Depression after clipping wings

[TukiTuki]

My Tuki got lead poisoning last time I went on vacation and left him at my mom's place in her care. My husband are going away for 4 nights for our first wedding anniversary and we decided to clip our birds' wings to prevent any problems. We'd rather have them temporarily less mobile than to have them getting in trouble again.

The problem is two-fold. Our vet clipped their wings, but didn't take enough off. We wanted them to be able to fly, but not gain altitude. Well, both birds can fly up with no problem. However, they know what wing clippings are and they were both depressed after they came home. After a normal vet visit, they're fine. Tuki's been a real trooper about every x-ray and injection he's received. But he can't stand to have his wings clipped! Even though he could still fly, he and Master Chief were depressed and for the past two and a half days, they've been sulking in their cages, spending lots of time laying on top of their huts. Today, they're finally perking up again, but I think I've got to clip the wings down again, to ensure their safety while we're gone.

Can anyone think of a way to help with bird depression? I took Tuki out of his cage after it happened and he stayed for 90 minutes of head pets, but as soon as he had enough, he went back to his cage. Our birds NEVER put themselves to bed on their own.

Master Chief concerns me because he doesn't like to be held or cuddled, so we can't even offer him that kind of comfort.

We break out all their favorite treats, too, but they don't eat much for a couple days. We know for sure that it's depression due to wing/nail clippings and that they aren't sick. Any advice?

[Glam]

Ahh shame man, poor things. Unfortunately I have no advice to offer, my Holly only had clipped wings when we got her and have never had them re-clipped since, perhaps cos I was always a bit scared of how she would react to it.

Hopefully they feeling better soon.

[linda040899]

Birds are fully flighted for outdoor flight where there is considerably less to get into. The typical human household is filled with places/things that are dangerous to birds and absolutely none of us has a perfectly bird safe home! You can trust that, if there's a way to get in trouble, a pet bird is the one who will do it every time!!

With that said, it becomes safety first. They may be a bit depressed but you do it because you love them and feel that they need to be safe. Extra scritches or favorite treats are one solution. Or, perhaps, take out a toy they've not seen in a while and put it in the cages.

[piousm]

we clip all ours. They can fly up without a problem, even when clipped short, but there seems to be a point where just being able to fly from A to B becomes the ability to perform aerobatics, and I can recognise that by a particular sound that the flapping makes, in little bursts rather than a constant flutter. When it gets to that, the birds are very agile and could easily dart out of a part opened door, are harder to catch etc. I think it is when the last 2 or 3 feathers are long. In any event, none worry about the clip at all, though the first time Kiki was done by the vet she took it very badly, and would screech at us for days, as well as running after us just to bite us, letting us know she was upset.

[TukiTuki]

I agree there's no such thing as a completely bird safe area, but my husband and I worked really hard to make our living space as bird safe as possible. We never leave them out of their cages if we're out of the room, but if we're in there, they're free to be out and about. We feel safe as long as we're there to monitor them. It's really as safe a bird environment as I can imagine, and it's so obvious they love being able to fly around when they want. I just feel so bad that clipping their wings has made them so depressed. And I have trouble understanding their depression, considering they can still fly wherever they want! I have no choice but to clip them a bit more, to prevent them from gaining height and getting to some no-birdie area again.

I guess I'll just ride it out and comfort them as much as I can. I really wish Master Chief liked hands a bit more, so he could be comforted more than we're able to do right now.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

My Milo gets particularly pouty after a wing clip. Sometimes he gets so upset over it that he starts plucking out his feathers. It's upsetting for me, too, but it's one of those things that just has to be done.

[belenny]

it's one of those things that just has to be done.

Sorry, but I can´t agree with that... It´s an option, but not the only.

Here in Spain is not very common to clip lovebird´s wings and they are very good. I don´t feel that I´m a bad owner for letting my pets fly, they are birds and birds fly.
Obviously you have to be very careful when they are out of their cages, but I think that it´s not really dificult (I can do it perfectly).