Kirby is depressed.. day 3

[Kirby]

Well... Kirby had his last straw with me on Friday when he flew DOWNSTAIRS into the bathroom, back upstairs and into the wall lol...

So he had his wings clipped even more.

I took him to the FFlocks place and they are typical for having one wing clipped. I wasnt so partial to that, but they said that he wouldn't be able to fly as well as before.

He had one wing clipped and I have NEVER seen a bird so depressed. He hasn't left his happy hut in 3 days. He only comes out every so often to eat, WHICH he wont fly over to the other side of his cage to get, I had to put it on the ground for him.

He finally ventured out tonight and *Sniff* landed on the ground. I just spent 10 minutes with him snuggling him and holding him.. Poor guy. Now he's like.. SNUGGLE ME... LOVE ME.. I NEED SNUGGLES.. :rofl: He's so cute.

But man..it's so heartbreaking watching him now with one wing clipped :cry:

[LauraO]

It's one thing to clip a birds wing but it's really cruel and dangerous to only clip one. Most birds are upset for a day or two, but I'm thinking Kirby is confused because he can't even hop around his cage without spinning out. I would advise you to get his other wing clipped ASAP.

Good Luck to you and Kirby

[linda040899]

Clipping just the flight feathers on one wing is unacceptable, regardless of what you've been told! Birds use those feathers for more than just flight. They use them for balance when they are not flying so Kirby is off balance, plus he has limited, if any, flight.

The flight feathers on the other wing need to be cut to match the clipped side. I don't blame Kirby for staying in his hut!!!

You need to have the flight feathers on the other wing clipped to match the one that's already been clipped. How many feathers were cut on the shorter wing?

[Kirby]

His balance is actually okay...

But I think i'll just do the other wing myself.. :x Now it'll look like he just has fuzz and no wings...

Man I hate not going with my gut instinct.. it told me to NOT get his wings done like that..

He had basically all the flight feathers except two long ones on the end not cut off on either wing.. and he could still fly

[linda040899]

Trimming flight feathers is only supposed to limit flight, not eliminate it! Chances are that clipping 6-8 of the primary flights (including the 2 outside ones) should do the trick, but please do both wings. Kirby's balance may look OK, but you can believe it's hard for him. Kind of like a human that can only use one arm.

[michael]

OH my! Poor Kirby! I hope he doesn't hurt himself! What a terrible thing to do to ANY bird. I would get his wings clipped as symetrical as possible. No wonder he appears depressed. He's afraid to move! You may want to think twice about placing Kirby into the hands of this person/s. If they can't properly clip wings, then any other care would be highly questionable. Michael and Goofy

[Kirby]

You know how lovies have the two or three longer feathers on the ends that stick out when theyre folded? Well he has NONE on one side..

If i cut the other side he'll have NO feathers whatso ever
My god what have I done...

[LauraO]

Just relax. Not seeing any flights sticking out is not a bad thing. I usually clip four or five of the longer ones and often see no flights but the birds can still get lift. If possible spread Kirby's wings out on the clipped side, count the feathers and their places and follow that on the other side. If you cut all his flights they will grow back. It's still ebtter to have no flights for a while then just one side.

I will go look in the resource library. There's a good example for wing clippings

:) :)

[Kirby]

So I just cut the other side and the poor guy can actually make it to me now from my laptop

He still has his secondary flights on both side according to the pictures in the Resource Library...

So now he looks like a chicken XD

[LauraO]

:happy: :happy:

Glad to hear you did so good and Kirby is more mobile.

[Kirby]

poor guy... now I dont know whether or not to take his happy hut away lol

[linda040899]

Sounds like all primary flight feathers were clipped on one side but the glide feathers are still intact (a good thing). How close to the covert feathers (the layer of feathers above the flights) were the flight feathers cut? Kirby's may be able to fly so well because the flight feathers were not cut short enough.

I'm glad that both sides are at least the same right now.

[Kirby]

I am not too sure how short they were cut, but he looks semi-normal.

And my friend Steve, who has a Cockatiel named Mika sent him this as a get well card:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f199/skygtrr34/macaroni.jpg

[michael]

I'll bet Kirby's feeling a lot more stable thanks to your much needed efforts. Good show!.......Michael/Goofy

Then again, walking on macaroni can be a little tricky.