Clipped Wings

[Beilana]

The green cheek conure I am adopting has his wings clipped. I just spent hours and hours learning about recall training and free flight. (yes I'm getting slightly ahead of myself but thats ok ) I've made the decision to let his wings grow back and give him back his gift of flight. Does anyone know approximately how long it will take for his flight feathers to grow back???

 

[Aussie Ben]

Back in the early days, I used to have Buddy's wings clipped. They grow back when the bird moults which I think is like every 6-12 months.

You could probably still start your recall training just on a table top, letting him walk to you. I think once he learns to fly this should translate over. The only problem i could see is that if he gets really good at walking he may rather walk than fly to you even when he is flighted.

 

[Beilana]

The only problem i could see is that if he gets really good at walking he may rather walk than fly to you even when he is flighted.

I guess thats a risk I'm willing to take. I think its a good plan, it would give him the idea to come to me when I call him and hopefully translate over when he is flighted.

I have just been reading about it and watching so many videos of birds who have flight(even if they dont go outside) and they seem more confident or something. It is just a personal view and opinion and I lay no judgment on anyone who has their birds wings clipped. (My conure who passed away had clipped wings and was a very happy little guy.)

With a fully flighted bird I'm going to have to re-decorate a little lol

 

[Aussie Ben]

I guess thats a risk I'm willing to take. I think its a good plan, it would give him the idea to come to me when I call him and hopefully translate over when he is flighted.

I think it would only really be a problem if he had been clipped for years and never learnt how to fly.

I have just been reading about it and watching so many videos of birds who have flight(even if they dont go outside) and they seem more confident or something. It is just a personal view and opinion and I lay no judgment on anyone who has their birds wings clipped. (My conure who passed away had clipped wings and was a very happy little guy.)

I believe its up to the carer to decide depending what is best for them and the bird, because every case is different and like you, I don't make judgment either way. I have said this before but both clipped and unclipped birds require different but equal responsibility. Although like you say, there is something special about a flighted bird.

With a fully flighted bird I'm going to have to re-decorate a little lol

haha, yep you sure will. One thing to look out for which may seem obvious, but i overlooked is the gap behind cupboards. We have some inbuilt kitchen cupboards that finish about a foot from the roof. Eddie loves to walk around on these as they wrap right around the kitchen and he can follow you everywhere while your playing with his favourite toy...food lol. However, I did not realise and could not see the gap that was behind the section where the oven was (for ventilation) - until one day Eddie disappeared all of a sudden. My family had never seen me move so fast, I scaled the bench and cupboard like my life depended on it. Luckily Eddie grabbed on to a bead of timber about a foot down from the top of the gap, he was hanging by his beak and I could only just reach him. About 2 feet onwards was the timber that covered the oven so I would still have been able to get him out somehow, but it was a real eye opener to the dangers that you don't see - imagine if the oven had been on and he was stuck down there, even for a few minutes! and a GCC is a lot smaller than an ekkie so just something to look out for - i got a whole bunch of em.

 

[Beilana]

haha, yep you sure will. One thing to look out for which may seem obvious, but i overlooked is the gap behind cupboards. We have some inbuilt kitchen cupboards that finish about a foot from the roof. Eddie loves to walk around on these as they wrap right around the kitchen and he can follow you everywhere while your playing with his favourite toy...food lol. However, I did not realise and could not see the gap that was behind the section where the oven was (for ventilation) - until one day Eddie disappeared all of a sudden. My family had never seen me move so fast, I scaled the bench and cupboard like my life depended on it. Luckily Eddie grabbed on to a bead of timber about a foot down from the top of the gap, he was hanging by his beak and I could only just reach him. About 2 feet onwards was the timber that covered the oven so I would still have been able to get him out somehow, but it was a real eye opener to the dangers that you don't see - imagine if the oven had been on and he was stuck down there, even for a few minutes! and a GCC is a lot smaller than an ekkie so just something to look out for - i got a whole bunch of em.

Oh my goodness! Thank you for that. That is probably something I would have overlooked as well. Geez...Poor Eddie and poor you! I would probably have a heart failure if that happened lol.

Your right too, a green cheek is a lot smaller and they can be mischevious little buggers too... good thing I will have 6-12 months for full throttle re-decorating!

 

[Aussie Ben]

Also try and use curtains and blinds where possible. A great way to teach your bird that a window is actually there is to let them touch it with their beak (unfortunately mine occasuinally learned this with their entire bodies which you obviously want to avoid ) This way they learn to understand that this thing is solid. Both my birds now know where all the windows are now and avoid them like the plague (on occasion they can get forgetful though, especially when something they really want, say you, is on the other side so watch out).

 

[Beilana]

Thanks for all the tips! I do have curtains on the windows and I will introduce him/her to everything so he gets familiar with the house

Are fake plants a cause for concern at all?

 

[Ratzy]

Marigold had her wings clipped before she developed her chest muscles properly. So it is a joy to me every time I see her fly by herself as she couldn't fly at all when I got her a year ago. It has taken me this long to get her confidence up. When I clipped my bubs, I made sure they had fully developed and were confident flyers. Marigold is still a bit slower than the others but is improving every day. I will never clip Marigold. My budgies only get a clip once.
PS. The morale of this is not to clip your bird too early. Marigold is mentally weak because of her inability to fly ( my opinion ).
As for how long it takes the wings to grow back, it depends on when they were clipped ( how close to moult ) and how regular the moult is.

 

[Aussie Ben]

Are fake plants a cause for concern at all?

I would say only if he is a 'chewer' and they are going to be in a place where he can get to them without you noticing. Its just you can't be sure what chemicals they have been treated with.

Also just avoid sharp plants with spiky leaves and stuff that he can run into. Eddie flew into a bonsai Cactus once that I didn't know had bee bought inside (He was okay). Gosh with all these stories I'm telling you, you must think my fids are covered from head to toe in bandages lol

 

[Birdamor]

It takes two years for clipped wings to grow all the primaries back. And good for you (and even better for your bird!) that you decided to allow him flight! It's harder to keep a fully flighted bird than a clipped one but it's compensated by the knowledge that it is better for them.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

A great thread here. Often talk of clipping versus not clipping turn ugly. There is very little to add here, it's all been very well covered.

It'll take until the next molt, could be just a couple months, could be more like 6 months. But I must disagree with Birdamor it could not be years.

 

[Birdamor]

My conures molt four primaries in each wing every year and they have a total of ten primaries (I don't have a GCC but I assume they are the same as other conures) so if she got the clip that 99% of birds get, she would have gotten, at the very least, 8 primaries clipped and that means two moults to grow them all back. Generally speaking, two moults equal two years but moults depend on diet and environmental conditions so it could vary. And then, of course, the process can be sped up by pulling a shaft or two every couple of months (which it's only done with wild birds in rehab that need to be released by a certain time of the year because it's very painful).