To clip or not to clip

[Greenguy]

I have heard many conflicting opinions about getting wings clipped. My wife and I have a Green Cheek Conure named Gus and when we bought him he had his wings clipped already but I'm curious if I need to keep them clipped for his own safety.

 

[LoveMyParrots]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Hope you have a wonderful time here!

This is a very common question asked by lots of parrot owners. And I think it is actually pretty hard to answer without knowing what's the setup of your house and the way you move around in your house. I personally prefer to keep parrots flighted, but I also understand how some people will choose to clip their parrot.

There is lots of pros and cons of wing clipping, both contains safety reasons. Some people say that a flighted parrot can hit itself in the wall, and break its wing, while others say that if a parrot falls down from its cage, a clipped bird will most likely to hurt itself. Clipping a parrot does decrease the chance of escaping, but at the right time and right place, a clipped parrot can still fly and manage to get away. It is true that flying will be better for your parrot in both physical and mentally and will help with some behavior problems, but a flighted parrot might get stuck somewhere in the house. And you get the idea.

So I think it is your personal choice whether to clip or not to clip, because you know your parrot the best.

 

[Kaya]

If you don't want a pet that flies get a dog

 

[Niner10Tango]

This question sometimes can start a heated debate, however, I say it should be up to the guardian of the parrot. Tango was clipped when he came home with me last year and I had him clipped just one time after. I wanted to make sure he was acclimated in our home before I gave him full flight. A friend of mine from college had an un-clipped lovie and unfortunate for her, the little guy flew out the door and she never seen him again.

 

[Boysmom]

clipping is a very personal decision. I keep my birds clipped for safety reasons. Ruby once flew into the glass door and knocked herself out and had a head injury. She recovered well under Vet care, but I was lucky. A good Avian Vet will clip only certain feathers so that the bird can glide but not get upward lift. That allows the bird to glide if they fall instead of crashing and causing injury. Mine all know they can still fly a bit, and they do excersize their wings by flying around the house at times. They dont fly high due to the clip but they get where they want to go.

The question of clipping does incite some heated and/or rude remarks.

 

[ACEPHONECHIC]

as others have stated the choice is yours. The birds do seem to miss out on something if they cannot fly. My Sunconure Zak was clipped when we received him and I will never forget the day the feathers grew back and he took his first flight. Yes if they can fly you have to be very careful with no open doors or windows. They can be very vunerable flightless if a cat or something got near they would not be able to fly out of danger. Also it is dangerous to get complacent with clipping some birds have been known to fly still clipped and there is the risk that if not done regular they could grow back with out you realising.

I would never clip mine as I love to see them fly but we do have to be very careful and have shut doors and windows in the summer.

 

[Sasha2]

I know Im a newbie here but my two cents.
I lost my first green cheek conure because he flew out a door that I didnt know was open,I was devastated, he was looking for me at the time too.. Yet here I am with a second gcc and she is not clipped.Ive had her 3 yrs now.
I did however install a screen door in my hallway, its ugly but its a second barrier so that my GCC can still have her wings.I also spent the extra money to put up screening on my front porch so we can go out there and not worry about anything too. I have sheer curtains so she wont hit the windows.
I think having unclipped means going the extra mile to insure that your baby doesnt get hurt or fly away. If you dont want to bother with those precautions, then clip for sure.Losing a bird because it flys away is just toooo sad.

I do totally agree with having them clipped at first.I think it gives them a chance to acclimate and to be dependent on you so you bond better.But that is purely my opinion.My greenie was clipped at first as were my tiels.

 

[Amelia]

Hi, if you take the bird out of doors, and you are absolutely SURE it is not going to leave you....by all means~don't clip wings. Just the first 4 top feathers...but hey, I am going to save myself alot of heart-ache and clip my IRN's feathers. My sister had a Blue-crowned Pionesus that flew away first time it was brought outside!! =( She never saw it again.

I love my birdy!! If you are not sure how to do it....you may want to take it to a petshop and have them do it...make sure it's a reputable store...(a larger chain) as so not to get someone that is not trained in doing the clipping.

Take it or leave it....
your friend,
Ames

 

[tokensmom]

My GCC came clipped, i had them clipped when he boarded at a local small but reputable pet shop. Not sure which ones they clipped, but it wasnt long and Token was all over the house. I worry because I have a 6 yr old daughter, and a boyfriend who I cant count on to be as diligent as I am with doors, fans, toilet seats, etc. I let him fly for a week or 2 before getting a clip at the vet (which may have clipped more than i like).
You just have to do what feels right for you. I know that if someone in my family let the bird out, i would beat myself up for not clipping. OH...my biggest fear....the gas stove.
Good luck on your decision, and don't mind the extreme opinions you may get...this subject is always touchy.

