We're worried clipping hasn't worked

[Dede' Arneaux]

We took orange boy & yellow boy to the vets last week and got their wings clipped. The vet advised that she would only do one wing for each bird, as that's what all the manuals suggested was appropriate.
Ten mins, a lot of squawking and one high pitched scream later (one of our wee birdies enduced this from the vet's assistant by taking a chunk out of her finger :rolleyes:) they returned, a little quiet but none the worse for the ordeal.
After getting them home and putting their toys back in the cage, orange boy launched himself successfully from one side of the cage to the other. Methinks he can still fly.

The point of the clipping was to introduce them to an open cage door, so they can explore us and we can interact with them a bit more - safely. At nearly 18 months old they are both still very timid and the fear of hands seems to have returned after the clipping ordeal. I'm worried if they can still fly and we do let them out we'll have have big problems getting them back into the cage.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[NickyBeth]

From what I have been told, wings should be clipped on both sides. Otherwise, you got a lopsided birdie that might not be too happy.

I do wing clips myself, as the vet showed me how. I know there is a tutorial on here on how to do it yourself as well.

Good luck!

[shylevon]

We took orange boy & yellow boy to the vets last week and got their wings clipped. The vet advised that she would only do one wing for each bird, as that's what all the manuals suggested was appropriate.

If your vet is treating birds from a MANUAL, you need a new vet. Search your area for a qualified AVIAN vet. You may need to make several phone calls, but the search will be worth it. A wing clip is minor, but when you need to take birdie in for something serious, you don't want a vet that tells you she may have misplaced the manual. Bird health is far removed from normal pet care and even though I deeply respect all veterinarians, learning to care for birds is a more advanced field.

I would never clip only one side of a bird. Also, even with a good, two-sided clip, your birdie will still be able to fly short distances. The trick is to clip just enough that birdie will not get any lift while flying. You don't want to ground them completely.

[HaleBoppPeachyluv]

I won't comment on the breeder or site itself, but this is a pretty good explanation of a wing clip.

My lovie has her primaries cut, but not her secondaries. So when she flaps, she doesn't go straight downlike a rock, but has enough lift to slow her descent & go a little horizontal.


http://lovebirdcorner.bravehost.com/care.html

[shylevon]

That is one tame lovebird. Even my tamest bird would be giving me a bloodletting if I held her wings out like that for too long.

As for the advice. I don't know if I would trim my birds back that much. My rule of thumb is to cut the first five primaries and see how much the bird can fly. If he can still get lift, trim back one or two more primaries. The birdie in the picture had his secondaries cut, and although this doesn't hurt the birdie, it really is not necessary and tends to give birdie a weedwhacker look.

[wilkiecoco]

You need to clip the other wing - right away. It is not right to clip only one, as they will feel unbalanced, and will make flying difficult. As others have said, you need a new vet!!

Even with both wings clipped they will still be able to glide down safely, just not gain height. I haven't clipped Kiwi in quite a while, but I never clip more than the first five or six.

[Triock]

COmpletely agree, both wings need to be clipped, but only the primaries as already mentioned. Clipping does not ground the bird but stops it from gaining height so they cant fly off in to the blue yonder. They will still be able to fly down from height and glide safely down without hurting themselves which may be diffficult with one clipped wing. And yes you need a new Vet, who specialises in Avian care.

[Pips mom]

I get Pip clipped and they only clip five or six flight feathers so Pip can still fly. Lovies I think tend to enjoy flying maybe a bit more than other birds, and also pretty skilled at manuevering around when they fly. You never clip only one wing or take away flight......even if the birds can fly, a wing clip WILL slow them down and make flight harder, so when they get out and start flying around, they just get tired out faster and realize.....hey, this is hard work! so will tend to stay in one place for longer periods of time, instead of all over the place!
Nobody that I've ever heard of even clips one wing.....I have heard of it before, but have never seen it done by anyplace around here. I would get the other wing clipped and I also agree that it's a good time to locate a good avian vet!

[Bubblelady]

Ditto, ditto, ditto--to all of the above. Get the other wings clipped & find a new vet!

At the risk of being labled a bragger :blush:, clipping is yet another facit of Buddy's amazing self. I used to take her to have her clipped & they would towel her & she would scream like they were killing her. Then one day, when we were outside & her feathers had grown out more than I had realized, she was startled & flew up to quite a high branch in a tree just feet from a busy street :omg: She & I were both terrified! Our guardian angels were on duty, however, and the almost-never-present handyman was standing right there, talking to me. He climbed the tree & retrieved her. She was so scared she didn't budge as he approached her! Needless to say, we immediately went in the house & had a wing job. I didn't try to towel her, just held her in one hand, held her wing out with my thumb & index finger, & clipped! She, still in shock I think, barely squirmed & didn't utter a peep! I've been doing it that way ever since. She tries to wiggle a bit but never bites me & eagerly accepts the trimmed feathers to play with. She "conveyer belts" them back & forth in her mouth from end to end of the feather, then drops it & waits for the next feather. Such a good little birdie! I'm not exagerating when I say she is a very special bird :whistle:

P.S. I now do frequent checks to be sure those flight feathers aren't too long!!!!

[Toni]

Just reading some of the posts on this had me freaking out. I have always had my birds clipped. I think it's beter to be safe than sorry. A friend of mine just lost one of her cockatiels due to wing feathers growing out. One of her kids opened the front door and out she went. They found her in the neighbor across the streets tree an tried to get her. But she got spooked and flew off. They never got her back. Then 2 days later my neighbor had her quaker parrot outside in his cage, and somehow he got out of his cage and escaped. We took my quakers outside and could hear him calling to them...but her never came back.

As far as your birds wingclip. I would definetly take everyone's advice and get the other one clipped too. And I don't think I would trust that vet after that. Find a good Avian vet in your area. Even if you have to drive a short distance it's better to have a good one that knows what they are doing. I've learned how to clip all of my birds. I have a hard time with my senegal. She doesnt like it at all. And forget trying to clip her nails....that is a BIG NO NO!! She hates it. I let her get by with that one, but not the wings.

[thebubbleking]

I trim my birds wings myself, when i fist got my bird i was told to clip one side as it makes them go in circles and not fly, not true they fly just have to work harder at it and have very limited control, as my birds dont go outside (yet) i only trim thier wings when they get to big for thier britches lol

[shylevon]

It is very easy to 'upkeep' the wings once they are done properly. You will have a cutting line to follow as the new feather grow in, since feathers do not grow like hair. Once a feather grows and is cut, it stays at that length until it falls out, so when the new ones grow in, you just trim the new feather to the length of the short ones.

Another great reason to stay on top of wing clips. This way they get the same clip every time.