almost fully FLIGHTED!!!! so excited

[feathermum]

I just wanted to share a lil' happy!! i'm fairly new on here, & like many ppl out there thought I was being "safe" by having my fids clipped...NOW, whole other story!! as I had been reading different stories about how good,safe & NORMAL it is to have your bird flighted, I was DONE w/ clipping! as of right now I have 4 birds in my flock. Spartacus my 10 mo old nanday, Aroura my 2 yo (?) jenday, Tigg my 4mo jenday & Gemma my 2 yo Eclectus. Spartacus is my 1st,and brought him home @ 4 mos old...he was ofcourse clipped, but after alil' while he started flying pretty good, I loved it!! & thought well i'll keepo him like this. but I didn't. I was talked into how irresponsible I was being by having an unclipped bird, so he was clipped again. when I got Tigg, I wanted to raise him myself so that he would be able to fly,b/f being clipped. he was a awesome flyer!! it's really true, when u let them learn, they know where to land,how to turn, just need to bird proof!! so ni was de4termined NOT to clip again. ( this is still before coming to this site) well again I was told he had to be clipped b/c he needed to gain weight. well that had me freaked out!! so he was (slightly) clipped. I felt very wrong about all of it, and found this site & saw how many of u kept flighted birds w/ use of harness and ofcourse safety measures. So. that all being said, Spartacus is Flying!!! so awesome to see, he even just took a shrp turn to land on my sholder. & Tigg is just about there, he can fly, but not as long a distance yet. and we also started harness training!! Spartacus acc. PUT IT ON HIMSELF!! does anyone have a bird who has done this?! CRAZY! he wasn't really supposed too ofcourse, so he got his foot stuck, but all is well & he's not mad @ me or harness ~lol Tigg does great w/ it too! I just wanted to thank everyone here who has flighted fids & lmk that I was NOT the crazy one !! a little side note, arora came to me as a rescue & has not grown out her feathers yet! but they ARE growing! & Gemma is also a rescue, but not yet @ home w/ me & is a very clumsy flyer, wings were trimmed so idk if she has ever been able to fly....but as soon as she comes home we'll start working the harness & get her there

[Eric&Rebecca]

Flight is one of the most beautiful things in the world!

[Pajarita]

Good for you and better still for your birds! I've only clipped one bird in my entire life (he was EXTREMELY aggressive and would fly out to bite my face every time I walked into the birdroom) and I regretted it almost as soon as I did it -he hid for three days). Flight is what makes a bird a bird (yes, yes, I know about the flightless species but they evolved that way, it was not 'done' to them for simple convenience) and nature made it so they need to fly for their physical and emotional health so if you love them, let them fly - and, if you cannot provide a safe environment for them to do so, don't have birds! People would not dream of having a horse unless they had a barn and a corral so why is it OK to have a bird when they don't have a place for it to fly?

[janetafloat]

Hear hear!

[feathermum]

I agree 100% ! I think that even if I hadn't come by this site, I still wouldv ended up being pro-flight! when I got to see Tigg fly, & how he learned to manover (sp) in my heart I knew it would be wrong to clip....still wish I hadn't listend to others & let them make me feel bad I made the mistake, but I won't make it again!! now I hear that i'm wishy-washy in my decitions for my fids. I disagree, when u come along new info, & find that there is something better...well i'm gonna go w/ what I think & feel are better for my fids I do wish more ppl around my area would open up to full flight though, anyone i'v talked too thinks it's bad & dangerous !! not true! w/ safety ofcourse!!

[Brittanyv326]

When we got Sadie she was clipped but never clipped her again. I can't imagine having her clipped ever again. But people do judge you for keeping a bird flighted, like you're putting their life at risk! I'm going to a new vet today with her and am actually nervous because I've had another vet just burn me for it. I left crying! Anyone else had people so anti flight??? Jeez! I also think its so healthy and good for my bird. She's had some accidents, like flying into glass but it hasn't happened in such a long time and even before it was super rare.