 

[Greenguy]

My wife and I had a Pineapple Green Cheek, she has since died while we were on a trip, friend forgot to feed her. We were heartbroken... Anyway, Annie didn't have her wings clipped, she flew with them clipped anyway, but she got out one day and was found 2 hours later terrorizing a cat behind a sliding glass door. Luckily we found her but I thought I would ask because of the varied opinions on it.

I know some people consider it animal abuse to NOT clip wings, some people think its abuse to clip...

 

[Annageckos]

Hi, if you take the bird out of doors, and you are absolutely SURE it is not going to leave you....by all means~don't clip wings. Just the first 4 top feathers...but hey, I am going to save myself alot of heart-ache and clip my IRN's feathers. My sister had a Blue-crowned Pionesus that flew away first time it was brought outside!! =( She never saw it again.

I love my birdy!! If you are not sure how to do it....you may want to take it to a petshop and have them do it...make sure it's a reputable store...(a larger chain) as so not to get someone that is not trained in doing the clipping.

Take it or leave it....
your friend,
Ames

Just wanted to reply to this, I am not picking on you at all. Just a couple of points. Even a clipped bird can fly away from you outside. A little wind can give a lot of lift. Clipped or not I would not take a bird outside without a harness on it. Unless it was trained. For the pet shop clipping their wings, a large chain does not equal reputable. In my experience it is usually the opposite. I use to work at a small pet shop and I did the clipping. I was not trained but I have a ton of experience. If you are going to have someone else clip your birds wings talk to them first and ask questions. Make sure you are comfortable with them. Otherwise clipping is a personal choice. Ziva's wings were clipped when she first came here, and I am glad they were. I feel that it helped in us getting to know each other. Now she is flighted. The door is closed to her room when she is out, and when we go outside she has a harness.

Also, when I had my parakeets we use to let them fly a few times a week. My mom had put up blankets in the doorways to the kitchen and upstairs to keep the birds in the living room area.

 

[Kaya]

I have never clipped any of my birds wings and i never will and they are the happiest and healthiest guys i have seen. They allways look much more healthy than the clipped birds i see, but this could also be because i feed them really well. The only reason i can see that anyone would clip a bird is to take it outside, but that just means they are too lazy to harness train it. ( allthough you should probaby teach your bird to wear a harness even if it is clipped). We have often accidentally left doors partially open but our birds dont care becuase we take them outside often enough that its not anyhing special. They are also all recall trained so everytime they have flown off (i take them out without harnesses sometimes) they just fly back

I got a green cheek conure 2 days ago and hes allready flying back to me instantly as soon as i recall him, so its not hard to teach. Also, we have cats so i think that clipping would be dangerous. We leave our birds and cats out together all day and we have never had any problems at all.

 

[Lovelyloribeth]

To be safe I clip mine. Only during the warm months tho because I have play stands and outdoor cages for summer days. In the winter they fly in the house. But only when no ones going to be coming in and out. Is hate for them to fly off. They don't know how to survive in the wild. IMO.

 

[MonicaMc]

I love the story of a person who kept their bird clipped, until they lost their bird outside. Yes, the bird was still clipped! After that, they decided to never clip again!

I find that rather amusing, since most people experience the opposite.




There are pros and cons to each side. Personally, I think birds should be flighted. If you didn't want an animal that could fly, you shouldn't have gotten a parrot!



I do understand why many people clip, but most of the time, the reasons are not valid.

Safety - a bird who can't fly far is less likely to fly into things or up high. Something to keep in mind, a clipped bird can't escape from a predator, inside or outside. A clipped parrot can't fly out of a trash can or a toilet. Flighted birds can. If a clipped bird happens to escape outside and gets lost, they are in more danger than a flighted parrot. That's a bit of a scary thought, when you think about it. A parrot that is used to flying is more likely to fly down from a high spot than a clipped parrot. Why? Because of experience! Birds can also be afraid of heights and "freeze up" once they get up high.

Behavior - bird becomes unmanageable when flighted. It's called training! Bird flies out of your reach? Teach the bird to fly back to you. Bird has an attitude? Go back to training the basics, minus the clipping part. Clipping a parrot doesn't solve the problem, it merely hides it. The problem is often a lack of proper training.



Potential dangers of clipping? Mmm.... lets see... broken legs, broken keel bone, broken beak...

Potential dangers of flight? Why say them, everyone knows them, but hardly anyone thinks about the dangers of clipping.


Weird...




Here's a good article about clipping vs flight. Perhaps it may help you in your decision.

Should you clip your parrot