Questions...

[popal]

hi all, hopeall ur birds are great:)

i have been given 3 lovebirds:)
mum, dad & baby:)

the baby is 16 weeks old, i got him/her out 2day 4 the first time and 2 my surprize he didnt even bite me:)
and i have had him out a couple of times 2day and still no biting which is great:)

i have had the babies wing cliped so i can tame him, i did some research but am still deciding if it was the right thig 2 do, what do u think?

also mum, dad & baby r all in the same cage will this stop the baby from becoming tame?

ant advice will be geat:) thx 4 any help. Michael.

[Janie]

Congratulations on your new birds! :) I'm assuming that at 16 weeks this baby is fully weaned and was also fully flighted before you gave him/her a wing clip. My two younger birds got their first mini clip when they were about 10 weeks old. A first wing clip is fine as long as you know the bird has flight before the clip. As far as how long they can stay in the same cage, I don't know. Others here have had two adults with only one chick but I can't remember how long the threesome were able to remain together. I've always read that three together will not work so eventually and maybe very soon, you will need to move one out.

I do think that giving the baby a wing clip will help with taming. :) All three of mine are clipped, as much for there safety as anything else.

[Keltoth]

I am a big, BIG supporter of the notion of wing-clipping lovebirds - especially YOUNG lovebirds - that are new to you and your home. Not only do wing-clips give a bird a HUGE attitude-adjustment and make them more inclined to work with you and be more open to instruction, but it also prevents them from attempting to fly away at full tilt whenever they get startled and flying headlong into a window or wall - which can cause serious injury or death. Of course, it also eliminates thier chances of making a quick escape out into the outdoors, but in my opinion, the risk of injury that is greatly reduced with a simple wing-clip trumps all the other benefits one also gains from a clip.

I'm glad you decided to give your young bird a clip, and I encourage you do get the parents clipped also. Kudos to you for taking the effort to ask for advice with your new birds; many new owners do not do so until they find their bird in dire straights - usually with tragic results.

See you around the boards!

-Eric

[Mummieeva]

You can just watch the three of them. It will most likely not be a permanant thing though so I would have another cage ready. The baby could become less tame if not taken out regularly. My birds are taken out daily and played with. A wing clip is a personal choice to me. But it does help with taming greatly. Some birds can remain tame with full wings others can not. I have my birds un clipped at moment. I have a cat so I want to be safe for right now.


Steph

[Mandolin]

I think it was very smart to have your baby's wings clipped. I know first hand what can happen if it isn't done when they are young. I had a 3 month old lovie before i got Kameko (Actually he was her older brother). This bird didn't have his wings clipped until i got him and they didn't clip all of this flight feathers. He was very wild and on more than one occasion he flew straight into walls to get away and ended up dying a week after i got him :( (we think he cracked his skull). It was very sad. Kameko's wings were clipped as soon as she could fly and she was a breeze to tame and handle. Good luck with all three, and enjoy :) .

[popal]

thx 4 all ur comments ppl:)

just a thing about the wing clipping, do u have 2 cut both wings?

thx:)

[Mandolin]

I've never seen a bird with only one wing's feathers clipped, but i would think that that would make them pretty lopsided :D .

[Keltoth]

Yes- you will want to clip both wings. Otherwise, the bird has more lift on one wing than on the other and cannot maintain a controled flight path.

[Buy A Paper Doll]

Yep, you always want to clip both wings evenly. The idea is to clip just enough that your bird cannot get any height of speed if he does try to fly, but can still land safely from wherever he is. If you only clip one wing then he will have trouble landing safely if he falls or jumps from someplace. If you clip too many, he will drop like a lead balloon and could be seriously injured or killed.

If you check out the Lovebird Resource Library, there are a couple of articles with pictures showing how to safely clip a bird's wings. You may also want to ask your breeder or your avian vet to show you. What I do is have my avian vet clip my birds' wings for me the first time, and then any new feathers that grow in, I clip myself.