Flight Harnesses vs Clipping

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Oogies Mom

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May 4, 2010
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I have two birds that have been a part of my family for about three weeks; a 9 month old sun conure and a yellow naped amazon of unknown age. Both have their wings clipped (they were already clipped when i got them) I take the outside frequently and they sit and play comfortably on their perches there. Neither seems interested in trying to fly away. Lately I've been debating on whether to let their wings grow out and as such was thinking about purchasing the aviator harness and leash. I believe my amazon is fairly old and would like to give him the opportunity to exercise his wings and keep him agile. I would also like to take them with me when i go to parks etc without having to worry about them flying off. I've heard good and bad things about them and would like to know what others have experienced with them! Thanks in advance.
 
I would rather get a harness than clip. 3 of my budgies have their wings clipped at the moment ( they were getting to be a problem because they could fly too well ) and they can still fly it just slows them down a bit. I would rather get them harnesses though.
 
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Thanks for the reply Ratzy! I actually decided to order the aviator harness for my amazon this evening! If it works well with him, then I'll go ahead and get one for my sun. I'd love for them to be able to fly, just not away LOL. Do your budgies have their wings clipped in a specific cut??? My sun seems to be able to fly downward a little bit...somewhat, but my amazon doesn't seem to be as agile. I'm guessing his wings have been clipped for so long that he hasn't gotten much chance to use them :( Glad that will change soon =)
 
Clipping is a very personal and provacative subject. Basically, you have to do what is best and safest for you, your birds and your lifestyle. Good luck with the harness!
 
They all have their wings clipped the same way except for Lexi, and she can't fly more than 30cm up. They have a few flights left at the edges and they are the same on both wings. A clipped bird should not thud to the ground, if they do it is too heavy a clip.
 
At this stage I prefer to clip. I take Shadow everywhere with me and like that she perches on my arm or shoulder without fear of her flying away. If she wasn't clipped I couldn't have her at work, take her if we go to a cafe (outdoors) or to the kids sporting events generally I couldn't have her with me as much as I do .

I do have a harness and am slowly getting her used to it but she is not keen on it. If I get to the stage where she happily wears it I will probably let her wings grow & see how things go. The flight feathers are so pretty.

As HRH said it's really a personal decision so go with what suits you.
 
Mel, you give some of the best reasons that I'd keep my birds clipped. I want to spend as much time with them as possible.

Max was clipped (severly) when we got him and is about 1/3 of the way through a molt so he'll be getting his flights back soon. He wants to fly so badly that we're going to let him keep his flights unless we find that it just doesn't work out.

Unless something changes drastically, Jade won't ever be clipped. She enjoys flying too much and is so acrobatic. And Ruby will be fligthed when she comes home.

Fully flighted birds work for our lifestyle at the moment. However, I'd love to take them camping with us and take them outside to the park or something. And that's a no-go as long as they're fully flighted.
 
I have a one year old green cheek and we didn't clip her wings and we bought the flight suite and the leash and honestly its a pain to get it on her, last week she actually got out and was in a tree for an hour before we got her back. now when a situation like this happens you start to think about clipping. But not all birds are the same and some have to problem with the suits, thats just my opinion. Erik
 
The vet had to clip Sterretjie's wings because she was abusive. At first I regretted it and could not wait for them to grow back but now I am two sided.

She goes with me to work, to the shops and she goes with us on holiday. I love sitting with her by the pool while my iguana and dragons roams in the garden and she loves it too. We have an outdoor bar with a pool table and she just loves playing on the bar while we braai. All of this would be impossible if she could fly.

But, I have to say that I can feel in my heart how she misses flying and she tries so hard with no success - it hurts me watching her. So the question is, are we selfish by clipping their wings? Do we do it for our good or theirs? Would they choose to go all over with us or would they choose to fly as God intended?
 
wildheart said:
are we selfish by clipping their wings? Do we do it for our good or theirs? Would they choose to go all over with us or would they choose to fly as God intended?
Click to expand...

I hear what your saying, my view on this is if they were wild birds then yes we are being selfish but they were born in captivity and would unlikely survive if we were to let them go. I'm sure if we let them fly free many would choose to come home but unfortunately few would know how to get back home and there are a lot of hazards they are not used to dealing with - it's different when you're part of a flock.

