A lot of flown-away birds lately-- What to do?

[osnyder]

The recent posts about people's companion birds escaping have really got me concerned. My birds are currently clipped but as I've gotten more experience I've been thinking of allowing them to be flighted again, as both of them were before they came to us. I have harnesses and am working on getting them used to them (no easy task). But it seems that no matter how vigilant you are, this still happens.

What are people's thoughts?

 

[Sulphiria]

Our of our 5 birds, 3 are flighted. The African grey is not flighted. When he first came to us he was and in order to work with him and train him, he was clipped. The quaker also came to us clipped.. pretty badly I might add and neither have grown back out yet.

Our Lorikeet was not clipped and I like her that way. She doesnt fly often and doesnt seem to be able to stay in the air for very long so i'm not too worried about her getting very far. When I do take her outside with me, she tends to give a little warning nip if something scares her, so I dont see any reason she would fly off, although i could just be naive too.

Our cockatiel was not clipped either, and we clipped either 4 or 5 of her flight feathers and the little thing can still fly. I dont want her clipped completely thought. She cant get very far and runs out of breath quickly, but she isnt taken outside without a cage or harness just in case.

The Macaw we just got isnt clipped either, and we've only had him for 2 days although I dont see us clipping him either as hes flown once and was extremely clumsy at his attempt and went maybe 5 feet. We took him outside Tuesday in his cage and gave him a shower while washing his cage. Once he was wet, we opened the cage door and he came out on top to spread his wings for more water and splash around. He made no attempts at flying and enjoyed soaking up the sun for an hour or so while he dried.

I really think its on a birds individual personality and the amount of trust you have with the bird. I dont doubt for a second that our cockatiel would fly off if she got the chance and probably the grey if he could, just because both are so easily spooked.

 

[KatherineI]

Personally, I think anyone saying that their bird would never fly away because ____ reason, is naive. No offense meant, but after living with my Mom who did rescue work with birds and is an Animal Control Officer, I rarely leave anything pet related to chance. My birds are, and always will be, clipped. Not enough that they fall straight down, but enough that they only get the "glide". If more people would clip their birds, there would be significantly less need for the lost parrot websites. I also would have liked to microchip Loki, but he falls under the minimum weight requirements. Sugar will be microchipped here shortly. Again, I rarely leave anything to chance.

 

[Mayden]

Personally, I think anyone saying that their bird would never fly away because ____ reason, is naive. No offense meant, but after living with my Mom who did rescue work with birds and is an Animal Control Officer, I rarely leave anything pet related to chance. My birds are, and always will be, clipped. Not enough that they fall straight down, but enough that they only get the "glide". If more people would clip their birds, there would be significantly less need for the lost parrot websites. I also would have liked to microchip Loki, but he falls under the minimum weight requirements. Sugar will be microchipped here shortly. Again, I rarely leave anything to chance.

How much does Loki weigh?
I got my sennie microchipped when he was about 12-14 weeks old. They put him under general for 2 mins, chipped him and all was well.

Personally I think it's entirely down to the bird, we've got Amigo and his owner on the forum, he's completely free flighted but returns home. I almost lost Merlin a few weeks ago and was VERY lucky to get him back but I still wont clip him. I'd consider it if his leg wasn't splayed perhaps, but it just means I need to be more vigilant with him being near outdoors. He's never flown off when we're near doors/windows, I pretty much asked for him to fly away when I lost him.

It really is a tough one, are your birds happy flighted? Could you not take them out in a travel cage instead perhaps? Clipping also doesn't mean that they are 100% safe from flying away, gusts of winds and heat rising gives them a lot of lift and before you know it they're a lot further away than you ever thought they could get.

 

[evesta]

My babies are clipped. At first I thought I would initially clip them for training and then let it grow out but I think for their safety I'm going to continue clipping, especially after seeing all these escape posts. Plus with kids, dogs and cats I need to be able to get them back in the cage quickly. Linnies love climbing anyway

 

[KatherineI]

How much does Loki weigh?
I got my sennie microchipped when he was about 12-14 weeks old. They put him under general for 2 mins, chipped him and all was well.

Personally I think it's entirely down to the bird, we've got Amigo and his owner on the forum, he's completely free flighted but returns home. I almost lost Merlin a few weeks ago and was VERY lucky to get him back but I still wont clip him. I'd consider it if his leg wasn't splayed perhaps, but it just means I need to be more vigilant with him being near outdoors. He's never flown off when we're near doors/windows, I pretty much asked for him to fly away when I lost him.

