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Let's Talk About Clipping

Chat about general parrot care and parrot owner lifestyle. Bird psychology, activities, trimming, clipping, breeding etc.

Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby Wolf » Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:38 pm

Actually that is one of the things that I would like to know as well and was hoping to get some indication of.

There are many fully flighted birds that don't fly due to having been confined to their cages for so long that their flight muscles have atrophied and some of them are cage bound and even with the cage door wide open never leave the inside of the cage. I have an amazon that it has taken over three years to get her to start climbing around on the outside of her cage because she was never allowed to come out. Even if we are in another room we know when she comes out of her cage and begins her trek around the outside of the cage because despite her knowing that we want her to come out it is still so emotionally traumatizing for her that she screams the entire time that she is climbing on the outside of the cage. Fortunately she is still able to fly, once in a while we can get her to step up and we take her on a walk about the house and sometimes we can get her to hang out with my Lady for a while but when she is ready to go back to her cage she just flies there.

Some bird do not fly inside the house they live in because there is not enough space for them to fly about without a lot of extra effort, my Grey is like that although she is a good flyer.

I hope that this thread will eventually, let people understand that we can talk about this in a ,at least, relatively reasonable manner, time alone will tell.
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby seagoatdeb » Sat Apr 30, 2016 7:45 pm

The size of the parrots does make a big difference, i have two small pois and a fairly large house and they can fly well enough to get anywhere. Sunny prefers to stay in the room that i am in, but i do have to keep watch on Gaugan she can end up in a place in the house you never expected. My pois get a ton of exersize with flight and they are very acrobatic parrots too. i dont have a mesh walled in patio, that is covered, so when i take them outside i use outside cages. So for me flying time is easy, and outside time takes thought.
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby Pajarita » Sun May 01, 2016 11:06 am

Yes, size of bird and house do have a lot to do with whether the parrot would feel comfortable flying or not. I don't keep macaws because they require a minimum of 30 ft to take flight but, of course, if we are talking about a bird that cannot fly then size doesn't matter.

I have some parrots that don't fly. Freddy Too must have been clipped when he was a baby and kept like that until it was too late for him to even try to learn -he doesn't even have the usual instinctual flapping of wings when he feels he is falling or losing his balance, he falls like a rock to the floor. Linus Too plucks or barbers ALL his feathers so, usually, I end up cutting the primaries because they tend to break and hang on by a thread (he starts chewing on them before they are fully grown so they come out weak and broken). Mami YFA is a wild-caught but I guess she spent so many years in a cage (in a basement!) that she no longer uses them for flying although she does flap them for balance or impulse. Sunny Sunconure can fly if she wants but only does it when she feels threatened and I haven't established a good enough relationship with her yet to exercise her.

As to whether there are more flighted birds than clipped... I don't think there is a poll anywhere about this. But what I have noticed in bird sites is that whereas years ago parrots were either in their cage or clipped, now you have lots and lots of people who not only keep them fully flighted but actually take them out to fly -harnesses sales have increased enormously and you see videos of flying pet parrots all over the place (both outdoor and indoor).
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby ~Karen » Sun May 01, 2016 11:46 am

Pajarita wrote:As to whether there are more flighted birds than clipped... I don't think there is a poll anywhere about this. But what I have noticed in bird sites is that whereas years ago parrots were either in their cage or clipped, now you have lots and lots of people who not only keep them fully flighted but actually take them out to fly -harnesses sales have increased enormously and you see videos of flying pet parrots all over the place (both outdoor and indoor).


I've noticed this as well. Let's hope the times are changing in favor of what's healthy and beneficial for the bird. Outside safe flying is the only way to keep Macaws flying, inside and aviaries just will never be big enough for them.

Pajarita wrote: I have some parrots that don't fly. Freddy Too must have been clipped when he was a baby and kept like that until it was too late for him to even try to learn -he doesn't even have the usual instinctual flapping of wings when he feels he is falling or losing his balance, he falls like a rock to the floor.


I think this is probably part of Kady's story too. He will fall straight down. He has zero muscle mass in his chest. He will flap his wings from time to time, but not enough to call it exercise.
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby seagoatdeb » Sun May 01, 2016 12:17 pm

So sorry for you poor birdies, the smaller parrots have it a lot easier, they can fly in small spaces and it is mostly on the large parrots that you see the damage and the inability to fly anymore, it is such a shame and the sanctuarys are full of these larger parrots, it is just heart breaking.
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby Pajarita » Mon May 02, 2016 10:44 am

Yes, it is, Seagoatdeb. I also think that smaller parrots 'recuperate' easier from having had their wings clipped than larger ones. I don't know if it's a matter of wing shape, load or what but you can reteach a small one to fly but you can't with the larger ones.

And Freddy is like that, too, Karen. When I first got him, a couple of years ago, my first impression was that he was severely underweight because his keel bone stuck out something terrible, but then I realized it was lack of muscle! The good news is that he appears to be getting a bit better because I touched his chest a few days ago and found that there is the tiniest amount of more 'padding' there now than before. He will never fly, of course - but, at least, he now flaps his wings every day - we play a game that we call 'WEEEEEEEEE' where I hold each of his feet in each of my hands and extending both my arms over my head, I 'drop' him while I turn him in the air so he ends up between my legs upside down while he flaps furiously and I scream WEEEEEEEE. He loves it and it's about the only way I can get him to flap his wings because he will not do it even if I run with him.
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby beakycheekie » Tue May 03, 2016 2:54 pm

I'm looking forward to my tiels being able to fly someday (once their flight feathers grow back). As it is now, they try to find me or follow me around and they just come sailing and then crashing down onto the ground. It sounds like it would hurt and I feel bad for them not being able to control their flight. I don't plan on clipping any of my birds again.
“For me, the sight of a parrot living alone, living in a cage, deprived of flight, miserably bored, breaks my heart. And the parrot’s too, perhaps.”

— Jane Goodall
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby Wolf » Tue May 03, 2016 6:59 pm

I know that this reply is not about clipping, but Beekycheeks, could you watch to see where your birds are crash landing and put something down covering that area so that it is padded.
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby Olga afrotto » Sat Jul 29, 2017 5:29 pm

Hello! Please can you help me with info? I'm a new owner of baby IRN which is 3 months old. He got trimmed wings. But seems to me like very bad((( they r too short he can't even fly poor thing when they will grow back and if I can help anyhow to make it faster?
Thank you!!
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Re: Let's Talk About Clipping

Postby liz » Sun Jul 30, 2017 5:35 am

Olga afrotto wrote:Hello! Please can you help me with info? I'm a new owner of baby IRN which is 3 months old. He got trimmed wings. But seems to me like very bad((( they r too short he can't even fly poor thing when they will grow back and if I can help anyhow to make it faster?
Thank you!!



Welcome to the forum. Please start a thread for your babies. It is easier to keep track of who and what when in it's own thread.
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