It breaks my heart!

[MrsKay]

I just have to share my feelings about this. I know it can be wise to sometimes clip a birds wings for safety sake, and I am extremely conscience of things around the house and hazards, and nobody get angry with me for this... but......
When I got Larry (my green cheek), his wings were clipped so short that he hits the ground like a lead weight! I swear he could crack a tile, or worse, his breast!
I am letting his flight wings grow out. He went from his playtop to the ground so hard tonight it broke my heart. How sad to see a bird, that SHOULD FLY, that cannot even slow itself down when gravity takes over!!! OK. I feel better. Thanks for reading

 

[Sterling1113]

Yes, it is a very controversial topic, but in the end we should all have the bird's well being in mind.. and in this case it sounds like TOO SHORT of a clip

There is NOTHING wrong about clipped or flighted birds in my opinion, as all of mine have been clipped before and are currently flighted as I feel it is safe..

Even if his flights grow out, and you decide to give him a partial clip later, we won't shun you for it but I think it's a good idea to let them grow for the time being, a bird shouldn't drop like a stone! Definitely not safe. I'm glad you feel better about your decision. I'm sure Larry will be just fine. Perhaps a comforter or think blanket on the ground surrounding his area in the meantime?(can even cover that with a sheet so it's easier to wash.)

 

[RavensGryf]

Not to get into the controversy of clipping... But for birds who 'are' clipped, the proper way is so that they can go maybe a few feet, then softly to the ground.

 

[veimar]

It's not about just clipping or not clipping, it's about the fact that some idiot clipped him WAY too short! This always breaks my heart, too. I wouldn't trust anybody except myself to do my birds wings because I clip them very little so they can still fly. Two of them are actually fully flighted now and I doubt that I'm going to clip them again.
BTW I got my gcc mildly clipped and taught him how to fly - he just finished molting and he is a virtuoso flyer now!
Just wait until yours molts and he'll be fine.

 

[EnglishMuffin]

Mrs Kay you're right that he could break his keelbone, by the sounds of it, with the clip he has. Please make sure anywhere you place him is close to the ground, or at least that you lay cushions/ towels around the area so if he does crash land he has somewhere soft to do it. I worry this will end in disaster

 

[Peepers]

I had an indian ringneck that was clipped very badly. He was clipped when I bought him, I put him in a massive cage, he was at the top fell and broke his neck. It was my fault for putting him in a big cage, I was DEVISTATED. But now Im to paranoid to get wings clipped. This was a huge tradgey that could have been prevented.

 

[4dugnlee]

That's sad! When I had my parakeets and cockatiels years ago I clipped their wings myself. But they could still fly and glide to the ground. Actually they could make it across rooms just not able to get height. My BFA and SC are flighted now. I hope to keep them flighted, however, I do understand circumstances where for safety of the bird or others, they would be better clipped. I hope your bird is ok. I'm sure you will take good care of him until his flight feathers are back.

 

[Kalidasa]

My Kumar was clipped the same way when I got him, a very harsh, raggedy, short ugly clip. He had no idea what flight even was (and he was 4 y/o). I had to carry him everywhere. When he saw my budgies zipping thru the air, I swear I could almost see a light bulb turn on in his head..."so THATS what my wings are for"! He had never seen another bird. But they grew out, he learned to fly...so there can always be a happy ending with these things. It just takes some patience

 

[labell]

Hi Mrs Kay, I can certainly relate to how you are feeling my poor Brady YNA had her wings butchered when I got her. I have never seen such an awful wing clip, they are clipped into the edges of the secondaries! I know it will be a very long time before she will be able to glide to the floor and it scares me that she will fall and hurt herself, she goes down like a stone!

Wing clipping is a personal decision in my book but these types are clips are dangerous. I can only hope our birds molt fast and that they can fully recover from such an extreme clip.

 

[Ducatimom]

I'm sorry for your poor Larry. They'll grow out and you'll feel better and not have to worry so much. Then if you decide to you can clip them how they need to be. Ducati's were clipped when I brought him home. You can still see the clipped feathers but he is still pretty flighted. He'll go to one of the bedrooms across the house then turn and go back to his cage if he doesn't have anywhere that he wants to land.

 

[Kiwibird]

I agree that if a bird has an inclination towards flight, they should be allowed (or at least given the ability to glide safely). In your case, you may want to train your bird to stay and keep soft towels down or move his stand/cage away from the tile floor until he's realized he can't go anywhere. The flight feathers will grow back eventually, but you have to keep him safe for now. We were told when we adopted kiwi that he never learned to fly and I was horrified and very sad for him after having grown up with 3 flighted birds. Even after letting his flight feathers grow in, he still crashed down to earth and was thoroughly traumatized after each training session because he thought we were being mean or hurt him He likes holding on for dear life to our hands and flapping his wings, but when we tried to let him go or to give him a little toss (low over the floor) he acted as though we were trying to murder him. No treat or reward has ever enticed him to "hop" and we couldn't even try that method for teaching flight. A few times he has gotten so scared of something, he's fell off his perch, but despite having the *ability* to glide smoothly to the floor, he still drops like a big rock. He does not ever attempt to fly at all, he has no concept of it.

*I* clip him now (for safety since he does like going outdoors) and take care not to mutilate his wings, but have accepted that while a bird, he's chosen to take after his cute fuzzy brown Australian namesake (the flightless Kiwibird)

 

[Birdman666]

That's a very bad wing clip. They need to be able to glide to the ground.

I keep mine long clipped and semi-flighted. However, mine are recalled.

 

[RavensGryf]

he's chosen to take after his cute fuzzy brown Australian namesake (the flightless Kiwibird)

That's hilariously cute!! Haha, I love that!

 

[RavensGryf]

Wow, from this thread sounds like a lot of people out there who clip wings have no idea what they're doing with the scissors! . Thank goodness my birds who have come clipped were done the right way.

 

[Markmark.123]

Mine can fly and I don't realy mind it he likes to sit on the curtain pole and look around I just have to train him not to fly straight at us to land as sometimes it frightens the s£!t out of ya haha

 

[OneHorseRanch]

Before I knew better I had my Sheldons wings clipped. He came already clipped but I didnt know if it was correct to see him still fly slowly to the ground. The pet shop clipped him and he would hit the ground like a rock. felt just horrible :-( His flight feathers are growing back and I've decided to let him fly for a while and then decide to do partial clips so he can glide instead of crash to the ground.

 

[SilverSage]

My yellow-sided GCC Cache came the same way. Her owners were told to clip her wings and trim her beak every 6 weeks - and they did! She hits the ground like a rock