Question for those that DON'T clip (and everyone else can chime in too :)

[strudel]

I don't think she has been properly clipped. The woman I adopted her from said it was too short. I've put her stand up on a bookcase, it's quite (maybe too) high.

 

[MonicaMc]

What about windows? Not opened windows, but hitting the windows. Maui broke most of his baby feathers off, because he was clipped - poor guy drops off his cage like a rock. Finally has 3 tail feathers and flight feather are slowly coming in. He doesn't hit the ground as hard any more. I don't want to clip feather but our house is a fish bowl house, all windows.

Check out this video....


[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NzyZGdMp9kM]Parrot Training - Indoor Free Flying - DUCK!! Pet Parrot Free flight Skills and Myths - YouTube[/ame]

My galah is newly adopted and her wings are clipped quite short. I don't really understand what that means for her ability to glide or not fall and hurt herself. When I pick her up, she mostly just sits there, a couple of times she's had a fright and jumped off and there does seem to be an element of "splat" rather than a graceful gliding descent to the ground, so I gather that her abilities are significantly affected. She climbs around her cage.

When I carry her about, am I meant to be holding onto her foot or anything to prevent her jumping off? When we go past something I think might make her jump, I put my hand on her back, but I recently read that you shouldn't touch them on their back because they'll look at you as a mating partner.

Can she hurt herself if she jumps off a high perch/stand? I have a couple of stands and would like to have her inside "hanging out" on one/them, but this will be a problem if she's likely to try to get down and come across to me. At the moment, I'm only having her with me inside when she has my full attention and she's on my lap or right with me/next to me, but if we can adapt to where she can sit/play on her stand while I can do other things in the same room that would be good, but not if she could get hurt. Suggestions as to how to achieve this? How high can a stand be so a clipped bird doesn't fall down and hurt herself? Maybe I can put it low until she gets some flying feathers back. Does she know she can't fly so she won't try unless startled? I've got a lot to learn about everything, but especially about flying.

There are pros and cons to both sides. This article kind of goes over both.

Should you clip your parrot


Yes, she could hurt herself if she was flighted. Yes, she could also hurt herself being clipped. Flighted parrots can control *where* they fly. From what I've noticed, clipped parrots do not have that same kind of control. They can only go forward. Unless they are a master flyer (as is the case with agile fliers like cockatiels and budgies on occasion), it's rather difficult to make turns while clipped.

I've noticed this with Jayde, my most recently clipped bird. As she's been growing out her flights, she's been able to gain more control of how she flies. She used to hit the floor hard because she couldn't break her landing. She couldn't even glide! Just a hard *thump* on the floor. As she gained her flights, she could then glide... Then she could fly straight with *some* upward movement. Now, she's at the point that she can fly upwards and can make turns. It's still difficult for her to do this, since she's still growing out her flights. Well, I've had her for over 4 months now and she's been molting for almost that entire time!

I was starting to think she wasn't going to molt out any more of her clipped primaries, except yesterday she lost another clipped flight feather! She lost 4 secondary flights in one day and only recently has really begun to lose her contour (body) feathers. She's already lost several, but if I didn't know any better, I'd think she was plucking! Pile of tiny feathers on the bottom of her cage!


If you want, and your galah is ok with it, you can hold their feet down. I don't, and I don't believe most owners do either... but I do know some owners who do.

 

[ShellyBorg]

When moving my flighted birds around and I want them to stay with me I will put my thumb over there toes.

 

[mhegedus]

My Eclectus is clipped but I'm scared to let his wings grow out becuase I cook alot, and his cage is pretty close to kitchen (he could easily fly into a pot of hot water). I know I could put him in the cage while cooking, but I also now how easily that would be to forget.... I'm not sure....

 

[camo]

My Eclectus is clipped but I'm scared to let his wings grow out becuase I cook alot, and his cage is pretty close to kitchen (he could easily fly into a pot of hot water). I know I could put him in the cage while cooking, but I also now how easily that would be to forget.... I'm not sure....

This is a very old thread so I am not familiar with what answers have previously been given, but this is my experience (as someone who has chosen not to clip).

I have a male (Gizmo), and female (Pebbles). Gizmo has always flown and in my opinion is a rediculously skilled flyer (given he has not had the opportunity to fly outdoors). Pebbles is older and has clearly had little flight opportunity before we got her. She has full wings, but is rather clumsy, although she is improving on a steady curve over the last year. Gizmo can and will fly through a barely open door, he can hover, suddenly climb height, dive, make corrections quickly (often he comes without warning and can correct his landing if we turn around, duck, etc.). Basically he does not end up anywhere during flight unless he decides that is where he wants to be.

You are right to be concerned about open pots as this is a real concern, but personally I am far more concerned about Pebbles having an accident like this than Gizmo.

With all that said, I have never had a bird who is clipped so can't give both sides of the story

 

[Anansi]

Like Cameron, both of my ekkies are flighted. Jolly has never been clipped, and it shows in his flying skills. Maya never got the chance to fledge, and as such is a very reluctant flier. (Though she isn't a bad flier, considering. She's no Jolly, but she can bank a mean turn in those rare occasions when she is spooked into flying.)

Your concerns about the cooking pot are valid ones. What I have had to do is mentally train myself, same as I did in terms of the ceiling fans. I force myself, even when I "know" that they are in their cages, to visually confirm that fact before boiling any water or anything else on the stove top. And EVERY time I go to take them out of their cages, I force myself to look at the stove and every ceiling fan to make sure they are off. I've made such a point of this that now it has become second nature to me.

This also holds true for making sure the bathrooms are always closed and such. Point being you can teach them about windows and mirrors, and you can teach them about all of the bends, twists and turns in your home, but the responsibility of keeping them safe from the dangers in your home falls on you and the other members of your household alone.

It is so worth the effort, though. There's nothing like the joy Jolly gets out of making laps around the interior of my home. Just a green blur of exuberance and joy!

The video above posted by MonicaMc is definitely my favorite on the subject.

 

[GaleriaGila]

Fun thread!

I love how His Patagonianness flies around his kingdom.

I've posted this before, but for newer folks... this is how I was taught to teach the Rickeybird about windows and mirrors, and walls and doors, for that matter...

Recommended to me in the early days... "wall and window training"... taking the bird around to walls and windows, and encouraging them to tap or at least experience the situation, so they can see that walls are WALLS and windows are HARD AIR. Has worked for us.
Demonstration... it's also a cute "trick".
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF1lyE72pOs"]Scene 4 - Hotel Rickeybird - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Anansi]

Yup! That's EXactly how I do it with my birds, Abigail! Thanks for posting that video.

 

[GaleriaGila]

My pleasure!