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Child Item

clipping pet birds wings.

fathead82

I have a hand raised kakariki,7 weeks old, hand raised by myself since he was 2 weeks old. He's very tame & nothing seems to bother him.
He is now learning to fly which worries me a bit, open windows, open doors, the oven, the sink, flying into windows etc are all a hazard for him. His cage opens at the top & he likes sitting there but takes off flying every now & then.
My options are, to leave him inside his cage & only let him out when all doors/windows are closed & oven/range are not hot, or to clip his wing feathers & allow him more time out of his cage sitting on the perch on top of it.
What is others opinions on this? Is it cruel to deprive him of his flight to allow him more out of cage time & keep him safe?

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Magenta

Don't clip his wings. I made the mistake of doing it to my cockatiel and he was completely traumatised. He knew he couldn't escape quickly if he was in danger. Took months for his feathers to come back.
Just be extra careful when letting the little guy out. Close the oven, pull the blind down, close doors etc. I do this with my birds now and they are fine. Sitting on a perch on top of the cage is really no different to sitting in it. Is there a bedroom or something you can let him out in where there are less things to check on first?

They love flying around, it's great exercise for them too.

fathead82

Great idea,I never thought of letting him out in another room, I could let him out in the bathroom with the toilet seat down. It would be easier clean up after him in there too & nothing he could damage. he is so active, I hate seeing him locked up in his cage.

mymo

Can we see a pic?

My friends had lovebirds they used to let out for exercise in their bathroom too, it was big and easy to clean as you said.
Another had an empty spare room with Lino floor that they put a big chunk of tree in and let their cockatiels (little grey and yellow with red cheeks, not sure of name) out in most of the day, they hid stuff around for them to find too.

fathead82

Hope that works, the laptop is broke so im using the phone.
I had him out in the bathroom for a while today, he seemed to be happy enough.
Has anyone ever used a bird harness to take them outside?

Magenta

fathead82 wrote: »

I've only ever seen it on larger birds like macaws. I wouldn't try it. There is no need if they can fly inside and it's only more hazards to watch out for, you couldn't relax for a second- you wouldn't believe how quick cats etc are. It looks like your little guy is used to cats from seeing them outside- he might not know to fear them or fly away from them.

I've brought my birds outside in their cage and every cat in the area comes into the garden and won't leave til I bring the birds back in. The cats go into this state where all they see and hear is the birds- no amount of shooing them makes them lose interest.

Milly33

Please please do not clip the wings. Such a nasty thing to do to a bird yes well in my head it is cruel, birds are made to fly... It would be like chopping off your legs...

A bird harness you could try but I cannot see this happening and it would be better to have the bird in the bathroom free to fly around, rather than having him on a harness with you controlling where he goes as such.. If it was a bigger bird fine you could use a pedestal etc but it all depends on the bird..

Would you consider building a small aviary for the bird..

mymo

Lovely bird and gorgeous cat!

pawrick

My first parrotlet was hand reared and was clipped when I got him (I hadn't asked for it to be done). He could still fly as in glide down from his cage but couldn't fly back up. The feathers grew back eventually and he has no problems flying about now. I close the curtains/blinds and remove anything which could cause harm in a bad landing. I never bothered getting his wings clipped again and he he great at flying. I don't think I'd agree with having it done for the first time to an adult bird.

fathead82

Milly33 wrote: »

Please please do not clip the wings. Such a nasty thing to do to a bird yes well in my head it is cruel, birds are made to fly... It would be like chopping off your legs...

A bird harness you could try but I cannot see this happening and it would be better to have the bird in the bathroom free to fly around, rather than having him on a harness with you controlling where he goes as such.. If it was a bigger bird fine you could use a pedestal etc but it all depends on the bird..

Would you consider building a small aviary for the bird..

I don't plan on taking him outside and flying him like a kite, it would be to keep him safe while he sits on my shoulder & gets a bit of mental stimulation. To be honest, I can't really see a harness working out.
I have an outside aviary already but his parents live in it, ideally I would be able to put him out there for an hour or 2 every day but I don't think his parents would accept him in their space.it's about 8 x 6 foot.

Milly33

Not being funny but why did you take him from the parents so young..

I must admit thinking harness and bird I was like mmm but suppose you could do it just be weary that if he did get away id say you will be gutted if he didn't come back

Magenta

Milly33 wrote: »

Not being funny but why did you take him from the parents so young..

To hand raise it. Read the first post.

Milly33

I did read it , it says "I have a hand raised kakariki" it doesn't say he took him from the parents to hand raise him..

Magenta

Milly33 wrote: »

I did read it , it says "I have a hand raised kakariki" it doesn't say he took him from the parents to hand raise him..

"7 weeks old, hand raised by myself since he was 2 weeks old".

Again, read the post. Why would you hand raise a bird if his parents are raising him at the same time?

