Flying?

[riaria]

That's an excellent (but sad!) example of how wing clipping does not remove dangers in the house

Sorry for the ranting But wing clipping and flying is such a complicated issue, and there are so many negative sides to clipping that rarely seem to come up in debates.

Not sure if we're allowed to post links (if not, please do feel free to remove it, mods), but this is an excellent article:
http://parrots.dimholt.com/documents/articles/wing_clipping_article_greg_glendell.pdf

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Kq, don't become complacent in thinking a clipped bird cannot fly away.....you would be surprised at the number of people with the same thought who watched their bird(s) fly out of sight.....

Very true, clipped birds are capable of flight. My friends cockatiel needs a very extreme clip, and she can still fly straight!

Here is Rosie, she is capable of flying with clipped wings, her wings are OVER clipped in this photo but she has two primary feathers that had grown in. Before the two primaries came in she would fall very fast and HARD if she got scared and tried to fly. It gave her serious self confidence issues and even now as a fully flighted bird she is nervous about taking off.
With those two primaries she still has a ton of feathers missing, and is flying without any lift from wind that will be present outdoors.

Here she is with all her feathers to compare to the above photo to show how extreme that above clip really is. I shaded in the clipped feathers

So be careful even if you do clip your GCC, especially with such a light weight birdie.

 

[kq_fan]

Ya sometimes it is more dangerous if they are clipped!

copperarabian, Rosie is sooo beautiful! When her wings are clipped, she falls hard to the floor hard but thank goodness its carpet but that will change soon! :/

 

[MikeyTN]

And again folks, If clipped properly they can not fly! I have personally tested and I have birds of all sizes and I used to raise them too so I've done countless clips throughout the years. It all depends on how you clip them. I learned my clipping from a very old book over 16 years ago when I learned it. I have clipped birds from a parakeet to a Macaw. No extreme clip but the proper clip which is basically remove the primary feathers along the lines with the secondary. If you just go a bit too long away from the secondary, that's all it takes for them to take off.

 

[khaiqha]

http://www.parrotforums.com/alexandrines/28022-photos-ozzie-clipped-alexandrine-flying.html

What was incorrect with the clip on that bird?

 

[MikeyTN]

Primary wasn't trimmed short enough and not all primary were clipped! Don't test me, I've been doing this for many years....I'm not a newbie nor did I just got my first bird.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Ya sometimes it is more dangerous if they are clipped!

copperarabian, Rosie is sooo beautiful! When her wings are clipped, she falls hard to the floor hard but thank goodness its carpet but that will change soon! :/

She's had all her feathers back for a while now

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Primary wasn't trimmed short enough and not all primary were clipped! Don't test me, I've been doing this for many years....I'm not a newbie nor did I just got my first bird.

I still think many birds can fly outdoors if there is wind, but not indoors. And probably the larger birds like macaws, and the heavy bodied African parrots will be less likely to fly outdoors while clipped.
Really though, someone has to to be really stupid to take their bird out when it's windy(although sometimes it can suddenly get gusty).

 

[MikeyTN]

I had one of my baby tiels with me while it was gusty out, he couldn't take off. But all it takes is a bit off cut for them to be able to take off. I had one flew off when it was gusty out but I got him back but I miss cut him too long. That was like 13-14 years ago.....

 

[kq_fan]

My dad clips them and before he started on his first bird, he studied hard and he is good at it, Lilo cant fly when he does!

 

[baron1282]

I told the OP this was a heavily debated topic.

I just like my bird to fly, it's gives us something else to do when we are playing together. I think I had inadvertently trained him to fly only on certain flight paths. He will only fly from one place to another and that's it. Even when scared! So that was kind of a cool unintended action.

 

[MikeyTN]

Oh no disagreements there!!! I love to keep my birds flighted as they would fly off then fly back to me as I don't have issues with them flying. I'm letting my newer addition Lola growing her wings back as they molt. But I'm not against clipping either!

