Galah Cockatoo

[Michael]

i think clipping parrot's wing is more like a personal choice.

I hear this line all the time and cannot stand it. The parrot has no say at all. It's not a choice the parrot is involved in. If it were a choice, the parrot wouldn't have to be clipped and would choose not to fly. The fact that people find it necessary to clip them proves that they would rather choose to fly.

Jailing a bird in a human house is only a difference in degree to jailing it a cage. Unless it has total free flight, to come and go to its house for meals, meetups and safe sleep, its life is that of a prisoner.

How you jail your bird is less important than why you have it at all. How big does a bird's jail have to be, in proportion to its size, to make indoor flight worthwhile?

No. When you look at the size of the bird's cage relative to body size, it is about proportionate as our "room" is to us. The time spent in the cage is comparable to us spending time in our room. Time spent out of the cage is more free. Kind of like for us going out. Although they cannot fly for miles in a straight line, they can achieve that by going back and forth. Last night Kili flew over a mile in 50 back and forth 60ft flight recalls.

Neither at home nor in the wild do they spend all day flying. In the wild they may make a mile long commute (or whatever the length is depending on species) to their favorite foraging tree and spend the rest of the day eating/foraging/playing there. If food is more sparse they'll move around for food but if they can get it in one place they will remain there. Thus if the cage provides ample space, climbing, foraging, and play opportunities, it is not terribly confining. It is to an extent but when combined with daily opportunities to fly, quite healthy and safe.

This is absolutely no excuse to clip them and limit them flight the other time. Just because I sit in the office working most of the day does not mean I don't like to go for a walk in the evening and move about. Likewise, just because the parrots don't need flight all the time doesn't mean you have any valid justification in taking it away from them entirely.

This is my position on clipping: http://TrainedParrot.com/Clipping

[naomi]

agree 100%

[Graybeard]

"The parrot has no say at all. It's not a choice the parrot is involved in."

Restricting a parrot to a cage or house is not a parrot's choice, either.

[Michael]

"The parrot has no say at all. It's not a choice the parrot is involved in."

Restricting a parrot to a cage or house is not a parrot's choice, either.

Actually it's a lot more of a choice. My parrots go into their cages very willingly. They fly to me and beg me to put them in. Other people have them go in themselves. Now it's debatable how aware of the longer term ramifications they are when they go in but I'm sure how good vs bad the gauge is goes into their decision when going in voluntarily.

Being our pet or in our house may not be their choice. But it's not necessarily a harmful one. Potentially we can make their life very good and that's the goal. But when it comes to clipping, that is physically manipulating their physiology and changing their mobility entirely. This change is huge and purely selfish. My flighted parrots are given many many choices because they can choose to fly away if they don't like it. The clipped parrot is forced not only to be caged, a pet, etc... but depend entirely on the owner and be subject to anything and everything it would prefer to flee.

[sasha]

First let me say I live in Australia where galahs are a common companion. I can only compare galahs to the other cockatoos we see at that is the corella and sulfur crested cockatoo.

We have six galahs with three are males advanced in years and found there way to us (one is in his forties). Its a sad fact that sometimes the cockatoos custodian becomes too old to care for them.

IMHO galahs are a nice bird. Even when the wild ones flock, they are not anywhere as loud as corellas or sulfurs. Galahs love to chew and at times may prefer the opposite gender (ie our males seem to prefer my wife). I think the girls are a little sweeter but no I dont think galahs are a difficult bird.

I wont comment about the rights or wrongs of clipping but I do like large aviaries where birds have room to fly.

[Graybeard]

It's springtime in the northern hemisphere, which means more windows and doors open, and more flighted captive birds flying away.

[marie83]

It's springtime in the northern hemisphere, which means more windows and doors open, and more flighted captive birds flying away.

Thats not really an excuse. Many many people have kept flighted birds for many years and not had any escapes, none of mine have ever been clipped, in just over 13 years I've had around 23 fully flighted birds including the finches, canaries and diamond doves. Yes you will get the odd accidental escape but people should put more effort into not allowing that to happen in the first place. Loads of clipped birds escape too, simply because it lulls the owners into a false sense of security, but the fate of these birds is probably worse as they will not be good fliers therefore more vulnerable to being killed by a predator.

I'm not completely against clipping as I think there are some circumstances that warrent it but these cases are pretty rare and I feel it should only be done as a last resort.

[pennyandrocky]

i've kept flighted birds for 19 years never lost one. i have screens on my windows and locks so they can only open so far in case they try to chew them which they never have.they have gotten out but are trained to fly to me one was outdoor freeflighted my sneaks out to be with me so i just bring him to his outdoor cage.

[RedDragon1288]

jaimmorr If you want a Galah, go for it. They are easier to take care of compare to white cockatoos.

[jaimmorr]

.