Clipping Wings?

hey guys. i am getting a quaker in a few months and this is the biggest question on my mind. Should i clip his/her wings? now i have both the reasons for clipping and why not to clip. and i am torn on what to do.

For clipping:
It is much safer in the sense they cannot fly away.
It doesnt directly hurt them
They cant get into trouble by flying onto/into something
pretty much clipping is safer.


Keeping them flighted(not clipped)

Get good exersise
good mental stilulation
good confidence
another thing to train them with(better mental health)
birds love to fly and naturaly do it

so for the most part, clipping is safer but not clipping seems healthyer over time. i have been doing a lot of reading on this and it is split about 50 50. i dont know if i want to take the risk as a 1st time parrot owner of having him be able to fly. but then again i want him to be as healthy as possible. also, with cats and dogs, i dont want him to fly away onto the floor and then the cat attack. i am so so so so so confused. if you guys could help me settle this topic that would take such a big worry of my back and relieve SOOOOOO much stress.

Unfortunately, this isn't something you're going to get a straight yes or no on. If you look, over the past month there's been at least 2 other threads, with polls, on this topic and the votes are usually split down the middle.

In regards to the cat and dog, my advice is if you can't supervise, or trust the cat or dog (I don't trust cats any further than I can throw them, metaphorically, around birds), your best defense against something like that is to either crate the dog and lock the cat in another room while your bird is having out of cage time, or have the out of cage time in a room that you can seclude yourself and the bird in.

Personally, I clip.

Are you an over protective mother? clip their wings , Or are you OK with letting them explore their boundaries ? freeflighted. It's up to you and your situation, there may even be a point where one options is better than the other. I would advise letting a bird fledge and learn to fly if nothing else. Who's to say if a flighted bird is healthier,but fly's to he's death or a clipped bird alive in it's home. It's what ever works best for you and your fid at the time.What ever it takes to make your bird happy/healthy and live a long life. just my .02 worth

thanks that helped a bit. what is your opinions? do you guys clip wings or leave them? and as the cat or dog, my dogs will probably be fine and my cats are in my basement most of the day and come out mostly at night. and i dont think they would "hunt" the bird, but more of is it is really close and as birds do try to investigate the cat they would attck it. so, whats your opinion?

I have both, clipped and flighted. You need to access your situation. What works for me might not be best for you. Sorry ,but there's no best answer. IMO

Personally I would recomend flighted, unless you run into behavioral problems. In which case I would recomend halting the clipping once it becomes a well behaved bird.

Im wondering the same thing with my red rump parakeet. I want to keep her safe but she can fly anywhere in the house even though her wings are clipped so I doubt if she ever got outside I would be able to catch her anyway. Im thinkin im gonna let her wings grow and see how she does and decide from there. she is missing a couple of toes from each foot and seems to not trust her own climbing ability so maybe wings would give her more confidence?

My suggestion is always do what you feel comfortable with. If you feel like you can handle the training and risk of a flighted bird go for it. If you feel hesitant and aren't sure then clip your bird. After your bird molts and has new flight feathers you may feel differently and want to try out letting them fly or be happy you clipped them.

No matter what though make it your own decision. If you choose one and something horrible happens you'd rather it was your ultimate choice rather then someone else that your weren't completely sure about.

I am one of those people who will say ABSOLUTELY NO to clipping wings.

First off, if safety is your main concern. many pets which only have legs manage to run away anyway. I do not see the advantage of clipping as it merely encourages many parrot owners to take less care while their bird isnt secured in a cage and then looking bewildered when their bird escapes thinking "but he was clipped!"

Also in the home especially with other pets flight is very important to birds. even a clipped bird, when spooked will jump to take flight. and if they are clipped this becomes a crash landing. turning not only a stimuli into something that spooked them for a few seconds into a stimuli that is something to be really feared as it causes them to fall and crash.

Clipping can lead to many stress issues in smarter birds; they are more dependent on their owners and can develop an anxiety of being left alone, they have lower self esteem as they will try to fly and fail, possibly hurting themselves in the process, and many things that are stressors which they could normally fly away from become inescapable to them leading to a very unhappy bird.

Personally i think it makes them more vulnerable in the home. If you clip your bird to keep it out of dangerous places in the home. I believe this is also a stupid reason. clipped birds can also still access these areas with an ill-attentive owner, they just merely lack the aid of flight to escape the dangerous situation. It is safer to secure the possible dangers to your bird in the home similar to child-proofing a home.

