Clipped

[Tinabell]

very sad to say the Rose Breasted Cockatoo I was going to take home in July was put to sleep from multiple birth defects . I found another in Florida and the breeder promised to not clip the wings. Today he told me he had to clip two feathers on each side, a light clip. He said in a few months they would grow back. I am not happy about that! Do you think a clip of two feathers in a 9 week old Rose Breasted Cockatoo will be a big problem ? I haven’t put a deposit down yet on it . I haven’t found any others though that I can get under $3,000 or that are coming from very hot climates making it perhaps impossible to fly them to me in Oregon.

 

[Shezbug]

Oh how sad. I’m sorry to hear of the poor baby’s passing.

Did the breeder say why they had to do a light clip? I will never understand people who love and care for birds doing this to them....especially as a baby.

 

[Tinabell]

He said his mother who raises them was worried they would get hurt in the ceiling fans in Florida. I was wondering considering it’s two feathers ate clipped , is this something that will not effect the bird much? Can a 8-9 week old RB2 fly well enough to remember how to fly after it grows its wings back?

 

[Shezbug]

I can’t really answer that to be completely honest.
I do know the fledging stage is important for many reasons for birds, it’s not just physical health but mental development also.
I hope some others who know more about the effects of clipping and the differences between certain types of clipping may be able to help you.
@JLcribber may be able to help or tag others who can?

 

[Mizzely]

If they haven't fledged yet then it's really hard to know the long term effects of the clipping. If babies can't get enough lift they may stop eating longer than normal to try and get lift which can also have detrimental effects.

My Quaker was clipped at 12 weeks... He didn't grow enough feathers to fly until 18 months. It takes sometimes a long time for those feathers to grow back. It is not usually a few months. It is anywhere from 6 to 18 months.

A light clip or not I would be personally cautious going with a breeder that goes against my wishes :/

 

[JLcribber]

Can a 8-9 week old RB2 fly well enough to remember how to fly after it grows its wings back?

I doubt it. Read this and decide for yourself.

Thinking on the wing.

 

[JLcribber]

He said his mother who raises them was worried they would get hurt in the ceiling fans in Florida.

An excuse to rationalize what they do to customers. I'll say it again. Your chances of finding a breeder (especially of Toos) who doesn't clip, hand feed and human imprint their birds is slim to none. It's not economical/profitable to do it any other way.

There are WONDERFUL fully flighted adult birds at a rescue near you. You are "dismissing" the opportunity to find that bird that is meant for you because of some vision that is not based in reality. JMHO (and 40 years experience)

 

[Dona]

My Linnie was clipped as a baby and at 16 months is an expert flyer. She can fly quickly, hover and land accurately. @Leih just mentioned that her previously clipped Lovie flies very well now.

My caiques were clipped as babies and never flew, despite my efforts to toss them over a bed to practice, etc. I wonder if this varies from species to species or has to do with weight?

 

[Lady Jane]

. He said in a few months they would grow back

This is not a true statement by this breeder. Regrowth of cut feathers takes anywhere from 7 to 12 months. It can be a slow process.
I believe you have a wide choice of bird rescues in Florida.

 

[JLcribber]

This is not a true statement by this breeder. Regrowth of cut feathers takes anywhere from 7 to 12 months. It can be a slow process.

It's double that if all the flights are hacked off.

 

[Lady Jane]

As I look through ads on CL for Rose Breasted cockatoo there are a few. One would need to be very careful though because as with most high priced birds there are scams.

 

[Leih]

My lovebird does fly very well, however she was 5 months when I got her and she was clipped at that time, so I am unsure about her fledge stage. I recently saw a RBC at the parrot shop here that was available for rehome. Not sure about the OPs location, or if she (the bird) is still available, but I'm in Cleveland.

 

[Mizzely]

I believe she is in Oregon

 

[Leih]

I believe she is in Oregon

Oh I see that now. I didn't read all the way.

