Information on clipping and free flight

[DerTier]

I've been researching free flight vs clipping, my friends gcc has never been clipped but until recently wasn't much of a flier. Some articles have suggested clipping a bird to help them bond to you before you allow them to grow out, but that sounds suspicious to me.

Thoughts?

 

[SilverSage]

Clipping does nothing but remove the birds ability to get away. It is a short cut, not a bonding agent. Not saying you shouldn't do it, just that it won't necessarily help bonding.

Also, just so you know, the term "free flight" actually means "flying outside without a leash, cage, or other restraint." "Flighted" or "fully flighted" means "not clipped."


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DerTier]

Oops sorry! Definitely meant flighted

 

[SilverSage]

That's ok! It is SUCH a slight difference in wording plus there is a ton of specialized lingo surrounding parrots!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DerTier]

I'm a forum junkie I'll get the secret acronyms and terms eventually

 

[SilverSage]

The hardest ones for me were the shorthand forms of species names. RBT, OWA, TAG, etc. even having been a bird addict since childhood I was completely baffled. Btw, those are Rose Breasted Cockatoo, Orange Wing Amazon, and Timneh African Grey if you haven't gotten to those yet.

As for getting your little one to fly, I would honestly just ignore him until he gets frustrated enough to move himself. This is very common in babies who were clipped before they fully fledged; a terrible and damaging practice carried on by almost every pet store out there and a lot of breeders as well. It's much easier and most people are either ignorant of the lifelong developmental consequences, or they just don't care. You can also start practicing recall. Start with rewarding him for WALKING to you on command, then see if you can get him to climb to you, then step off the table or couch to you, then a short hop, longer hop, short flight, and so on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DerTier]

It's my buddies gcc (you rock thanks for all the explaning!!!) and between the 2 of us that's exactly what we did after I did a lot of confidence training with him so he felt better about being out and not needing to cling physically to everything. Watching him learn was so enlightening