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Imabird

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I just got a 3 year old blue quaker. She came from a home where she was allowed to fly all over the house 24/7. I don't even think she had her own cage. She just perched on the cockatiel cages. I've had her about 3 weeks. She seems to be quite nice and in the beginning I held her a few times and she seemed to somewhat enjoy being preened and petted. Since then I have decided to allow her to come to me on her own terms. Do I need to teach her to step up first? I did get her ings clipped and she will come out of her cage down to the floor. I usually just sit and vocally interact with out approaching her. I'm not sure if I'm doing any of this right. Open to any advise.
 

EkkieLu

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Welcome Aboard! I'm so glad you're here!
 

simon777

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Why did you have her wings clipped? If she has been able to fly her whole life this will be devastating to her.
 

Zara

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Welcome to the forum,

It is disappointing to see that after 3 years of 24/7 flight, cage-free, this bird has now been handicapped.
I wish you had come to the forum before making that descision.

Since then I have decided to allow her to come to me on her own terms.
I open my birds cages, and they can fly to me when they want to.

Do I need to teach her to step up first?
Will the bird eat from your hand? If no, then this is first, if yes then step up is next.

@SandraK @CrazyBirdChick @Mizzely
 

Beasley

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Oh no poor baby! Losing flight is going to be extremely hard on her. Flight is the most natural, essential function she has and it’s been abruptly taken away. She’s likely to feel extremely vulnerable and nervous to trust anything.
 

CrazyBirdChick

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Thanks for tagging me, @Zara.
I am not sure what advice to give because it seems like you're going about things right by allowing her to come to you. With time and trust I'm betting she will come to you and step up. You can teach step up with positive reinforcement too.

I'm sad though, as others have said, that you clipped her wings. Especially after her living flighted for so long. That's going to set her back in trusting for a long time :(
 

Mizzely

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Definitely letting her come to you is the best thing. Making sure she has good access to climbing as taking away her flight will make her more prone to keel bone injuries if she forgets she can't fly anymore.

Quakers tend to be food motivated so you can definitely try to use that to your advantage and try and feed some foodfrom your hand. If she's only able to go to the floor right now then I would sit on the floor and let her come to you :)

I would also highly consider letting her have her wings grow back. Quakers are prone to fatty liver disease and one of the easiest ways to help prevent this besides a good diet low in seeds is to allow flight. They cannot get enough exercise by walking sadly! Birds with clipped wings are also at a higher risk for heart ailments, feather destructive behaviors, and screaming.
 

Imabird

Checking out the neighborhood
Joined
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Sandusky OH
Looking for a new forum without such critical people. No one even asked why I had her wings clipped. I don't deal well with closed minded people. Good bye.
 

Tazlima

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Looking for a new forum without such critical people. No one even asked why I had her wings clipped.
Literally the very first post to comment on the wing clipping asked why.

Why did you have her wings clipped? If she has been able to fly her whole life this will be devastating to her.
The second half of that post? That's not a criticism; it's a fact. A flighted bird that suddenly finds itself grounded for ANY reason - wing clipping, injury, anything - is going to be distressed at losing its primary means of locomotion. I'd be pretty upset if I suddenly lost my ability to walk. Wouldn't you?

I'm not a fan of clipping, but there are some situations where it's unavoidable, the last resort, or otherwise legitimately the best or only option.

People here know that.

However, a lot of bird-owners (not as many as 20 years ago, but still a huge percentage) consider wing-clipping "just part of owning a bird," or use it as their first and/or only go-to solution for any minor behavioral problem, rather than as a last resort.

People here know that, too, and the latter situation is by far the more common one. Horses vs. zebras, yanno?

If you're in the first group, by all means, elaborate. If you're in the second one, well... yeah, you're probbly gonna catch some flack, because while people will be as supportive and helpful as they can, the end goal is to give the PARROTS the best life they can have, and for a normal, healthy parrot, flying is a big part of that.

Realizing we've done our pets wrong is painful. I should know. I grew up in a "wing-clipping-is-just-what-you-do" household, and when, years later, I read more on the subject, it broke my heart to think back on those poor, sweet birds that could have spent their lives in the air if only we'd given them the chance.

But as Maya Angelou said, "I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better."

All any of us can do is our best.

I don't know if you'll read this, but I felt like it needed to be said.
 
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