Thank you Wolf for this,
Ok, gonna throw my 2cents out here, I hope I am not getting in the way of the thread by posting, but I really want to talk about this + share a few stories so here we go:
Birds were born with wings for a reason. They grow flight feathers for a reason. It is 100% natural for them to fly (it is the fastest way to get around) , and to take that ability of them would be like taking legs of a human.
My top 7 reasons why NOT to clip (in no specific order). Please excuse me if I am more so just repeating what has already been posted.
1. Escaping unwanted situations, 2. Gives the bird a choice, 3. Exercise , 4. It does not make things safer, 5. The bird can still easily get blown of outside, 6. It has a higher survival chance if flighted, 7. With flight you can learn your birds true colours.
Flight is a parrots #1 defence mechanism. Escape! If you take away that number one way to survive, the bird will revert to its #2 defence mechanism. Beak, this means if you clip, you are going to be living with a lot more aggression.
Having a flighted parrot means your bird chooses when and if it wants you, and it is so amazing to have your bird want you and come TO you, instead of being forced to be with you, which is a form of flooding. I think this is a major reason birds are clipped, I think humans are SCARED to not be in charge, humans are scared to not have control, they just don't understand the difference in a pack of dogs to a flock of parrots. Parrots treat each other equal, there is no ranking system.
The amount of energy that goes into flying cannot ever possibly compare to any kind of exercise that a clipped bird can get.
People think that having a clipped bird will stop it from flying out a door, I have read many stories that prove this wrong, a bird, clipped or not clipped can still fly to an extent, enough that it can and many times has flown out the door. Same story with ceiling fans, no matter what they should be off when a parrot is out, clipped or flighted.
People think clipping will let them take their parrots outside without the worry of flying away, this will never truly happen, the tiniest lift can sweep your parrot away in an instant.
Parrots that fly away have a much, much, much better chance of getting up high and keeping safe than clipped parrots that are exhausted just from being lifted up by the wind. In addition to this, it can fly to a human when it sees or hears it.
A parrot with flight is a parrot with confidence. Well, more than can be said for a clipped bird. A flighted bird knows its free and that it has a choice, its not forced into anything.-Keeping a bird flighted lets you see its true colours.
Ok, story time... volunteering has helped me so much as to getting information and me form opinion on this topic, and I would like to share three stories that relate to the pros and cons of clipping.
All of the following are from the mysterious place I volunteer
, but I hope this can prove to be helpful information.
Lucky, little GCC who flew away. (I'll refer to as a female.)
Lucky arrived at the sanctuary only a few days ago. She/He flew on to a mans head as he walked the streets. He went to have her step up and she flew up into a really tall tree, so the guy just went home.
Later on that day when he was gardening she flew onto him and he took her inside got her some water (and she was really thirsty) and then got her some 'tucker' (which she devoured within seconds.)
How amazing that she knew that she would need the human. Now tell me this- would a clipped bird been able to follow this man like that?
Being flighted saved her life.
2.Various birds who come in clipped. -
You wouldn't believe how many of the birds we get are clipped. Its awful! Now this has only happened twice, but what happened is a bird gets back its feathers, and can fly so it is released with the others... It flies of and lands, and without it being noticed is too weak to make another flight, the bird gets attacked by others for intruding territories or feeding grounds and it is just to weak and exhausted to fight back! This or the bird will fly into its own species area, seemingly gets accepted and then is just to tired to get to feeding grounds. We try very hard not to let this happen, and are always keeping a sharp eye out for any birds like this, its just sad how weak clipping leaves the bird.
3. Jo-Jo, female eclectus, severe dermatitis and other health issues.
Jo-Jo has severe dermatitis, she is plucked bare from neck to tail despite the amount of attention she gets. She has a bad infection in her wings and every time she flys a wound would opens up and it get infected worse. This is an example of when a clip was necessary. Jo-Jo is no longer at the park, he has found a home elsewhere with people that can give her 1 on 1, 24/67.
Well thanks for that, sorry for rambling on, just unless its for medical reasons as was said, I fail to see any appropriate reason for clipping.
Also, I wrote this last night before internet blacked out on me... so if the thread has moved along a lot I am sorry.
It is our fault these animals were taken from the wild, becoming almost extinct and then bred into our homes. The least we can do is give them a life as similar as their elder generations had before our elder generations took that away, meaning flight...