Finally i am probably very biased as i own a male eclectus parrot whom i asked the breeder to keep free-flighted. The breeder presented him to me clipped and i was disappointed. the breeder said "but how am i supposed to keep him in my store without him being clipped?" - he liked to have them out and so******ing with potential customers. this truly made me angry, as i had already paid a deposit on him before he was even hatched and he was only in her store for 3 days as i was told when i was to pick him up!

I had already bonded with my baby and paid a deposit so i took him anyway with the intention to let him grow out in his next moult.

Unfortunately, when he started his first moult the first thing he did was pull out all his new flight feathers. This has since developed into quite a serious feather picking issue which (after many vet visits and lifestyle changes and much research and finding out that many other people have had this problem even in macaws) i contribute entirely to the fact that he was clipped as a fledgeling.

clipping fledgeling parrots greatly affects their development physically with the development of muscles and aerobic system, as well as their mental development, self esteem and dependency.

you do not need to clip a parrot to bond with it, a healthy relationship can be developed without complete dependency on their part, and if you are prepared to recall train it properly, clipping should never be necessary.

All of my birds are flighted. But it is just me and hubs here and we can monitor the daily comings and goings in the home. I also have three dogs. They are very good about staying away from my birds. But I never fully trust them, ever! If you have 4 legged friends in the home you must always be extremely careful. Many years ago I had a very dearly loved parrot killed by a very trusted pet who never showed any interest in my birds.
As far as clipping, I feel it is a personal choice that should be decided on within each individual home and each individual bird. Some birds are quite content to hang out. Others are like jets racing through the house. Getting into trouble at every opportunity.
If you have an active household with people coming and going it might be better to clip. If your Quaker is a baby it does need to learn to fly to build confidence, learn how to land, build muscle before it is clipped if you so decide.
If you do clip you need to make sure your bird gets plenty of climbing exercise and wing flapping to keep him in shape. Quakers are a species that tend to gain weight easily so exercise is important.
The one confusing fact is, that flighted birds have a better chance of survival of escaping the attack of a dog or cat in the home. However, a flighted bird can also fly into danger zones of these pets. Your biggest job is to monitor the other pets constantly. Never ever trust them. So my advice is to keep baby flighted first and see how things go with constant supervision. Are you confused now?

My first bird, a CAG, was free flighted. He got spooked when a door slammed and took flight, straight into a wall, and broke his neck.

My Teil was flighted, she escaped - got her back but she died 5 days later.

My eclectus is flighted at the moment but I intend to have him clipped soon. My apartment is too small and I would rather he be out of the cage as much as he likes with a light clip to ensure his safety.

If I had a small bird like a teil or conure I would probably leave them flighted. For me, big bird in an apartment - I have to clip. Its a choice you have to make and a reality of keeping birds in captivity. I have kept my eccie unclipped for a while now but it is getting too dangerous. I would prefer him to have absolute freedom and 6-7 hours out of the cage than a shorter time where i have to follow him around constantly and stop him from trying to crash land in the toilet! He is a very happy and well adjusted bird, both clipped and when grown out.

Clipping a bird does not mean you then leave them unsupervbise3d in a dangerous home. It just means you have weighed up the different variables, including the specific personal characteristics of yourself, your bird, your situation and your views. No one else can tell you what to do, and normative moral judgements are not helpful.No one else knows your situation.

It is exactly the same as raising a child. There are many different parenting decisions you will have to make. Clipping is not permanent - but It may also not be the best option either.

My Eclectus was clipped by the breeder when he was a baby and has no plucking problems.

Its up to the bird and you. Whatever you decide, you can always change your mind. The best way to avoid accidents, clip or no clip, is to never get complacent with ANYTHING - open doors, windws, birds on doorjams, open containers of water, toxic substances, electric cords etc etc.

Good luck - do your research and try not to stress to much!!

mrgoogls, if you have a very active household (siblings, for instance, older and younger), then may I suggest you read my post Escape? It is just one scenario of dozens where I could have easily lost one of my precious babies through what would have been a complete accident, though with some negligence.

I've never had a flighted bird. My mother has, with disastrous results, much like mrob. But my Loki, who is a small, 67gram Green Cheek Conure, has plenty of confidence, despite clipped wings. I was told that he was flighted before (He was 1 when I got him) and that he seemed "depressed" after they clipped him. I have not experienced this. He has seemed no different after clipping than from when his feathers get long and he's able to get some lift (which is when I know it's time to clip again). He's exactly the same either way.

