gracefully. If I don't think they can land gracefully then I let them flap their wings while on my finger to get that exercise.

"RECALL TRAINING! It isn't just for flighted birds! "

I'm gonna look into this. I think as far as my birdkeeping goes, providing exercise is the only are that I probably fall short on even though I do what I can.

[cricketshuman]

I have allowed all of my birds to grow out their wings feathers. We had originally kept them cut, but then had a well bird check done and found that our teil was over weight and not getting enough exercise. We have sliding glass doors in our dining room, so when the birds are out the curtains stay closed. It keeps them from running into the glass because they think its not there. It also provides padding in case they cant stop. ( they are the vertical blinds kind.)

[hcc59]

clipping.
I do not clip, but I have a large macaw that is not considered to be prey and is safe outside to fly around.
I have a friend that had an African Grey that was flighted. He would take him around and let him fly around. Then one day he went somewhere new and he took off and never returned.
There were woods nearby and who knows what happened to him.
But, that is a smaller bird and is considered prey...easy prey at that.

My vet tells me that an un clipped bird is a bird waiting to get killed and that it is my responsibility to keep him safe and that means clipping.

So, take everything into account.
Happy flying.