Never get complacent!

[caliopi]

Yesterday my daughter and I went shopping and hubby stayed home to watch football and clean Puffins cage. We arrived home a few hours later and hubby said " you won't believe what happened come outside I want to show you something".

We went out to the front of the house and my husband explained how he had been cleaning Puffs cage and was looking for some paper ( we keep shredded paper from work) and he had gone to get a bag from his car and had Puffin on his arm.As he opened the car door Puffin flew off.....now his wings had been clipped several months ago so usually when he takes off he just glides down to the ground but not this time.....UP...Up........AWAY! Over the trees......over the roofs of several houses and hubby is dying!!!!

Just as suddenly he did a complete circuit of the court we live in and then landed at hubby's feet! He grabbed him and took him inside.......rang the vet and booked him in for a wing clip today!

I am so glad I wasn't home as I would have had a heart attack! Hubby just relived it over and over and still keeps saying how close we came to losing him. We are careful about getting his wings clipped and Puffin has never flown like that in the house so we never thought him capable of being able to do it, we got complacent and nearly lost him.

 

[MollyGreenCheeks]

I am so glad it ended happily and that you so much for sharing this. It always scares me when people have their birds, that they love so much, outside without a harness or a good wing clipping. I have heard people say so many times "I trust my parrot not to fly off". I know they would be devastated to lose their baby! Thanks again for sharing!

 

[FutureDVM]

Oh my goodness! My heart was racing just reading this! I'm so glad everything turned out okay.

 

[azdesertrhino]

Very glad it turned out for the positive and thank you for sharing!!

We've tried to "Harness Train" Mac, our B&G Macaw. He will have no part of it. We are still working on that aspect.

We will not take him outside without his travel cage. It would be much easier to take the path of least resistance and assume he would not fly off. Unfortunately it only takes one situation and the baby is gone.

 

[henpecked]

Glad it worked out and he's safe. I would learn to clip his wings yourself. It's so easy and something you could do. If your carrying your fid around around ,learn what to look for in his wings and do it yourself. Most Vets are so set in their ways that they do it their way and that's the only way it should be done. Example, took in a rescue zon who had some issues,so while paying for a exam that included clipping i said sure. I said cut the 4 outer primarys and watched as he started cto cut the 5th one, Woah i said,he says "i always cut 6 or 7 " . Learn to do it yourself and when it's needed,you won.t have to wait for a vet, who'll cut them like he wants instead of how you want. I would strongly advise anyone who has a clipped bird to learn how to do it yourself and be solely responsible. Would you like me to make a video and show you how to do it right ?

 

[azdesertrhino]

Glad it worked out and he's safe. I would learn to clip his wings yourself. It's so easy and something you could do. If your carrying your fid around around ,learn what to look for in his wings and do it yourself. Most Vets are so set in their ways that they do it their way and that's the only way it should be done. Example, took in a rescue zon who had some issues,so while paying for a exam that included clipping i said sure. I said cut the 4 outer primarys and watched as he started cto cut the 5th one, Woah i said,he says "i always cut 6 or 7 " . Learn to do it yourself and when it's needed,you won.t have to wait for a vet, who'll cut them like he wants instead of how you want. I would strongly advise anyone who has a clipped bird to learn how to do it yourself and be solely responsible. Would you like me to make a video and show you how to do it right ?

We had Mac in to a "Wing clipping" at the AVIAN Vet's some time ago. It was so stressful on him I've shied away from any visits at all.

Not an excellent scenario but, unfortunately, I do not put a lot of faith in some folks I've seen handling our bird. The way Mac was handled by
the "Avian" assistant caused a lot of the stress, IMO!!

 

[lene1949]

We had Mac in to a "Wing clipping" at the AVIAN Vet's some time ago. It was so stressful on him I've shied away from any visits at all.

Not an excellent scenario but, unfortunately, I do not put a lot of faith in some folks.

I've revised this post 4 times trying to word it properly as to not offend anyone. I'll try again in the near future!!

It's very difficult, if english isn't your first language... I often don't know if my posts were impolite or even rude, until I read the responses...

 

[caliopi]

Thanks everyone. Henpecked I would love to be able to clip the wings myself if for no other reason to save the stress on Puff having a stranger do it. A video would be awesome!

Took him to the vet this afternoon and he is not happy but I certainly feel better!

 

[henpecked]

I'm "out of town" right now but when i get home i'll see what we can do.

 

[mtdoramike]

This is one of the few times that I would hate to wing clip a bird. He got out and flew away only to return quickly to your husband. I would lean more towards harness training or if you have a large enclosed area, teach him to fly and return to you.

 

[luvmytooo]

It's a scary , scary situation , actually , the worst ever IMO.
Even when clipped , if something frightens them and their adrenalin is high, even clipped wings can take them up into a tree or over a house or two.

I'm on the fence about my two Cockatoos though....I like them to fly in the house, they are in great physical shape from it...and , if they had to get away from something that wants to harm them , they can . But , they can also be lost if they get out a door or window.

My Macaws will be clipped always , but I still have that want of them being in great physical shape from flying.....idk.

I have gotten the harness on the baby so far and Stella is a work in progress , she will let me eventually Im sure.

 

[caliopi]

That is exactly what the vet said today about being careful. I am torn too as I keep wondering if Puffin enjoyed being able to fly and I am being selfish having him clipped. I was wondering if at age 3 it is too late to try and use a harness?

 

[luvmytooo]

That is exactly what the vet said today about being careful. I am torn too as I keep wondering if Puffin enjoyed being able to fly and I am being selfish having him clipped. I was wondering if at age 3 it is too late to try and use a harness?

If you have a good relationship with Puffin , meaning he trusts you and you can handle him all over , why not give the harness a try ?
The good that will come out of it will be you can keep him flighted and the only other outcome will be he won't like it. So , nothing to lose , right
Good luck

 

[MaraWentz]

With wings clipped they can fly 30 or 35ft if wanted. There's no garuntee and if they only flew 15 ft they could fly tree to tree and house to house. I suggest training him to fly like Mike said under the knowledge that at any point your bird can fly away- clipped or not. ym grandmothe always clips her birds wings and she used to put them on perches outside since they were clipped until her African Grey took off when startled and was gone for 4-5 days. After that they are prisoners to her house