Yes, birds were meant to fly. Yes, it can be better for them health-wise. Yes, flighted is how they should naturally be. However, they were also meant to live in the wild. Since we humans have decided to keep them indoors as pets, I think it's our responsibility to do things to keep them safe. Cage them when you are not able to fully supervise them. Clip their wings so that hazards don't happen. There was someone here on this forum not too long ago, who's bird tried to fly into another room as someone was shutting the door and died! We've had several members lose their flighted birds by having them be spooked and out a door that's been accidentally left open or a window, they went. Some are found. Most are not.

That's just some of my $2 on the matter. As mrob said, and as I have said, it's like raising children. You have to do what's best for you and yours and not everyone is going to agree on how you do things. There isn't necessarily a right or wrong, just what works for you. If you're willing to take the risks with fully flighted, be my guest. That's your decision and risk to take. I let my 7-year-old daughter run around outside on our street mostly unsupervised and I know that, unless you live in this neighborhood (EVERY parent does it here on our street, if the child is over the age of 5), you probably wouldn't allow your child to do that. But that's MY parenting choice.

I have mine clipped lightly, but there is always going to be alot of differences of opinions on this subject and at the end of the day, it depends entirely on your own personal circumstances and it really is your own personal choice, which no one has any right to critisize.. We all do what we feel is right for our own Birds.

thanks so much guys! you have given me a lot of info to think about! i will ask my breeder to leave him unclipped and let him learn to fly, so that helps their confidence(most breeders do that anyways from what i have read) then if i clip, then i will clip him, if i dont, i dont have to wait. i have an idea though:


is it possible for me to clip him at 1st(i dont know how long. until my dogs and family get used to him at LEAST. so probably at least a year or two) then once i trust him and he is used to everything and every1 is used to him possible let him grow out and train him to fly? would that work to not let him fly at first then let him fly after a year or two? is that possible? if i can do that that is what i will do. that way i can learn to trust him. and get him walking to me on command and train him. so it will be easyer to recall him while flying.

I don't know if this will help, but at least with our Cockatoo, clipping her flight wings did not matter, as she can fly anyway, and quite well ! The Cockatoo may have more feathers than other species, that lend to flying capabilities. So, no more wing clippings for Shelby.

wenz2712 bought up a good point. There are varying degrees of clips. My over weight hen zon has a very light clip and can fly around and though doors, etc , to land on me. I need to encourage her to exerciser, so i let her have some "wings". But she is clipped and has been for most all of her life. It's what works for us." Clipped" doesn't have to mean your bird drops like a rock,very dangerous.If you want a clipped bird, learn how to do it yourself.

i knew there were different types of clipped wings. if i do get them clipped, i will let them "glide" so if he falls he can land safly but not be able to acually fly around/away.

but my quastion above remains.....can i have him clipped for like a year or two until I feel that I am ready as is the bird. then let him fly? can you clip for about 1-3 or 4 years then let them fly?

Sure, if you let them learn to fly before you clip them. It will be much more difficult to learn to fly several years down the road.If fact many won't even try! I'd let them fledge as babies and learn to fly, then clip if needed. But keeping him clipped for several years (IMO) wouldn;t be bad and he would quickly regain his flight skills.

that is good. i will contact my breed and see if she will let the babies learn to fly. so when i clip they will already know how to fly for when i let them grow out. that is great that it will work! i made my desicion! clip him when younge when in a few years let him fly

427HISS said:

I don't know if this will help, but at least with our Cockatoo, clipping her flight wings did not matter, as she can fly anyway, and quite well ! The Cockatoo may have more feathers than other species, that lend to flying capabilities. So, no more wing clippings for Shelby.

Click to expand...

I'll tell my story.

We adopted our Cockatoo from a great,.....rescue in New Mexico. She had her aviary vet clip her flight wings for safety, for the flight to Nebraska. I
In the house, she tried to fly a few times, but not very well at all !
So going outdoors did not bother me. I placed her on a patio chair on our deck in the back yard several times the first few weeks. Then I decided to try the front yard, and again worked well, until I put her on the grass to forage, then whow,......she flew over the top of the house !
I was terrified, ran to the back yard and saw her up on top of a 50ft tall tree. I tried for 2 hrs to coax her down with no luck. A neighbor had to long poles and taped a fish net poll on the end, and placed it over her and it worked and got her down safely !

So,.....just because her wings were clipped, does not mean she can't fly, and VERY WELL,..... I MIGHT ADD !!!