[feathermum]

But people do judge you for keeping a bird flighted, like you're putting their life at risk!
I KNoW!! it's crazy, & that's why I did clip @ first,even when I was thinking" hmm..parrots have wings,parrots Fly..why take that away???" so frustrating!!

I'm going to a new vet today with her and am actually nervous because I've had another vet just burn me for it. I left crying! i'm sorry to hear that..you'd think a AV would be more inline w/ being Flighted!! that is messed up! I really hope ur new AV is better!!!


Anyone else had people so anti flight??? Jeez! I also think its so healthy and good for my bird. She's had some accidents, like flying into glass but it hasn't happened in such a long time and even before it was super rare.

EVERYONE! that's why it really is a big deal to me, to have found this page & all of u that have FLIGHTED birds...the breeder/Handraiser I got Tigg from was sooo anti-flying, she accually said to me.." I'm not sure if you are qualified to raise & have a parrot if you are really thinking of letting him fly.All birds here are clipped as soon as the fly,so they are very safe." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! really does that even make sence??? they NEED to develop those muscles! but, anyway I thought mabey it was just where I lived! I guess there are ppl all over who are still anti-flight

[Serafisk]

That whole mind-set is just so odd and foreign to me! Of course a bird should fly, that's why they have wings, right? If you feel like you need to clip your bird to keep it "safe" then you probably shouldn't have a bird at all in my opinion.

I used to own an African Grey whom we took over from his previous owner. He was around 5 years old when we got him and he had ALWAYS been clipped. It was such a joy to watch his feathers grow back out and see him slowly but surely learn to fly for the first time in his life. Sure, there were a few mishaps where he ended up on the floor or "crashed" onto the couch when trying to land, but I think that's just part of the natural course. Birds are somewhat sturdier than you give them credit for; I mean, in the wild they learn to fly the exact same way, by practicing :]

Clipping the wings of a bird and preventing it from flying, which is part of its natural behavior and NORMAL for it, would be similar to amputating away a dogs legs simply because you are scared it will run away from you or get hurt or something. There are ways to keep your bird safe AND flighted, it just takes a bit of thinking and perhaps adjustments to your house - but in the end it is so worth it!

[Strawfrawg]

Serafisk...great analogy about amputating a dog's legs. That's a good way of putting it.

My clipped cockatiel got into just as much mischief as my flighted sennie, for sure. Keeping a bird safe is about much more than whether he is flighted or not, and no manner of "safe" is perfectly so. It's been a challenge learning to manage Marvin's flying and make everything as safe as I can for him, but it was just as challenging making things climbproof for Weebo. He became quite a daredevil and would risk dropping hard on the floor to get where he wanted to go. Talk about unsafe...how about dropping like a stone whenever you try to follow your instincts? He also would end up in unexpected places, like behind doors. It made finding him much harder when he snuck off. With Marvin, I just need to look up. He only goes to the same few places.

Brittany...sounds like you've got your flying-into-glass problem solved, but if you haven't already, take your baby on a tour of all of the windows and mirrors in the house and show him they are solid. I did that with Marvin when I first "taught" him to fly and he's never once crashed into any glass. I do it again now and then just for a refresher. I take him up to the glass and knock on it in several places, then I bring him close to feel for himself that it is there. In the process he learned to understand the words "window" and "mirror" and now he will fly over and look out the window if I tell him there's something to see.

[Brittanyv326]

We did that when she first became flighted, introducing her to windows &mirrors but she didn't understand it or would forget in her panic to find a place to land. I thought it'd be an issue again when we moved, so I did several tours with her & she has not flown into any glass!! YAY!

ALSO, I went to the vet & I didn't feel judged at all! It was amazing. And Sadie didn't even scream. He actually said to me that usually when he feels the birds stomach, it feels doughy, but Sadie's is firm and she feels very fit. He also commented that she recovered quickly from fighting them in the towel once they put her back in the travel cage. He said usually birds are panting and hot for a lot longer but Sadie's in great shape and came back from it in a couple minutes.

THANKFULLY I've finally found a vet that appreciates a flighted bird rather than lecturing me about it :):)