To clip or not to clip?

[Billy29]

Mango is my yellow shoulder Amazon. I am wondering if I should clip his wings or not? My cockatiel I had as a kid never went outside so I never clipped his wings. My conure had his wings clipped when he was young but got so tame I never bothered with it and he never went outside. I would like to take Mango outdoors and will be buying him a harness just to be safe. Is it a good idea to clip his wings anyway?

 

[Sammy01]

I've alway clipped my birds wings except for my budgies. My boyfriend has a really tamed cockatiel that he took outside and the little guy got spooked by squirrels when he was on a tree and flew away. I think it's best to safe rather than sorry.

 

[SandyBee]

Hi Billy,

Wing clipping is a personal decision based on your life and your amazons health.

A clipped bird can still fly and I never take my amazon out of the house without a carrier(working on harness but he is 35 LOL) I keep my Bosley flighted and he loves it and keeps him healthy, active and stimulated. Often amazons can be perch potatoes and my personal opinion is the more active you can keep them the longer life they will have.

There are precautions that are advisable as your baby learns his flying skills, make sure he knows what windows are and you can use curtains or window decals to make it obvious.Be careful of cooking, do not let your bird have free flight around hot stoves, barbeques and things of that nature.Also be careful of toilets and any standing body of water.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Billy, please have a look at the following threads. This topic has been chewed up and down on so many occasion. It's a VERY controversial topic, someone had said it's as controversial as religion, and I agree.

The decision whether to clip or not will ultimately be yours to make.

http://www.parrotforums.com/conures/35069-flying.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/macaws/35143-wing-clipping.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/indian-ringnecks/34126-flight-issue-clipping.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/new-mem...o-question-clipping-wings-vs-full-flight.html

http://www.parrotforums.com/general-health-care/24599-wing-clipping.html

I could continue to post links, as they are neverending. I will close your thread, as I am confident the above links will help you make up your mind.