General Discussion

Hello, FR! I'm getting a bird tomorrow (well, actually my mom is), and I'm looking for some folks that own birds to offer advice and/or to let me fawn over their birb babes.

We are getting a gorgeous little eclectus girl named Holly (she looks a lot like this for reference). She's almost 2, and we met her yesterday and she is a total sweetheart! However, I'm really hesitant on the topic of clipping.

Do you clip your birds wings?
Holly hasn't had her wings clipped since she was a hatchling, and has spent most of her life being able to fly, with a screen porch to fly in. We do not have any safe, covered area for her to fly, and I would really hate to take away that ability after she's had it so long. My mom had an eclectus and a African grey for several years, and she always clipped their wings, so she has her heart set on clipping. Can anyone provide some tips/information to convince her (against clipping) or me (for clipping)? Like, what are some ways you prevent your unclipped birds from escaping, or why do you clip their wings?

EDIT: I think it might be important for you to know that we have a very open house. The kitchen, dining room, and sitting area are all one big room. There are three bedrooms, one of which is unused and sees little to no activity. Aside from that, all we have are the bathrooms and the laundry room. You can see that it would be hard to find a place that is somewhat inclosed, but also offers activity and entertainment.

@Zygon

I highly recommend checking out flock-talk on tumblr. She knows a lot about parrots and training, and has good info on clipping and dealing with new birds.

I personally don't recommend it unless you absolutely have to, as flying is basically how they exercise and it can lead to bad health and behaviour problems, especially if the bird has flown before - they won't feel like they can get away from a dangerous situation so they may act more aggressive or scared.

Hiya!

My answer comes from experience with keeping birds in apartments, so this may not all apply to you. I'm able to let my bird out without clipping, but we have to make sure ALL windows are closed (and the front door) and that no other animals are let loose, even if they aren't aggressive towards her (just to be safe). If you don't have a safe area for her to fly in, I wouldn't even risk it. you may have to clip to minimize the risk of her flying out or hitting herself on things that you PROBABLY wouldn't want her to fly into around the ceiling or walls.

someone else can probably give more useful tips though.

My mum used to own a budgie when she was a kid but when she opened the cage it flew away outside and never came back. She told me that pet birds can't really survive in the wild since they're used to being treated by people...

I guess you shouldn't let your pet bird out of its cage until it gets used to you and the environment its in!~

@TheAlchemist Ah, thank you, that person really looks like she knows what she's doing. I've been browsing her tumblr for the past few minutes, and I really like what I see. I think my mom might be receptive to her points, and there's so much other important info it won't seem like I'm saying I know better than her, or specifically targeting anything :D Let's hope!

@Lusinga Thank you, any help from experienced bird owners is much appreciated! Our house is very open, with only the bedrooms and bathrooms closed off, so I'm mostly concerned that there is good chance someone will forget Holly is out and walk outside or something. I think buying a harness for extra security might be a good idea. There are also several large open areas close by–baseball fields and stuff–which could provide quiet place for her to get some on-harness exercise.

@Liephire I've heard stories like that enough to know that it's pretty likely if you aren't careful, but there are also plenty of stories about clipped bird getting hurt because they couldn't fly. If I can convince mom not to clip her, I'm going to be very cautious when she's outside the cage. I've seen some articles about training you bird to fly back to you, which could provide a nice back up plan. Thanks for sharing!

I don't clip my bird. It's too stressful for both of us, and it would make him distrust me.

Clipping your birds wings is actually illegal where I live and thus I'm always surprised people actually do it in other countries :'D I get why but I still think it's a horrible thing to do...

Basically you're taking away your birds strongest weapon: Flying away from creepy stuff. In addition flying is very healthy for them I mean they don't tell you to get a very very big cage for no reason. They need that exercise.

I have my two budgies in the bedroom. Their cage door is always open but I actually don't recommend that. Mine just must've had some sort of trauma in the past, they're too scared to sit anywhere else than their wacky fake-tree. Windows closed (door as well if your bird is curious enough to fly there), no open glass (could fall in), no flames (feathers burn very well), no cans (sharp edges, bad for feet) etc. Maybe some dumb stickers on the window I don't know...

If she flies away food is always a good thing. Put it close to the place you want her to return. Maybe she'll actually return if you hold it in your hand and call for her. Sad that she doesn't have a partner because birds with a partner tend to come back (true story from my mom's childhood where one of her budgies flew away but the other one stayed home and wouldn't stop calling until her man returned)

I hope you find a way to hold your bird and still let her be a bird! :3 Watching them fly is awesome btw.

@Triometra Yeah, I'm pretty against clipping myself. I've been reading one particular post by the tumblr user Alchemist recommended, and suddenly I find myself very pro-flighted XD. We don't usually open our windows, so that's fine, and if we do, we have screen coverings. It's the doors I'm most worried about. We go in and out of the house a lot, and there is no way to block off the area around the doors. I'd like to train her to come back to me/my mom, as kind of a back-up. Do you have anything you'd recommend to minimize the risk?