Should i get my parakeet's wings clipped?

Question

when it flies around it hits everything!!!

Answer 1

Yes. It can prevent injury and will prevent yuor budgie from getting lost. Your avian vet should be able to do this for you.

Answer 2

It is not necessary to clip the wings.

Below is partial extract of what I have written.

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Dave is an old friend from another forum that I met again in greyforums recently as MrSpock. Dave allowed his grey to be flighted after he read of me and Tinkerbell and we corresponded on other board.

MrSpock wrote:

Proper wing clipping will allow a bird horozontal movement and the ability to glide downward to a floor. The ideal wing clip is one that allows a bird to fly about 8 ft before gliding down.

Hi Dave,

In an ideal world, what you say above may be right.

The other extreme will be extremely severe clipping of wings. When I was in Riyadh and in a parrot shop, this grey jumped off the top of cage about 5 feet from ground. The sound of him hitting down, the spray of blood around him, and the screaming of that poor guy hurt me crazy. I do not wish ever to have another keel bone broken even if not in front of me.

People clipped for a few key reasons.

1. They had been conditioned to that because of what they read or were told. This seemed to be peculiarly American. Tinkerbell wings were so nearly clipped by me at the beginning as the books I read all recommended that (all American books) as well as forums in 2002 when I first had Tinkerbell. I was lucky enough to bought a British parrot mag to give me second thoughts.

2. The sight of initial flights, the crashing into walls was extremely frightening and I thought my precious Tink was crazy in trying to fly through walls while I stumbled about chasing her with a pillow to cushion her falls after hitting the wall. Once again, I so nearly reached for that scissors and Tink the flyig grey of Taiwan so nearly did not exist. But that british mag persuaded me to let that continue for a few more days.

She then found her flying skills to turn, slow, hover and stopped banging into walls.

Folks, this episode is inevitable. Your birds may be natural fliers, but even so, they MUST develope their muscles , flying skills and sense of balance. But at this early stage, their speed will be very slow(even if it appeared fast to you) and chances of harm to them will be there, but not much.

You can minimise this by letting them fledge in a small room, with curtains or rope nets around the walls for them to fly to and cling too. Or you can run around like me with a cushion.

If you see a human toddler trying to walk and falling down, will you have fear for his/her safety and not ever let him discover balance and walk? Will you have him/her crawl for the rest of their life because you are afraid to see them fall?

This is same as your choice for your bird.

3 By clipping wings and thinking thus the clipped bird will never fly away. I need not repeat my earlier postings of clipped birds that flown away.

In what Dave said , that is true in an ideal world. Unfortunately, we live in the real world.

But most people then went on to extrapolate that then, their bird will never be able to fly away. That is where I draw that line.

So after you got that 'perfect clip' and your parrot then fly about 8 feet and not gaining height. But again, have that clip been tested under worse case condition? Such as a sudden blast of air horn , or a strange hat thrust in front to see if that parrot cannot gain height in a spook situation?

Can you bear to do a sudden spook, or allow others to do that to your parrot? To see if that clipped wings hold good in spook conditions? And with Murphy at your elbows, how about throwing in that gust of wind at the same time?

Can you ever guarantee such conditions will never ever occur to you?

People had thought so. Their parrot paid heavier price than they did.

Your choice again to see if you can beat those odds.

Shanlung

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The complete letter can be read in

http://www.birdboard.com/forum/bird-boar...

What you must do to live with a flighted bird at home can be seen in Tinkerbell webpage at

http://www.geocities.com/shanlung9/

Answer 3

That's because birds are meant to be outside, that's why they have wings. If your kids knock things over in the house would you consider breaking their arms? I doubt it.

Answer 4

yes you should.

but unless your bird is tamed and all it does is fly around in one room or something, dont.

my bird is a terrible flyer and knocks into walls and such, so i clip her wings myself once every 2-3 months.

Answer 5

I've had two parakeets and clipped their wings myself. Just make sure to learn the proper way from an expert first. It doesn't hurt them at all- it will grow back in 1-2 months.

Answer 6

how about i come break your legs and see how u like it, no dont clip the wings just take the bird in a different room

Answer 7

if you dont want youur bird to fly away i would clip them

Answer 8

I don't like to clip my birds wings, but if your bird is hitting things then you might want to clip them.  How long has he been able to fly?  All of my birds wings have been clipped when I got them and then I just let the wings grow out.  It took most of my birds a few months to get used to flying around.  If you want your bird to be able to fly around without hitting things you could buy a harness or flight suit for them.  It is basically a leash for your birds.  You will also be able to take him outside without worrying about him flying away from you.

Answer 9

yes with out its wings clipped it could get seriously injured

Answer 10

i think it is better to clip its wings. if you can't catch him you will get really mad. or you can just fingertam him and if he is flying around let him land and put him on your finger.

Answer 11

Would you like it if someone broke your legs...

That's cruel. If you chose to have a pet bird than deal with the reality of having one. Try "bird Proofing" your home.

Answer 12

i think you should or else it might brake everything

Answer 13

yes, he will fly away if you don't

Answer 14

NOPE.

IT'S TOO DANGEROUS ,bacause your  keet may bbite the handler and you'll have to pay!

the best perosn is a person your parakeet trusts.YOU!

with any scissor,too. hold teh bird in a towel that's light,like a blanket thast's just one sheet of cloth.

just below 3 inches exactly below the wing cut.

make sure the bb (baby bird) is facing you open up the wing and hold the parakeet with your thumb and index.hold the wing open with the top of the index fingerf and middle finger.with the left hand cut 3 INCHES belown the armpits.in a circled line but open. if it bleeds,don't worry, it's just a feather that hasn't finished growing.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

Answer 15

Yes please clip his/her wings. My birds used to do that, all four of them. After I clipped their wings and it grew back by their next moult, some grew faster than others, so your might be quick or really slow. I've heard about birds breaking their necks that way, which means they die a slow painful death. After my birds wings grew back they didn't run into anything anymore, so I let them fly a round a room daily.

Go to an avian vet and get them to cut her/his wings and get him to show you. Make sure he cuts both the wings because if the bird is left with only one wing cut it will throw of its balance and they can still fly pretty well.

Good luck!

Answer 16

Yes clip the wing's other wise birdy will have a bad headache and may escape.