Thoughts on Flighted birds

[Stacye and Tiki]

So I got Tiki yesterday and I was wondering what everyone's thoughts on flighted birds are. Let me tell you what she's like currently.

I'm keeping her cage open pretty much all the time until I go to sleep. Any time I'm nearby she just flies to me and crawls up my arm to burrow in my hair behind my pony tail. I can't get her to stay put long enough to work on anything because she's constantly flying up to cuddle in my hair.

Do you guys think that a period of clipping her feathers would be ok? I don't want to do anything that would harm her but I'd like to be able to work with her on some things and I have very little control with her constanly flying up to my shoulder lol.... Let me know what I should do! Thank you.

Stacye:63: and Tiki

 

[Auggie's Dad]

There are MANY discussion on clipping here that you can check out. The pros and cons are pretty well listed there. But for this situation I can't see clipping as a good option. If you clip her wings her motivation wont change only her ability, so rather than flying to you she would most likely scream until you picked her up.

If you are doing something that she can't be involved in then closing the door to a room or to the cage would have the same effect as clipping, except it wouldn't be permanent.

Also you could teach her to play on her own or stay down at certain times.

Clipping the wings for this purpose seems a bit like surgically removing a dogs bladder in order to avoid accidents rather than potty training them.

 

[TexDot33]

this is one of those personal choices that has very "devout" people who fall on both sides. It is also one of those polarizing topics that creates very heated debates.

Clipping a birds flight feathers will change their attitude, will make it easier for you to train them, keep your parrots safer from household dangers, and may help with YOUR general well being (they won't drive you nuts by flying to you ... for the record, both of my conures find the spot behind my wife's pony tail very comfortable as well).

We have left both Hamlet and Maki partially flighted - Hamlet has two primaries and Maki has one ... this allows for SOME flight, but does not allow for a lot of speed to be gained, and they have to work REALLY hard to gain any lift ... so, should they startle and fly off of their perches they aren't going to really hurt themselves ...

We made the decision to clip like this because when we first got Hamlet she had NO flight feathers and she'd try to fly from the top of her cage and she'd fall right to the ground and hit the carpet and let out this little squeak that sounded like a doggy chew toy ... it was very sad.

So, for a period of time for training, clipping Tiki's wings is a recommended idea ...

 

[TexDot33]

... But for this situation I can't see clipping as a good option...

*GASP* We disagree on this one .... wow, that's a first. *LOL*

 

[Spiritbird]

Like may topics in the world of parrots this is one if them. I like your idea of a partial wing clip Tex. With this clip can they get height at all?

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Oh I don't think there's anything wrong with clipping - not at all. I just wasn't expecting it to be a solution for this particular problem. I'd love to be proven wrong on this.

 

[TexDot33]

SB ... they have to work REALLY HARD to get height ... and they are really working when they land they are nicely winded ...

AD - see I've always though that if you need to train that you clip wings that way the birds can fly away and can learn what you are trying to teach them ... I always thought this was SOP ...

 

[Riley's mom]

Hello! Like everyone has said, there are alot of different opionions on clipping. I keep mine clipped for 2 reasons. #1 - We take our birds out alot, (restaurants, craft shows, etc) obviously, I don't want them to get spooked and fly. #2 - I also do avian rescue and get calls constantly from people who have either found birds or from people who had unclipped birds that accidentally got out. But because we do wildlife rescue and rehab, we get calls from people whose unclipped birds got out and up in trees but want us to come and get them out. Needless to say, they are going to have to climb the trees themselves. It's a personal choice. Good luck.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Perhaps it's my history as a trainer. If there is a behavioral problem I look to behavioral solutions. They certainly exist. But if clipping will do the trick that could be a lot easier.

Auggie was clipped when I got him, but I've never re-clipped; he's now fully flighted. You can definitely train a fully flighted bird. It may very well be easier when they're clipped, but if they're motivated to participate (which should be the goal of training anyway) then they wouldn't fly away.

 

[Riley's mom]

In our situation, when we take them out, we don't worry about them getting the urge to fly, it's people or other animals coming up behind us and spooking them. Of course, if Riley is eating, nothing spooks him. We (justwingingit and I) don't really "train" our birds. And with us, having them clipped eases our minds, especially since we both live in areas that are highly populated with birds of prey, that if they are clipped, they won't accidentally get out the doors while they are out of their cages.
Justwingingit has already had a incident with a green wing, which prayers, luck and 3 hours later, everything turned out alright. It's made both of us pretty paranoid and neurotic about keeping the wings clipped.

 

[Stacye and Tiki]

Thanks everyone for your responses. For now I've chosen to try and teach her that the shoulder is a privledge not a right. Hopefully with some work we'll all be happy.

We'll see how it goes and work from there

 

[DustyDusky]

Dusty's winds are clipped. It makes it easier for me to handle him and i feel safer with them clipped. On of the reasons i keep Dusty's wings clipped are because he tries to befriend the other animals I have in my house. When his wings start coming back in he flies to my cats...Which can cause a problem...Specially being that one of my three cats thinks Dusty as food... (i am constantly chasing him away from Dusty's cage...) For this reason I keep Dusty's wings clipped. When he is out of his cage I either have him with me or on his play stand with the cat blockaded away. though when Dusty's wings are back he gets past these blockades...I also bring Dusty outside during the summer when the weather is nice. He loves being outdoors and although I have a harness on him I feel better knowing he can't fly off.

I Do agree with AD. There is no true answer as to which is better. Your bird still can be trained with or without flight.

I guess is goes more with your bird's environment. What could be around to harm him if he could fly or if he couldn't fly.

 

[Stacye and Tiki]

Well I have a cat with no claws that is semi-interested in Tiki but I think she's too fat to actually exert the effort that would be required to catch Tiki (she's a 22 lb ragdoll) and a Cocker spaniel that would love NOTHING more then to play with Tiki.

So because my house is a jungle and because she's already learning things so quickly (God bless the PetCare staff at the PetSmart I got her from for being so dilligent in handling her daily) I'm leaving her flighted. She's already learning not to just go to my neck and I just started telling her "No shoulder" and putting my hand in front of her as she climbed my arm this morning. She's currently perched on my wrist while I'm typing and I just snapped a pic to attatch.

Cheers everyone!

 

[DustyDusky]

I work at Petsmart! I worked Petcare for three years and now i am in grooming. I am also very close to being a licensed Vet Tech.

Tiki is adorable!

 

[BirdMa]

She's a beauty!!!

 

[HRH Di]

Clipping or not is definitely a personal choice for the bird owner...kind of like declawing a cat. My Alexandrine is clipped and he wants to fly so bad that we're going to give him the opportunity when he gets new flight feathers. And our new macaw is fully-flighted. Our breeder said that in most situations, a fully-flighted bird in a home with quadrapeds alows for the bird to get away from a dog or cat in most cases that a non-flighted bird would be cornered.

If having non- or partially-flighted bird makes for a less stressful and safer enviroment over all, it can only be a good thing, right?

 

[Allan Gibbs]

The Cons.
I clipped my Sun Conure's wings on Saturday morning has he hasn't been the same since. Prior to the clipping, if I left his cage door open, he'd come out and sit on the top. Now, he just stays in the cage and will try to bite if you try to ake him out. We can get him out with a towel and once out, he won't bite but he's having trouble staying perched on one or two fingers.

The Pros.
On the plus side, he does get out (and outside) more often and spends more time with the family on the table, computer, etc. Prior to clipping, he'd only go where he felt like going.

If/when, I have to do it again, I probably will not clips his wings and have him were a flight suit when needed.