Depressed after wing clip

[kcarly11]

So I got Rio's wings clipped again and he usually likes to come out and sit on the cage and he does it but only for a minute at a time and he's a little more territorial of Diego and his cage. But now I got my caique, Diego's wings clipped and he's very depressed. They also cut his nails without asking, and now he is having trouble climbing the cage, and jumping from perch to perch. He can perch, but he likes jumping from perch to perch and he can't do that anymore. The groomer was rough with him, and I tried to interfere but it didn't work. I don't think she hurt him but she was just rough. He was making all sorts of noises, and I felt terrible. Again she didn't hurt him, she just scared him. I mean like it's kinda what you'd expect after getting something taken away from you (feeling upset/depressed)...but he's not like himself AT ALL. He normally can't stand being in his cage, and he usually doesn't like to be near Rio for long periods of time but now he's always next to him and when he does come out he comes out for 5 minutes at the most and then jumps at any opportunity to get back in the cage. He doesn't wanna play, he's nervous, doesn't do his usual hopping and just seems really sad. He shakes sometimes, and he sometimes tries to fly but usually not because he's scared he's gonna fall down. I feel like they cut his wings too short because he plummets to the ground. If you're wondering why I clipped his wings, it's because he was flying to my desk, and would try getting into my makeup, and getting my pencils and I always had to put a blanket over my desk when he was out because he'd also shred the paper (it had nothing on it).Also something startled him and he flew all the way downstairs, where our dogs were. The dogs were on the other side so they couldn't get to him, but still. We normally keep our doors closed when they're out. Then whenever we'd take showers with him he'd fly from place to place, and we were scared that he'd get hurt. And sometimes he'd get jealous of Rio and fly over to him and chase him into the cage or onto the side. I don't know, I just miss his normal cheery happy self. Will he snap out of it? I feel terrible.

 

[wrench13]

Salty gets a bit depressed after a clip, but he snaps out of it in a few days. Not really depressed, thats the wrong word for it. He jusy doesnt trust his claws and wings, not that he has ever been flighted, he never has, but he has known gliding a bit. His latest clip was a bit shorter then normal, so his glide is rather short and more vertical.

 

[SirEdwin89]

Parrots are incredibly intelligent animals, i would say it is not only normal, but expected that a bird that is used to being able to fly will get depressed after that ability is taken away from them. Imagine if your main form of transportation was taken away from you, without your permission, and likely against your will, you would probably be depressed also.

Now i'm not trying to make you feel bad about clipping, the debate on the ethics of clipping is a topic I won't touch with a 20 foot pole, and both sides have their reasons. Just some perspective as to why it could likely be effecting his mood.

 

[SailBoat]

Mild depression after nail trimming and/or wing clipping can be expected. In truth, depression is more than likely not the correct term. More like a level of fear, likely from the event and the resulting aftermath.

Our DYH Amazon knows our Avian Vet's 'parking lot' and will start saying: NO, NO, NO, NO, as soon as we turn in off the road.

Long, long ago, I stopped taking my Amazons to Non-Professionals! The reason, I do not trim /clip myself is that I 'want' to preserve my relationship with my Amazon! Only good things happen /come from interactions with me. And, building on that foundation, the likelihood of things going wrong with a Non-Professional is much greater than with a Professional!

Personally, I do not believe in wing clipping. We work with a very different group of Amazons (Parrots) then the majority here and for that reason, I do not force my belief on others. With that said, if you are going to have your Parrot's wings clipped, Have them clipped in a 'Presentation' (Show) clip style. This will quickly eliminate /greatly reduce the number of individuals that know how to preform that style of wing clipping!

Sadly, your Parrot was given the 'dropped rock' wing clip! This style of clipping is nothing short of DANGEROUS /DEADLY to your Parrot. This style of clip assure that any attempt to fly will result in your Parrot falling like a dropped rock! You must take great care to assure that your Parrot is never in a position that may /will invite an attempt to fly.

 

[Kiwibird]

Whenever Kiwi gets groomed, we like to give him treats and a bath afterwards. It takes time, but if one has the bird make positive associations with clipping/nail trimming, it gets MUCH easier as the years go by.

We also found grooming at home is a much more positive experience for everyone involved (though I understand not everyones bird may be the same). When we used to have a local parrot store do it, it was extremely traumatizing for him to be toweled by a stranger in a strange place and he would fight so hard it would screw up his plumage and we were afraid he'd have a heart attack he was so frightened by it. It would also lead to him sleeping pretty much the rest of the day, almost as though he was was sick, it was such a horrible experience (and I imagine he was probably very sore for a few days given how hard he'd fight). Kiwi is not thrilled when he gets groomed by us, but he knows and trusts us and has learned treats and a fun bath are to follow. He doesn't react the same way afterwards either, just goes about the rest of his day as normal afterwards. He generally doesn't need to be toweled when we clip his wings either. We sit him on the back of a chair, hubby extends the wing, I clip, repeat on the other side and it's done and over in under a minute. Toenails I have learned are much easier to do as needed rather than all at once. If I notice one or two are getting sharp, I pick him up and clip the sharp tip off (1-2mm up) with special toenail clippers (got ours at Petsmart for around $5) before he even realizes what's going on to protest. This negates the need to do them all at once (which would require toweling) and keeps them from ever becoming overgrown and needing to clip off large amounts of the toenail and possibly hit the quick (which I did once and it scared the crap out of me). Again, I realize this may not work for everyone, but it has been out experience grooming at home is more favorable solution.

 

[gracebowen]

Another benefit of clipping at home is you can control the clip. My rehomed babies were clipped at the request of thier new parronts.

I clipped 2 feathers every day or so untill I got the desired results. I read to do babies this way to slowly get them used to lessened flight ability.

I also explained the dangers of over clipping and showed them how to clip the wings themselves.

 

[goalerjones]

Nothing starts a fight between bird owners faster than, "should I clip my birds wings?"

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[GaleriaGila]

Having been in both camps, I can sympathize. It *WAS* really nice to have the control of having a clipped Rickeybird: I had some semblance of power. Still, it's great to see him streak around in all his Patagonianness.