Clipping wings-too much?

[Chiappone]

I tried to look through the past posts to see if anyone had already answered this but I didn't see anything-
I am working on taming with my new lovies and have clipped their wings (have had other birds and have worked in a vet's office and a pet store, so done it a few hundred times already with all different types of birds) but Lime STILL can fly up on top of my ceiling fan or the top of the drapes and I cut at least 6 or so of his flights already. I was just wondering if it's OK to keep going until he can't get that good of a lift or if you go much past the first 5-6 flights if it's just going to end up a butchered wing?

Anyone ever had a birdy that just kept flying? lol :confused:

I just don't want to go overboard and end up with him not even being able to coast from one end of his cage to the other, I thought I had already trimmed a significant amount and yet he still flys around with just a slight difference from being completely unclipped!
Tequila is too freaked out still when she comes out of the cage (rarely) so she's not too much of an issue yet.

Thanks for the help :D

Jen, Tequila and Lime

[DebSpace]

I have similar situations with two of my birds, not with ceiling fans but their ability to fly well with good clippings. I want them to be safe, but I don't want to immobilize them. If they are in larger flight cages, I have heard that because of the increase in activity they will adapt. I'll wait to see what others say on this issue, so I'll check back.:)

[Elle]

My little Blu is like that. We clip her and she still flies. She's a lot slower and has to flap her wings three times harder but she can still fly.
At this point, 1clip one feather at the time, observe the bird, if she is still able to fly, I cut one more. I observe and will cut one more. For some reason, the number 8 sticks in my head and I don't cut more than that. Going one feather at the time at this point is crucial. One too many can make a difference between a soft glide and hard crash.

You want to observe the bird very closely. There are different scenarios possible. 1- it does not make a difference in the world, they don't notice they are clipped and can take hight. 2- They cannot take hight but they can flight in distance, a lot slower. 3- They can gently glide to the floor.

If they can flight horizontally but slower, that's okay. It means they use alot more energy to fly and eventually they will slow down in their attempts. They will be easier to chase and pick up.

I hope that helps you a little. Clipping can be so subjective!

[sdgilley]

Hi!
http://www.netpets.org/birds/reference/behavioral/flitrim.html
This is in our resource library. There are three articles, but this one is the only one that mentions the number of feathers you can trim. I thought I'd read in a book that you can trim 10 on each side, which seemed like a bunch to me. But, I can't keep Luka from flying. So, I gave up and he remains flighted. That means he has closely supervised time out, because he's a bit of a rambunctious character.

So, if you're trimming about 6, you can trim a couple more and see if that helps. I'd test-flight your birdie along the way so you don't trim to many.

Good luck!

[wilkiecoco]

i have never clipped 10 feathers!!!!: omg that seems like an awful lot. were they talking about 5 on each side maybe???

kiwi is still able to fly with 6 clipped on each side, but he remains horizontal, and cannot gain height. that is fine for me, as he usually glides safely down when he reaches his desired destination, usually me!!! :whistle: once he is able to gain altitude, after a few months, then i trim them back again. :)

[Chiappone]

Hmm, thanks for the input everyone. I'll have to try one or 2 more this afternoon when I get the chance. I'd like to get it close to right after just a time or two since they're still so freaked out about anyone or anything (towel) getting too close to them, and Tequila having the heart murmer thing, I don't know what I'd do if she dropped dead just because I caused her stress trimming her wings! :(
I'll keep you posted on how many it takes till we have a decent trim!

Thanks a bunch :)

Jen

[Buy A Paper Doll]

How did the wing clip go? :)

[Janie]

i have never clipped 10 feathers!!!!: omg that seems like an awful lot. were they talking about 5 on each side maybe???



Yes, five on each wing. 10 would be a big thud to the ground. :omg:

[Chiappone]

Well I have to say, I ended up trimming just a few more on Tequila and she seems ok, maybe one or 2 more eventually. Lime on the other hand... I've trimmed him as much as I think I should without him not having any feathers left, lol, and he still gets around pretty well. It did help but he still gets ALOT of lift. So I'm not too sure what else I should try if anything, we'll just see how he adjusts to his new wings for a few days.


Jen

[Cathy]

I trim about 7 on each wing as per my p'let breeder showed me. She strongly suggested that I learn because my p'let bit the .... out of her and since then we avoid the stress of an hour trip and Jasmine having a fit because someone else is holding her. I do it and it takes about a minute on each wing. The trick is to handle your birds and extend their wings occasionally so that it is not too traumatic when you need to do a trim.

[sdgilley]

I trim about 7 on each wing as per my p'let breeder showed me.
When I had Peter & Luka's wings trimmed, you could trim that many on Luka (easily 7 feathers on each side) and he can fly anyway. Peter wouldn't but Luka sure would. I finally gave in and they are flighted. They are not very tame, but I don't mind.

The trick is, as Janie mentioned, you want to avoid the THUD effect of them having zero flight. Clip a feather or two and test them. That's how my vet would do it. I trim my hen's wings, but only a few (4 maybe 5) on each side to keep her out of trouble.

[Eliza]

Yes, five on each wing. 10 would be a big thud to the ground. :omg:


I seem to remember 5 flights per being the magic number too, Janie.

That's what I ask for when I take Beetle to be trimmed. The first time I took them the girl said she trimmed 7 or 8 :omg: Thankfully, the trimmed looked nice, Beetle didn't fall to the ground like a rock, the vet seemed OK w/ the trim (he saw Beetle about a month later) and it grew in nicely.

-e-