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Never allowed to fledge - lasting problems?

Discuss topics associated with teaching birds to fly. Training parrots recall flight, target flying, and other flying exercises.

Never allowed to fledge - lasting problems?

Postby RachelLynn » Sun Sep 15, 2013 10:20 pm

I bought a :gcc: from Petsmart and was saddened by the fact that his wings were already clipped. Coming from a mass producing breeder, I'm fairly certain he or she was never allowed to fledge. Will the GCC ever learn to fly again? Will the bird have permanent problems as a result of early wing clipping?

Responses are appreciated.
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Re: Never allowed to fledge - lasting problems?

Postby jane19 » Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:46 am

It can still learn to fly later but flying will never be as instinctive compare to if it was allowed to fledged. If you don't plan to fly it outdoors I would say it will be fine. Just be very patient when it starts to learn since it will definitely take longer and more scary crashing. Its confidence will take even longer to build. But still possible to have a good flighted life so don't give up on it. The earlier it is allowed to fly the better. :D
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Re: Never allowed to fledge - lasting problems?

Postby RachelLynn » Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:13 pm

That's reassuring! He/she seems to want to fly, or at least launch himself/herself at me. I like to do some flight training, but I guess I'll have to wait until the bird gains skill and confidence. Thanks for your answer.
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Re: Never allowed to fledge - lasting problems?

Postby Polarn » Wed Sep 18, 2013 2:07 pm

Now I have no idea what the procedure costs but there is a couple on another forum I'm on that has imped their birds and what I understood from them the biggest problem was finding the right feathers, apaprently there isn't all that many macaw feathers donated for this cause, probably because they are such big and beutiful and people tend to keep them or make things out of them. But it seemed as if the vet had an easier time finding the right feathers for smaller birds. Basically what the procedure does is "gluing" molted feathers etc into the clipped shafts, allowing the bird to instantly have the feathers to once again be able to fly.

now this procedure is usually used when a bird is due to be allowed to regrow feathers but they manage to break the new feathers because they lack the support of surrounding ones, and this can result in one wing fully grown while the other is still clipped, wich isn't good. or non of the wings ever gets fully grown. However since vet care is a buisness weather we like it or not, I doubt they would turn you down if you were willing to pay for it. You could atleast ask your avian vet if this is something he/she is capable doing and what the costs would end up to be. And since your bird isnt all that uncommon perhaps a member with the same bird that ahs saved molted feathers etcetera would be willing to send you needed ones in case you decide to go down that road.
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Polarn
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Re: Never allowed to fledge - lasting problems?

Postby Dave & Karen » Sun Sep 22, 2013 4:42 am

I was thinking about imping our ringneck after we got her since the breeder clipped her wings and was surprised how many people sell their birds' molted feathers on ebay etc..
The process is done by clipping each flight feather at a certain point then clipping the donor feather to match but leaving a small section of the shaft exposed, since the shafts are hollow, the donor feather shaft is slid into the existing shaft then super glue is used to make a permanent bond until the new feather comes in. They use this in falconry when a falcon or eagle breaks a feather to protect the adjacent feathers from breaking more easily as each feather protects it's adjacent feathers. This does take someone with good experience to do the process successfully tho since each feather needs to be the right size and shape, as well as placed on the existing shaft at just the right angle so it'll not only catch the air correctly, but also so the bird can fold his wings in without the feathers getting in the way.
I remember our ringneck would molt out a clipped feather then break the new one by playing too hard and it took her a lot longer to regain flight because of it. She finally regained her flight but it did take longer than if we would have had her imped.

As far as regaining her flight goes, she flew almost as well as she did before being clipped by the breeder, at first she became able to fly short distances and could fly straight but not gain lift, but as soon as more feathers came in she flies perfectly normal now.
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