 

[baron1282]

We just bought a flight harness for our bird. We just finished watching the video so we are going to try and introduce it too your bird the right way. I hope we can get him to like it so we can get him outside more and not locked up in a cage when we do take him out.

This is also training for my wife and I as we both want a Scarlet Wing Macaw some day.

 

[Kalidasa]

I told the OP this was a heavily debated topic.

I just like my bird to fly, it's gives us something else to do when we are playing together. I think I had inadvertently trained him to fly only on certain flight paths. He will only fly from one place to another and that's it. Even when scared! So that was kind of a cool unintended action.

I know it's such a sore spot for many people, and as controversial as the subject of religion!

 

[Pineapple]

So I herd that your bird has to fly in order to live. But I don't want my bird to fly. I like her wings clipped. She does fly every like once or twice a week in the house but if my birds wings aren't clipped then if she has the chance she might fly away! I don't want to risk that. So If I don't haft to then why would I risk? I already tried to harness her and she will have nothing to do with it!

My bird flew outside because her wings were not clipped. I stood 3 hours outside in the neighbors yard trying to get her down out of the tree. It only took a few minuets for her to fly out the door and be gone. I got her back. ( Thank goodness because I would have been horribly heart broken)

 

[MonicaMc]

Photo of a clipped B&G flying....
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...0151445114766199_634716886_n.jpg&size=960,548


Video of same B&G flying...
[ame=http://youtu.be/_1Pv4pMu9Nc]My macaw, Jikko, flying - YouTube[/ame]


Article that talks about the pros and cons of clipping vs flight
Should you clip your parrot


Article about clipping misconceptions and why it's best to remain flighted
How to Trim Parrots Wing? Parrot Wing Clipping Alternatives Explained



I agree, there are exceptions where clipping may be best... but I do not agree with the majority of reasons that people clip.

 

[MikeyTN]

Monica,

If you look closely at the macaws wing you can see there's only a few feathers not grown back on one wing while the 3 front primary were left unclipped on both wings. That don't surprise me that he took off flying! If those primaries were clipped and the right wing have more primaries clipped, he won't be flying! Remember I've got two B&G and I clipped Willie at one point! And he's been outside!

 

[MonicaMc]

Some people consider that clip a "proper" clip. Others consider that a harsh clip. My RTC is getting that clip right now! Well, I mean, she's clipped, and the outer primaries are growing in. If I looked at them right, she's got 3 on one side and 2 on the other that are growing in. Feathers growing out appear to be 9-8 and 9-7 on the wings, with the 10th flight on each wing still clipped. At least, from what I can see so far. Only the #9 flights are grown, the others still have some weeks before they are fully grown. As of yet, she can't fly.


I went back and took a look at Ozzie's clip. They are trimmed to the coverts! And it appears that at least 6-7 of the primaries were trimmed. That's enough to ground many birds!


A proper clip, IMO, should allow for a bird to glide to the ground. A clip that prevents flight is an improper clip and could potentially lead to more hazard to the bird rather than otherwise. Jayde can't even glide.

 

[MonicaMc]

Tried to take a closer look at Jayde's flight... gotta say, they've been confusing me from the beginning! First two feathers she lost, the inside of one was white and the other pink! And she has similar flights the same way!

If I've got it correct though, she originally lost #10 and #9 (one on one side, one on the other), and those are the two feathers that have grown out. The side that lost the #10 is also growing in #9 and #8 now. The side that lost #9 is growing in #10 and #7. #8 on that side is still clipped. Also noticed a couple of stress marks on one of the new flights. Darn it! Well, her entire life has been turned upside down a few too many times now, and she's still settling in! I can't wait for her to be able to fly!


I thought that the flights would grow in the same on each wing, but it doesn't appear to be going that way!!!! And it's also odd that she originally lost two flights, those grew out, she lost two more, and a few days later, she lost one more. When she lost two at a time, she lost those feathers about 1-3 days apart, so I was surprised by the 7th feather... still haven't seen an 8th feather to go with the 7th one!

 

[MikeyTN]

Monica,

Your making my head spin with all the numbers.....lol