Something to keep in mind..........

[Pips mom]

I never really realized this much, but this is something to consider when clipping your birds wings. I have always kept Pip clipped. I used to take him to be clipped at the pet store where his previous owner got him, but quickly found that when other's clip your bird, they often clip TOO much! or too severely.......it's SO worth the time and effort to learn how to do it yourself, this way, you know that you're bird's being clipped properly and will still have some flight. With Pip in the past, I've kept him clipped, but he still always had alot of flight ability left afterwards. That's how I like it.........the clip is just to make flying a little harder and more work so he won't do it as often or stray too far. Most times he still was able to gain height too after I clipped him. It often looked as if I didn't even clip him at all! Here's the thing! This time I hadn't clipped Pip in some time. He has been very well behaved and good about going in for me and so I didn't clip him. I let this go a long time, and even after he started acting up, taking off to parts of the house where we don't want him to go, and just plain being bitey and bold! SOooo, last night I clipped him. Here's where I found out something we should keep in mind that we overlook. When a bird's flight feathers grow back, it makes flying easier. I'd imagine that flying for a lovie with fully grown flights is pretty effortless since they are such light little birds. What happens is this......flying gets easier and their wings don't get the workout that they do when they are clipped, so I clipped Pip..........same as always, not alot and he should have a decent amount of flight.........nope! apparently, going too long in between clipping, flying gets easier, and their wing muscles don't get the workout they used to, so you can still clip the same amount, same way, and now poor Pip lands on the floor sometimes and can't get back up to the playgym! It has to be a matter of him not working those wing muscles as much from having close to full flight because I clippped him the same amount as always. SOOO, the moral of this story........if you keep them clipped, it's better to clip regularly or if you wait too long, clip less because those wing muscles had it too easy for too long! It amazed me that my clip was a little more than I wanted for Pip and that it's because I've gone so long without clipping him. He can still fly and all........but I didn't want to limit him this much and didn't realize that not clipping for a while will weaken those muscles so that the same clip that I always do, makes it much harder for him. Next time I'll know........it's just that I've never gone this long before without clipping and you don't realize or keep this in mind, so I thought I'd share this here for those of you who clip.

[linda040899]

Very good points, Kim!
Pet shops aren't the only facilities that are guilty of improper or too drastic flight feather clips! Vets and vet techs have been known to do the same thing! Whenever anyone asks me, I always mention that you need to clip the flights on both wings and clip them alike. In addition to flying, those primary feathers play a role in proper balance and being unbalanced does not make for a happy parrot!

Yes, clipping flight feathers can be a great aid in the taming process but once those feathers grow back in, sometimes you have to re-assess the situation and decide if you want to do it again. Each parrot is different and you know your own parrot better than anyone else. While this community may suggest it, it's not a hard and fast rule here. :)

[Pips mom]

Very true.......there is SO much to consider before clipping! All of my birds have full flight..........except for Pip! I really tried to let clipping go this time for Pip and was hoping he'd stay good for me..........he came SO close this time to having full flight! but when it comes to his behavior, he really needs a clip to calm him down a bit. He even bites Ivy more and I hear her yelling! I have to set limits to keep things sane around here! I'm thinking Pip will end up with full flight one day......he'll make it. I can see him calming little by little as he gets older. I just feel bad right now because I didn't want his flight as limited as it is now. I clipped him the same.........4 flights, and I didn't even clip them down very low. Normally he's still flying all over after I clip him and can even gain height,.........I never even considered that it would be different this time........his clips must have really given him quite the workout!:omg: his muscles aren't used to having to work so hard to fly anymore! He's had it wayyy too easy! workout time Pip! gee, never have to worry about this bird getting enough excersize! When you wait too long to clip.......clip two-three flights and let him fly to see how it is first! I had to put the ladder for him that goes down close to the floor in case he ends up down there and can't get back up! :( poor little guy! He doesn't even seem bothered by it much. I'm sorry Pip! I swear I will be more careful in the future. The clip probably isn't too severe for alot of other people.......but for Pip, I like him to have enough flight to be able to fly up to the playgym and get around without ending up on the floor. Tonight he flew to the computer monitor to land on it and landed on the desk instead. I was reminded though that Pip will happily get on hands for a lift when he has not much other choice! this from my little hand hater!!! I know in no time though that this determined little lovie will be up, up and away and back to his normal flying self......won't take him long!

[Enko_chan]

I went through this with Frey and Odinn. Odinn especially I disliked to clip at that time because we had such a fragile rapport. So I let them be for a while and they grew bolder and even though they were perfectly able to fly anywhere in the room or house, we have neither stairs nor high ceilings, they were considerably more apt to behave with a light clip. They were allowed on the tapestry but not the drapes, the tibetan flags but not the empty aquariums... even though those things were of equal height and distance from one another... they knew where they were allowed and where they were not. As time went on after their wings grew, so did their boldness.

The same resulted when I clipped them, in the end. The good thing is that they quickly regained their prowess in flight. The bad thing was I had to teach them all over again where they were NOT allowed to go. Even a short interval in time between learning to fly is a risk I don't want to take unnecessarily, though. Its a necessary con for a first clip, and a very good point you make. My flock adds our endorsement!