It really is a tough one, are your birds happy flighted? Could you not take them out in a travel cage instead perhaps? Clipping also doesn't mean that they are 100% safe from flying away, gusts of winds and heat rising gives them a lot of lift and before you know it they're a lot further away than you ever thought they could get.

He's 67grams. My Vet won't do it that small. Senegals also tend to be larger than GCC's.

I think Amigo is a one-of-a-kind type of bird. He also lives mostly in the middle of nowhere, which I think makes a HUGE difference. Maybe if I lived in the middle of nowhere like Amigo's owner does, I'd reconsider. But even then, I'd probably be too paranoid that they'd get lost in the desert. I personally will have my birds clipped and simply have a cage outside for them or take them in a travel cage whenever I can, but I'm not allowing them flight. I'm surprised at how well Sugar gets around with clipped wings - she glides a lot farther than I expected.

I think unclipped wings is just begging for heartbreak.

My babies are clipped. At first I thought I would initially clip them for training and then let it grow out but I think for their safety I'm going to continue clipping, especially after seeing all these escape posts. Plus with kids, dogs and cats I need to be able to get them back in the cage quickly. Linnies love climbing anyway

See, I also have a dog. And a child. And a husband. I too need to be able to quickly put them where I need them to be, if they aren't already there. I also have to contend with Bald Eagles who will gladly make a snack out of either of my two if they ever managed to get outside and wander around unsupervised. No thanks!!

 

[evesta]

I read a bird book that said birds have wings and can fly not for pleasure but for survival. In places where there are no predators some birds lost their ability to fly like New Zealand. That made sense to me. Sometimes in our homes clipping is a better choice for the birds survival and safety.

 

[lexx510]

I, too, clip my bird's wings. Not just to prevent her from flying away, but also for her own safety around the house. Home injuries are amongst top killers of pet birds. She is very fidgity, and often freaks out at the slightest sound and flys into walls, glass doors, etc. I do agree that it is cruel to take away a bird's natural ability to fly. However, there is nothing natural about them flying in captivity and crashing into walls or flying into heated pans, either. Given the risks invoved, I feel that clipping them is the lesser of two evils.

 

[PortaPerch]

We've lost 3 flighted cockatiels over the last five years; one of them four times before he was lost for good. One of those had been found by a neighbor, and also a Golden Mantled Rosella we gave away after searching for its owner.

We have our two babies clipped professionally about every month, and they go with us outside all the time, without harness or cage.

PP

 

[Mayden]

I'm not against clipping. I have two birds that are pretty bad fliers and I'd hate to see any bird that wanted to fly struggle like they do. Merlin isn't clipped because of his leg as he struggles to walk places etc, it's easier for him to fly.

Would love to be able to take him out unharnessed (as he hates it) but it's travel cage or nothing for him. Not worried about household issues with Merlin as we're cautious with everything. Pots/pans covered, no basins of water unsupervised, no chemicals when he's about etc.

It really is personal preference. Not clipping also does have benefits.

 

[solobaby]

my 3 are all clipped
i took solo to a pet shop that i know very well to get clipped and were supossed to "know" what they were doing so i let him there and walked around the shop so that he didnt connect me to having his wings clipped and they hacked his wings so shot that it made a blood feather on the one side bleed. i was so mad and i felt so guilty , in fact i still feel guilty about it. when i went to fetch him he climbed into my shirt as if to say mom please protect me and i gave them such a telling off and we went straight to the vet where i cried like a baby. i still cry when i think about it. that was after his molt in january so im waiting for him to molt again and i will clip him myself now that i know how
i clip because i have a careless family who loves to leave windows and doors open

 

[goalerjones]

My Jenday escaped 5 times, first time was my stupidity, "he won't fly away, I can take out the trash with him on my shoulder". Second thru the fifth time he waited for a chance and escaped, presumably following me whan I left for work a couple of times. The last time cost him his life, he ate something toxic while out and passed away the next evening.

My hahn's macaw will not be flighted. 1) He's not afraid of anything and therefore won't stay out of the kitchen or other unsafe areas, 2) is a vindictive little guy and therefore I don't want him to fly over, bite me, then fly away again because of an imagined slight, 3) I just don't trust our dogs either, german shepherd and standard poodle.