Clip...? Please help!

[budgiesandamazons]

Hi!
Sorry, if I will write something wrong, I'm not English or American.
For the time being I have two budgies, but I am ready to purchase a Blue Fronted Amazon.
I would love to go with him/her outside, but I don't know if he/she will accept the harness
A lot of people say that it's better for the parrot if it's wings are clipped, becouse I am getting a hand-fed baby and it's possible that it will bang all over the house. I'm quite scared...
My budgies are flighted, becouse they are small, but I'm afraid that Amazon will hit in walls and furniture in my room.

Again, I'm sorry for my English.
Please help!

[cml]

The new amazon will be much safer flighted.

Please DO NOT clip.

See this article for more information:
http://trainedparrot.com/Clipping/

[Strawfrawg]

I would not clip.

If your fear your new bird will crash into things, then I would say don't worry about that. Birds learn quickly and most babies have a few little crashes without getting hurt. Helping your new bird get to know the house by giving him tours and showing him that the windows are solid can be very helpful. I gave my young Senegal daily tours of the house before he learned to fly and he never had a crash...just a couple of "rough landings" before he learned good control.

If you fear your new bird won't wear a harness...the only way to find out is to read about training (start here on these forums) and try it. You also have to accept that it can be a long process, just like teaching a baby human to walk. You might want it to happen at your convenience, but they will only do it when they are ready. If your bird never learns to enjoy the harness, you can take him outside in a cage. Remember that taking a bird outside should be for his happiness, not yours.

Taking away a bird's ability to fly is like cutting off a person's legs...it causes emotional, psychological, and physical harm. As for safety...a clipped bird can fall and get seriously hurt, and with the right breeze, it can still fly away. In other words, clipping your bird's wings won't necessarily prevent the problems you are concerned about but it can cause much bigger ones.

Good luck with your learning and with your new baby. And don't worry...your English is better than a many native speakers!

[Pajarita]

I have six amazons, all of them are fully flighted and none of them crashes into anything. People use all kinds of excuses for clipping parrots but, in reality, it's only done for the human's benefit much easier to have a parrot that cannot go anywhere we don't want him to than one that can make decisions on its own), never for the parrot.

[Wayne361]

Dont clip. A fully flighted parrot is a more confident, better behaved bird in general. Flight training is also a great form of exercise for bird and great for bird/owner bonding. Use positive re-enforcement techniques to get bird in harness willingly. I havent been on this sight for a while but I believe Micheal should still have video/instructions on harness training bird.

Wayne

[Eric&Rebecca]

Don't clip. You need to teach the bird about things like flying or let them make mistakes. Do you let a child not walk because they might fall over? No you let them take a few tumbles and learn for themsleves