Wing clipping?

[BirdGeeks]

I have a question regarding wing clipping. My Sun Conure's wings are clipped as he is not a safe flyer (when startled he freaks and smacks into things, windows, ect.). I was wondering what peoples opinions are on wing clipping and if I should do it for my Cockatoo. Pita cant be out when my mother is as she flies at my mother (Sometimes because she wants cuddles and others because shes an angry chicken). This freaks my mom out of course as Pita flies very well and is very fast when she wants to be. So I dont have Pita out when my mother is in the room. So my question is should I clip Pitas wings or just make more of an effort to have her out where my mom is not. Please note I do have her out a ton as my mom does spend alot of time in her room (with door closed). I just think that wing clipping would help my mother want to more interact with Pita, outside of the cage. I forgot to add that Tango is only lightly clipped. He can still do a lap around the room (with effort) he just prefers to have me help him around with the light clip.

 

[Scott]

Very hard choice! Goffins are superb fliers in captivity and often enjoy "dive bombing" heads. Pita clearly enjoys her freedom and it would be a shame to restrict.

Has your mom indicated a willingness to interact and make friends with Pita? Having her join the discussion will help you decide whether keeping them separate and preserving Pita's freedom is best.

 

[BirdGeeks]

Very hard choice! Goffins are superb fliers in captivity and often enjoy "dive bombing" heads. Pita clearly enjoys her freedom and it would be a shame to restrict.

Has your mom indicated a willingness to interact and make friends with Pita? Having her join the discussion will help you decide whether keeping them separate and preserving Pita's freedom is best.

She does talk to Pita and try to pet her when she is in the cage, but awhile back Pita bit her on the face while sitting on her shoulder, and that combined with the dive bombing was just too much I think. She still likes her she just prefers not to be in the room when she is "free". Pita actually does not seem to like flying very much and prefers to be on me or sitting on an object. She likes me to pick her up and move her and has to be very motivated to actually fly somewhere.

 

[EllenD]

I understand the issue you have with your mom and wanting her to become more-involved with your birds, and thinking that if they can't fly at her that she might be more willing to interact with them more often....And I will always say that whether or not you keep your bird's wings clipped is a personal decision that only their owners can make for themselves....THAT BEING SAID:

It's important that in addition to trying to do what is best for your mother, you also have to take into account what is best for your birds overall...And the fact of the matter is that allowing your pet parrots/birds to be fully-flighted and allowing them to get at least some flying-time each and every day in a safe, controlled environment, even if it's just around a room with a closed-door, is what is BY-FAR the healthiest for your birds, both to their physical/medical health, as well as to their psychological health. And if you do your scientific research, you'll find several studies with outcomes that indicate that pet/captive parrots who are kept fully-flighted and allowed to get some flying-time each day live much longer than pet/captive parrots who are clipped and that do not get flight-time each day.

And that makes sense when you think about it, as the ability to fly is what makes a bird a bird. And if you think about it, the only source of exercise that birds get at all is by flying, especially pet/captive birds who don't have to forage for their food. So essentially if you don't allow your birds to fly at least a little each day, they basically get no exercise at all. They don't walk any distances that provide them with exercise, and chewing on and playing with toys doesn't provide them any exercise, so basically pet parrots who are kept clipped are kept in a state where they do nothing but eat and get zero exercise, which leads to them becoming overweight and even obese, developing heart disease, Fatty Liver Disease (the most common reason why pet/captive parrots die young), muscle atrophy, etc.

And if you think about their psychological health, the fact that pet parrots who are clipped have their ability to fly, what actually makes them a bird just taken away, we have to believe that this contributes to pet parrots who display Feather-Destructive Behaviors and who Self-Mutilate...So if you have a Cockatoo as a pet, a species of parrot that is already pre-disposed and extremely prone to Plucking and Self-Mutilating, but who has been flighted up to this point and then you suddenly clip their wings, you have to be adding to the probability that they will start Plucking, and if they already Pluck then clipping their wings will only make it worse...

So the bottom-line is that the best choice FOR THE HEALTH OF YOUR BIRDS is that you do everything you can to keep them flighted and to continue to allow them to fly each and every day, for both their physical/medical health and their psychological health. That's what is best for your birds, though it may not be what is best for the people in your house, and only YOU can figure out what is the best choice for your household...

