Shop clipped wings before Macaw was fuller weaned

[Thebacardigod]

Shop clipped wings before Macaw was fully weaned

So I picked up my 3 month old harlequin today. This is the first bird I have purchased before it was fully weaned but my wife worked in a bird shop so she knows how to handfeed correctly and wean. My only problem is just before I was leaving the store the guy asked me if I wanted to clip his wings, I said yes only because we have a 4 year old who is know for leaving doors to the outside open. After I got home I read that clipping wings before birds are fully weaned is a huge mistake. So my question is, did I just royaly jack up my new baby bird? Is there anything to I can do to try to prevent any future problems? Am I even going to have future problem? gotta love the advise of store owners. I even asked at what age was is ok to do so and he told me it was personal preference. Please help now I'm worried sick that I made I huge screw up due to bad advise.

 

[Thebacardigod]

I forgot to add that he only clipped the first two feathers if that makes a difference.

 

[Thingamagigs]

Its important to allow a bird its first flights so it can fly in the future
I would think they would learn to fly in the future regardless, but its not natural to deny them to fledge in the first place. I assume allowing a bird to fledge makes it a much more balanced and independent bird... and denying it to fledge may have subtle psychological effects as well as physical effects. It would also depend on the individual bird, I would think some would be more adversely affected than others.

Im no expert however. I wouldn't say you have "royal jacked" your new baby

I have always allowed all birds I have handreared to fledge before wing clipping.

 

[Thebacardigod]

The bird has taken his first flights. ok I wish I would have know this before I did it. I feel more at ease now though after finding a thread on it. I was thinking that I may has just affected the weaning process in a huge way, or the emotions or behavior of the bird greatly. I do regret doing it, although I feel I can sleep a little better now tonight knowing that all and all he should be ok. A guess we all live and learn, I just wish i didn't come at the expense of my baby! Thanks for the input. Also, sorry for the bad grammar. I'm typing from an I phone.

 

[newtobirds]

That's a pretty minimal clip! I would suspect that your macaw will still be able to fly to some degree if only 2 feathers are involved. Relax! You are going to be just fine! There's no "RuleBook" for living with parrots! We all just do the best we can, and the best we can do is always growing, evolving, and revising!

Best wishes to you and your new addition!

 

[Thingamagigs]

Yeah, I dont think you have much to be worried about

 

[JerseyWendy]

I was in the same boat when I brought my Niko home, with only 2 differences: A) I had specifically BEGGED the breeder NOT to clip him and B) Niko was 4 months and weaned when I brought him home.

The breeder clipped him after 2 attempts of flying. I was livid! And she cut more than just 2 feathers.

Niko is just fine now. He turned 3 years old last week, and there is NOTHING wrong with him. It did take a while for him to learn how to fly (over a year), and yes, he was clumsy for the longest time, but other than that - he is a healthy, happy boy

 

[Merlee]

I think with a bird's wings clipped you will have a bit more control over his activities. I remember Merlin would fly around the house whenever he was startled or frightened. Whenever this happened, I was afraid he would injure himself. From a safety point of view, I think the shop did you a favor.

 

[Alwese]

Clifford came to me at 7 months old and had a "baby trim" as the wing clip you describe. There is nothing "natural" about owning a parrot in your home. Denying them the right to fly will protect them from winding up in the spaghetti sauce on the stove, hitting the ceiling fan or slamming into the glass sliding door, let alone being released out the door by a 4 year old.

 

[MonicaMc]

It doesn't hurt to know the pros and cons to clipping vs flight... although ideally, birds medium/large birds probably shouldnt be clipped before the 6-12 month age mark so that they can get confidence and learn how to properly fly.

Should you clip your parrot

 

[MikeyTN]

Ok, first of all to the original poster! Clipping the first two feather isn't that bad, they can still take flight. After years of breeding and raising birds. I do have to say it is BEST to let the bird take flight. This is how they learn how to balance themselves and build their wing muscles. I've made a horrible choice 6 or 7 years ago deciding to clip my macaw because I almost lost him. Where we used to live was in a open concept condo and Willie is out all the time and he almost flew away one time but I grabbed him by his feet and I got my first bite out of him. But I endured the bite and got the door shut. But ever since then he chewed up his wings badly after clipping. I knew this might happen and when it did it broke my heart to see what he's done. I even had the vet removing some of them as they were chewed all the way to the skin where the lower shaft would never be able to fall out on their own. She removed quite a few of them but there's still some that's not grown in yet so I need to have a few more plucked out. It was the worst thing I've ever done to Willie is to clip him. We bought a bigger house instead so now we don't have to worry about them flying out so none of my adult birds is clipped here!!!! But sometimes you must do what you must do....

 

[Aims]

The great "To Clip" or "Not to Clip" debate.

I have lost a bird out the door when my 4 yr old opened it, that bird was clipped but he still managed to get outside and the wind took him and as much as he tried to get back he just didn't have the strength to get back to me against the wind.

I have always thought clipping is safest and I even clipped Jax (Ecky) whom I got a good few years after losing above mentioned bird. he kept flying into things and i was a nervous wreck. I do regret doing it now as I think if I persevered he would of been in control in no time. Thankfully he has been going through a moult and he has new feathers coming through on his wings. I won't be clipping him again.

I make sure all doors are closed and locked so no children can open them without my knowledge, when the bird is out. If someone knocks on the door I move him to his cage while the door gets opened and then he is out again.

I have got a harness for him too so he can go outside safely without my worrying about any escapes etc.