wing clipping

[djdancer]

Hello. I have 3 conures. A Jenday, Sun and Fancy Green Cheek. My Jenday is flighted (only because he's 20 and has never had a wing clipped prior to coming to us). The Sun has his wings clipped by us and doesn't fly but rather commits Dewicide (his name is Dewey). He throws himself off wherever he is and crash lands. We recently took in a 6 month old baby Green Cheek and we aren't sure if he's ever had his wings clipped but he doesn't fly but hovers on his way down. Does anyone know if this is in the way he was clipped if he even was clipped?

If there is a way where they can't fly but can hover down then I'd like to clip the Sun the same way. I met a man recently who cut his birds tale so he can't fly upward. The guy has owned the bird for more than 10 years and takes him everywhere on his shoulder. Even bike riding. The man was also an airplane pilot and knew that clipping the tail would mean that the bird wouldn't be able to fly upward. I'd like to hear how everyone else is clipping. I don't want them flighted because the kids could let them out unknowingly. Also I believe they should be trained to do the simplist things first (like stepping up when asked to) to earn their wings.

 

[psittac]

Properly clipped wings will allow a bird to glide to the ground, take just the long flight feathers.

Petrie has her flight feathers grown in and a couple times she has got spooked, circled the room and landed on my shoulder. Previously it was a gradual glide to the ground then as her feathers would grow in she would start to level out and slowly gain altitude until clipped again.

I live by myself but everyone in my family has a key to my house so I need to trim her feathers again, it's just so hard to do because I feel like i'm hurting her, not to mention she bites as hard as possible.

But yes properly clipped flight feathers would help your sun glide.

 

[MikeyTN]

If they were given a light clip they can hover around just fine. You've got to teach the kids not to let them go outside with the birds cause as long as they can hover, they will fly away. Their tails are mainly for balancing and they can still take off even without their tail. To clip or not is a individual choice! Must put this in here as it can get an uproar to discuss it....I personally don't agree with clipping one's tail due to them needing it for balance.

 

[psittac]

oh another thought, one time years ago I accidently sat on my birds tail and yanked all the feathers out. She was crawling around inside my shirt and it was just one of those moments, I felt really bad.

After I stopped feeling bad she looked a little cute with her rounded butt lol. But I guess my point here is that she couldn't keep herself on my shoulder or perchs very well because she was tipping all over the place. Tails aren't just used for flight but daily balance.

 

[djdancer]

The kids don't take the birds outside. It when the kids themselves come in and out with doors opening and closing. They never think of the birds no matter how many times you tell them. I clip the first 3 feathers near the head. I learned from watching a youtube video but I'm thinking that there is another way to cut them because the other bird clearly hovers and the sun never did.

On another note... The bird that rides on the guys shoulder doesn't have a tail and stays on his shoulder at around 40mph or better. It must have taken a lot of practice especially without the tail. They really are cute without the tale but I'm not sure I'd want to do that.

 

[ShellyBorg]

You can hang a beaded curtain in front of your outside doors. That stops flying escapes as they see it as a solid.

 

[MonicaMc]

Front door bird security! - a set on Flickr

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d5Jx-dvux0]Bird-proofing the front door - YouTube[/ame]

Definitely ways to try and 'bird safe' a home...

 

[khaiqha]

Birds can definitely fly without their tail feathers. My roommate's cockatiel had all its tail feathers yanked out accidentally and it could very much fly.

 

[psittac]

How reliable is that bird proofing? I am very interested and if petrie is never flighted i am still doing that for that one off chance. I may get a pair of budgies and let them fly around if it works.

 

[SandyBee]

Hanging a curtain is very effective, my amazon is flighted and when we cook we block off the kitchen with a curtain. My parents have a cockatiel that's flighted and they use a hanging curtain to keep it in the living room.

 

[MonicaMc]

Only effective if the bird doesn't learn to crawl under or around the curtains. They cannot, however, fly through them! In that sense alone, it's more effective than nothing!

Another option is to get a catch entrance to an aviary...
Suncatcher Bird Cages : Single Safety Fly Catch large aviary, outdoor aviary, outdoor bird cage

Actually heard of someone who used one of those on her front door... and it was set up in such a way that anyone who wanted entrance to the house had to walk into the cage and shut the door to the cage before they were able to get to the front door.



I've also seen the opposite done at warehouses... there are doors on the outside of the warehouse where truckers can step into the warehouse... and from there, they step into a cage. If this cage has a door, it can only be opened from the other side or with a key. This was not only to keep the truck drivers safe from any dangers within the warehouse, but also to keep the workers safe from the truck drivers (if there was ever a need for them to be safe from them?)

 

[SandyBee]

True, a determined bird left to it's own devices would find a way.
But what typically happens at least with my amazon because the curtain is only hung when we don't want him to have access to the kitchen is he flies and when he gets close to the curtain U turns back. LOL