We had a local guy who had his flighted B&G outside, it got spooked by indian mynahs and took off, when they found the bird weeks later it was weak and died at the vet hospital. Since I take Shadow out with me I'd rather be selfish & have her clipped and safe and still be able to enjoy the outside world with me.
 
I like your point of view, it makes me feel less selfish. ;) Sterretjie flew to my house and in her case her wings saved her from a terrible home.

I will definitely keep her wings clipped because she spooks extremely easy. The other reason is because she will never leave me alone and will always fly to me which can end up in a disaster when I am for instance busy exiting a door or holding one of my reptiles.
 
Im adopting a green cheek conure next week and I plan on taking him outside with me for walks, to parks, camping etc. Im just wondering, even if they are clipped cant a gust of wind still carry them away? I live in a really windy city and it makes me nervous about that :S Should I get a harness as well as clip?
 
Beilana said:
Im adopting a green cheek conure next week and I plan on taking him outside with me for walks, to parks, camping etc. Im just wondering, even if they are clipped cant a gust of wind still carry them away? I live in a really windy city and it makes me nervous about that :S Should I get a harness as well as clip?
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Great to hear about your new addition:). I have read and heard that they can easily get caught in light winds and get carried away, in fact many of the smaller species can still fly a bit even with clipped wings.

In my opinion, wing clipping is just as valid as fully flighted and people should choose depending on what is best for them and their birds. Both ways require different, but just as much responsibility.

I think regardless of clipped or not clipped, harnessed or unharnessed, its best to train a solid recall for any bird that is venturing outside. The bird should also understand when you tell it to stay on your arm for safety.

I also think harnesses are a great idea (when trained properly). I would like to take my Ekkie outside on a harness once he is trained in recall (he is flighted). It has been said already - you just never know what might spook them, no matter how well they are trained and a harness is a great 'failsafe' for this reason.

All the best
 
Thank you :) I will definately look into recall training a bit more. I have heard of it but am not fully confident in the entire process. Do you use a clicker? or just a certain word?
Until I get that down pat I will keep him clipped with harness on outings and hopefully evolve into him being able to be fully flighted and on harness while outside. I know in my heart I would like for him to have his fully intended wings one day.
 
No worries,

I have used a clicker in the past and it works really well (target training would be a good way to start teaching recall). I like clicker training as it enables you to pinpoint the exact behaviour that you want the bird to learn. It's not the only resource out there, there are many - But birdtricks.com is where I got most of my taming/training information when I first started out. There are many articles out there that explain clicker training and target training so have a good read. Currently Eddie responds to a whistle and a little coaxing (most of the time:D). I have actually just been looking for my clicker as I want to get back into some serious training again. I have a few weeks break coming up so I can hopefully establish a training routine before life gets busy again. Persistence truly is the key.

And flying does seem to make them real happy. Its a great source of exercise too (sometimes for the both of you :p)
 
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I could see how having a fully flighted bird zipping around the house could be good exercise LOL

I'll have a peek at that site you mentioned. Clicker training seems like something I would mesh well with :) hopefully he/she will too!

Luckily I have some time before I have to start working again so It will give me a good chance for bonding and training. oh if only we got paid for taking care of our animals instead of paying to do so eh, no work to take us away from them. ;)

Also Buddy and Eddie are georgous! I love the avatar and siggy pics :)
 
If the harness doesn't work out but you still want you Amazon to get some excercise, one thing you can try is to let your Amazon perch on your finger, hold down his feet lightly, then gently wave your arm up and down. This will get him to flap his wings without flying away. This is a technique I use to give my clipped birds some exercise since they do not like harnesses. Well my cockatiel does but not so much my parakeet. Good luck in whatever decision you make.
 
Why don't you consider a secure carrier (they have back-packs made to carry birds in them) instead of clipping and/or a harness? It's much safer that clipping or harnessing both in the sense that there is no way the bird can fly away if in a cage and also because, this way, the bird can remain fully flighted (much healthier from a physical and emotional perspective) and it cannot get tangled up or hurt by the harness (birds have been spooked while wearing a harness and they have taken off just to end up dangling from the leash which makes them freak out and struggle to the point that they hurt themselves -I know of one that broke a wing which was never the same afterward).
 
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