The only straight advice I can give you is that if there is ANY WAY AT ALL that you can work this out and keep ALL of your birds flighted and continue to allow them to have flying time every single day, even if only in a room with a closed door, then that's what I would do, because it's what is best for your birds. They are birds, and birds are meant to fly. That's a very simplistic point of view, I know, but it's also the truth...

 

[BirdGeeks]

EllenD
Thank you for your input! I love how you type out such a detailed response. It really helps. I would like to keep her flighted, I just thought I'd see what others thought about this. Whatever is best for Pita is what I'll do, even if I have to work around it.

 

[EllenD]

EllenD
Thank you for your input! I love how you type out such a detailed response. It really helps. I would like to keep her flighted, I just thought I'd see what others thought about this. Whatever is best for Pita is what I'll do, even if I have to work around it.

You're very welcome, and I appreciate you coming here and asking for input on this topic, because it's a very controversial topic with bird-lovers/owners. And while I myself have always understood why it's such a hot-topic with bird-owners, I have also always tried to keep a totally open-mind about it and look at it from both-sides of the argument, and approach it that way. I truly believe that clipping your bird's wings is a totally, 100% personal choice that only the bird's owner can make. And while it's totally fine and appropriate for others to give their input about it and give people both sides of the story in a fair way, ultimately we shouldn't judge anyone who keeps their bird's wings clipped, because there are very legitimate reasons why some people keep their birds clipped...

I know there are a couple of long-time, senior members of this forum who are very well-respected and loved who keep their bird's wings clipped all the time, and for very legitimate reasons that usually pertain to the safety of their birds and the people in their household. I know a few of them have spouses or other family members living in their homes that are disabled or have handicaps that keep them from being able to chase-down a stubborn bird who can fly and refuses to come back to them, or who cannot physically get to their bird if they are constantly perching up-high in their homes. And if they are the only people who are typically home all day long with the bird every day of the week, then this could easily become a safety issue for the bird. So there are very legitimate reasons to keep your bird's wings clipped full-time...

That being said, it's always going to be better for your bird to keep them fully-flighted, better for their physical health, better for their psychological health, and has to have an impact on them living-out their full lifespans. This is no different than thinking about what is better for the health of people...Obviously we all know that when people are active and get exercise every day, they are going to be much healthier all the way around than people who are sedintary and just lay around all day long every day. This goes for not only people, but also for birds, dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, pigs, goats, cows, horses, you name it, it applies. So if it's at all possible to keep your bird fully-flighted and allow them to exercise every day, that's what is best for your bird...However, there are situations where temporarily clipping your bird's wings with a conservative wing-clip that will last about 2-3 months before they can fly again will serve to help training/taming a bird. The key is that you must take full-advantage of that short 2-3 month period where your bird cannot fly, working with them every single day on taming/training sessions, so that when that 2-3 months is up and your bird can fully-fly again, their behavior has changed and your relationship with them has been strengthened. If you clip your bird's wings with the thought of using the time to train them/tame them and then you fail to work with them every day and take full-advantage of the time that they are clipped, then nothing will change after their wings grow back in and it was all for nothing...

***I would do some research and perhaps make an entirely new post here in the forum, describing the issues between your bird and your mom in full-detail, and allow our experienced members to give you advice and make suggestions about things you can try to make the relationship between your bird and your mom better....Something to keep in-mind is that even if you were to clip your bird's wings, the only thing that would change would be that he would no-longer be able fly at your mom, that's it, that's all that would change. The underlying issues and your bird's overall-behavior and attitude towards your mom would not at all change simply because you clip his wings!! You would have to actively do something, change something, etc. for your bird's behavior towards your mom to change and improve for the better, and your mom would obviously have to be willing to participate and work with your bird on a daily basis as well...Simply clipping his wings to prevent him from flying at your mother with aggression would only serve as perhaps a safety-mechanism, but nothing more than that. So getting some advice, suggestions, and training/bonding exercise ideas from our experts here in the forum that your mom can do with your bird on a daily basis and things that she can change as far as how she reacts to your bird, etc. would be the place to start to bring them closer together, and not by simply clipping his wings...