Too young for clipped wings?

[ept1976]

My 3mo CAG, Teo, is an absolute delight! Affectionate, curious, beautiful... it is wonderful having him around! He's been home for two days and is eating well and FLYING.

My GCC was 3yo when I got her and my RB2 was almost 2yo... I've gotten their wings clipped regularly. I took the CAG for is initial vet visit and had planned on getting his wings clipped while he was there, but the vet said I had to wait until he is six months old, that doing so at such a young age could traumatize the bird. I'm no vet, so I will take her word for it. Still, I thought I would ask the forum. While Teo doesn't take flight often, it is heart breaking to see him fly into windows, walls, etc. Would I be a bad bird owner if I got his wings clipped anyway?

Thanks for any thoughts you may have. This forum is outstanding!

 

[Safira]

You could clip the first few flight feathers, that way he could still 'fly' but not as far. It's recommended in younger parrots to let them learn how to fly and land as it helps their mental development. As you clip, you start clipping just the first few feathers so they figure out how to glide down instead of dropping like a rock.

 

[willist]

I've clipped all my bird's wings right after their first flight. All of them were fine after being clipped. Personally I wouldn't wait, flying into windows ceiling fans or out the front door are not good things.

 

[PortaPerch]

Seems like the majority of lost birds advertised are Greys and cockatiels.

 

[KatherineI]

I agree with Safira. Do the first couple of feathers, but not a full clipping.

My Goffin was quite obviously clipped early; even though her clipped wings would give her the "glide", she obviously never learned how to do that. Flying is a learned behavior, despite it being what they naturally do. Sugar was never given the opportunity, it seems, to even learn how to glide down and when she does "fly", it startles the bejesus out of her every single time! So while I agree that clipping is important for birds that are housepets (as pretty much all of the ones here are) for their own safety, I can see the damage that can happen if they're clipped too early or clipped wrong. But I do think clipping is a good preventative safety measure.

 

[mtdoramike]

I guess everyone has their own ideas. But to me, I hate to clip a birds feathers once they take to flying. It's seems to break their spirit. So to me, I feel clipping at a younger age is best for me.

 

[cdog]

I wouldn't clip either. I don't know why everybody says their birds fly into windows and walls and fans, my birds did it one time and learned where everything is and haven't crashed since. I just put my birds away if I have to open the door for a minute and let them back out when I'm done with what I'm doing. If you insist on clipping then you should wait until he has mastered flight and landing and doesn't hit anything while flying.

 

[oled]

I am using the word trimming wing, not clip. The reason is that I can trim more or less depending on ages and purpos. My only purpos is giving Ville the most fredom as possible and minimize the riskt of him flying away. I am training him for a Harness but he is not ready yet. On time flying into a windows is one time to musch.

 

[KatherineI]

I wouldn't clip either. I don't know why everybody says their birds fly into windows and walls and fans, my birds did it one time and learned where everything is and haven't crashed since. I just put my birds away if I have to open the door for a minute and let them back out when I'm done with what I'm doing. If you insist on clipping then you should wait until he has mastered flight and landing and doesn't hit anything while flying.

1. Easier said than done to "put them away if I have to open the door for a minute". Loki does NOT like to be put away and has often bitten to hurt specifically because he was being out away. Also, when you live with multiple people, doors unexpectedly open. Someone drops something and it startles the bird and they take off.

2. It's not that the birds might fly into a window or a ceiling fan. Look at what happened to Furbie. A door shut on him and broke his neck because he attempted to fly into another room and the other person closing the door was unaware.

3. Always expect the unexpected. Look at Maui. Never made any indication prior to him being startled and taking off.

4. Accidents happen. Clipping (or trimming) is a safety precaution, not an absolute. I've yet to meet an Avian Vet who disapproves of clipping.

 

[IcyWolf]

I wait until my babies are all flying fairly well before I will give them what I call a baby trim. Some are quite skilled at flying the first day, others take some time before they are flying well. I like to make sure they know how to not only fly but turn while they are flying and land on a perch or finger without over or undershooting it. Once they have the fundamentals of flying down, if they are going to get clipped(I try to keep them flighted if possible) I will give them a baby clip, only clipping 2 or 3 feathers on each wing. They can still fly and gain a bit of height but they can't fly nearly as high as before the trim.

 

[cdog]

When I say fly into a window or wall I mean they just bump it, not hard enough to fall or anything. If you let your birds out all day I could see clipping it just in case of a door opening but my young gcc's come out at specific times of the day when everyone is in the house and the doors are locked so no one can open them. Then my breeding pair live in my room where no one but me goes in there without permission and the door doesn't ramdomly open, plus they don't venture from the top of the cage.

 

[IcyWolf]

I also wanted to add that in the two rooms where our birds are i put thick blankets on the walls, I noticed that when the babies would start flying they would fly right into the center of the walls and then fall, by putting the blankets up it not only pads the walls but gives them something to grab on to.

 

[cdog]

Now see, my babies never flew straight at a wall, they flew next to it and clipped it while turning so they never fell.

 

[KatherineI]

and this http://www.parrotforums.com/cockatoos/18860-escape.html#post150921 is another reason for why I feel it's important to clip wings.

 

[cyrusbrian]

Yeah its too young