Milly33

Ok Magenta stick your head in the freezer to cool it down no need to be an ass.

As pointed out I did read the post...

You would hand raise a bird if the parents were not taking care of him properly - read a few books it might enlighten you.

And I didn't say why hand raise if the parents were raising it too, you just said that - so again perhaps tis you need to go back and read things properly.

And sorry but if the parents birds were tame enough and accepted the OP they may very well let him handle the bird once tis gone over a few weeks..

Don't bite first Magenta unless you can back it up...

fathead82

Milly33 wrote: »

Not being funny but why did you take him from the parents so young..

I must admit thinking harness and bird I was like mmm but suppose you could do it just be weary that if he did get away id say you will be gutted if he didn't come back

I took him to hand raise him as I wanted a pet bird & parent raised birds lead a miserable, scared life when they are stuck in a cage. I took him at such a young age because he was the only survivor from a clutch of 4 chicks. The parents were first timers & lost interest & started nesting in another box (which I have now removed).

Milly33

Right well I cant say I agree with the comment but look each to your own..

Not sure what you can do really tis up to yourself really, just don't clip his wings.. Leaving him out in the bathroom I suppose it you are saying you dont have room in the aviary is your best bet. Or just be vigilant and make sure all windows and doors are closed before letting him out.

You can train them regards pooping if you wanted to let him have free rain of the house but haven't seen many success stories

Magenta

Milly33 wrote: »

And I didn't say why hand raise if the parents were raising it too, you just said that - so again perhaps tis you need to go back and read things properly.

You implied it, but are unable to back it up.

Milly33 wrote: »

Don't bite first Magenta unless you can back it up...You would hand raise a bird if the parents were not taking care of him properly

Parrot breeders all over the world hand raise birds because otherwise they do not tame properly and are not as good pets, even if handled after a few weeks old.

http://www.uq.edu.au/vetschool/hand-rearing-parrots-a-simple-guide
http://www.lovethatpet.com/small-pets/birds/bird-training/

Anyone in the parrot industry can tell you that. I would suggest it is yourself that doesn't know what you are talking about. Happy reading!
And don't bite first unless you can back it up...

You now look very silly.

Milly33

Nope not really Magenta your the only one coming across as a tool to put it nicely..

Your making arguments for arguments sake stop acting like a child.. And your first answer you say I implied it, did I really you know this for a fact I wont go and tell you about asses and presumptions

Ranchu

If you don't clip it and it gets out you'll be sorry. Parrots go missing all the time and it very rarely ends well for them. They won't be able to fly any distance anyway as their wing muscles will be massively underdeveloped from being in a cage or flying around a small room so they'll have no chance against any predators outside.

It's a little bit stupid to be comparing birds in their natural habitat to caged birds anyway. If you felt strongly about it you shouldn't be keeping them in a cage either way.

Ranchu

Milly33 wrote: »

Nope not really Magenta your the only one coming across as a tool to put it nicely..

Your making arguments for arguments sake stop acting like a child.. And your first answer you say I implied it, did I really you know this for a fact I wont go and tell you about asses and presumptions

He's right though. A hand reared bird will do far better than a normal caged bird in captivity.

Magenta

Milly33 wrote: »

Your making arguments for arguments sake stop acting like a child..

No, you are unable to read posts, stating things that are not correct, and getting very upset when someone pulls you up on it

Milly33 wrote: »

I wont go and tell you about asses and presumptions

The phrase is actually asses and assumptions.... Every day is a school day!

fathead82

Ranchu wrote: »

It's a little bit stupid to be comparing birds in their natural habitat to caged birds anyway. If you felt strongly about it you shouldn't be keeping them in a cage either way.

I dont think i was comparing?

Ranchu

fathead82 wrote: »

I dont think i was comparing?

Sorry, I was more referring to the clipping wings is like chopping off your legs comment.

DBB

Milly33,
Do not post in this thread again, and do not address other posters in such an uncivil way, ever. Make your point, but don't call people names or back-seat moderate.
Thanks,
DBB

Ranchu

Milly33 wrote: »

<snip>

They can fly in a very small area. The bigger picture is that if you're keeping a bird in a cage it's as far removed from its natural habitat and behaviours you can get. Clipping and hand rearing are possibly better for the bird in that they will be much safer for the former and much happier for the latter.

Irishchick

If a wing clip disables a bird then it is done incorrectly. All a clip should ever do is prevent them from gaining height and speed. My grey is clipped for the winter months because she was getting up such speeds in the house I was terrified she's crash into a window and break her neck.

I clipped two feathers on each side and she can still fly from the kitchen up the hall and around into the sitting room! She just cant go up or reach break neck speeds!

By the time the summer comes around and shes out in the avairy she can still fly around as fast as she wants

The only real danger is that people mistakenly think clipped birds cant fly. They can. The wind can easily take a clipped bird and the could fly for miles so its important not to get complacent.