 

[zoo mom]

When I first got Russell Boogertoo I had to clip a couple feathers on each wing to slow him down a little. 2 feathers on each side really did nothing to slow him down. But he was 9 months and a good flyer. Not sure how it would affect such a young one.

 

[MahaSarah]

It took my Amazon Parrot a very long time to grow her feathers back, I don't remember how long but more than a year to grow all her feathers back enough to be able to fly. It will most def not take a few months.

I would go against buying a bird from this breeder since it seems like they are explicitly going against your wishes. And that doesn't sound like a good start to me.

 

[Leanna]

Kate was clipped before I knew any better, but she had definitely fledged. She and Zoey have no problem flying now. Milo was clipped before he ever fledged (not my choice), but that doesn't mean there's no hope for him. He's already trying and my vet assures me eventually he will get there, especially with the caiques as examples.

 

[Monica]

Do you think a clip of two feathers in a 9 week old Rose Breasted Cockatoo will be a big problem ?

Personally, I can't imagine it would be too much of an issue since it usually takes at least 4-6 feathers clipped to ground a parrot... up to 10 (if not more) in some birds. (usually the light, slender birds!)

I haven’t found any others though that I can get under $3,000 or that are coming from very hot climates making it perhaps impossible to fly them to me in Oregon.

I can understand wanting to keep it under $3,000... but that said, heat should not be an issue! They are flown in air conditioned areas on planes and if it's too hot, they'll delay the bird in an airport. I actually have first hand experience here.... had a conure shipped to me from Ohio. She came to me from another member here. She was flown from Ohio to Texas, then to Nevada. It was actually 6 years ago this month. We (@webchirp and I) didn't even know she was delayed in Texas until after she was supposed to have arrived here in Nevada. After some frantic phone calls, we were able to find out she was safe and would be arriving the following day. She made it safely. Unfortunately, Jayde had a short life. Miss the little runt!

He said his mother who raises them was worried they would get hurt in the ceiling fans in Florida.

If ceiling fans are an issue then clipping two feathers on each side isn't going to protect them.... that said, I would suggest finding another breeder... someone whom you can speak with directly, rather than having a "middleman" so to speak...

Can a 8-9 week old RB2 fly well enough to remember how to fly after it grows its wings back?

*Probably* - but it's not really about remembering so much as learning.... I doubt at that age the chicks are even flying at this stage. Could be wrong but I really think they would be a bit older before they start flying?

My caiques were clipped as babies and never flew, despite my efforts to toss them over a bed to practice, etc. I wonder if this varies from species to species or has to do with weight?

It's from my understanding that caiques aren't as big of flyers as other species... so to a degree, it's normal. Add in being clipped and possibly not having the confidence to fly and/or the muscle mass required to, and they may not have much determination *TO* fly. Target training may be beneficial here, if you haven't already done so... just teaching them to follow a target, then stretch to the target, then hop to the target, and eventually flying?

 

[Laurie]

I doubt it. Read this and decide for yourself.

Thinking on the wing.

Excellent article. Thanks for sharing it.

I especially appreciate the presentation of development and psychology. Just browsing the internet will expose one to all sorts of ideas, true and false, only when proof is offered to support the idea does it become useful to a person in making a well informed decision.

 

[Laurie]

My caiques were clipped as babies and never flew, despite my efforts to toss them over a bed to practice, etc. I wonder if this varies from species to species or has to do with weight?

This is most likely a result of the clipping as babies. It takes time for them to develop muscles and stamina and if they did not develop it as babies you may need to help them along. I also think that caiques are pretty heavy bodies so they need to work at it to get lift. I used to have parrotlets and if they flapped they would almost accidentally generate lift (linnies are probably similar) Caiques have to launch themselves with their legs while flapping to actually get airborne. I can attest to the fact that caiques do indeed like to fly. Perhaps they do not fly as often as other species do (I don't know since I only have the caiques), however baby caiques LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to fly. As someone who raises a few babies every year and never clips them I can tell you that they use flight to play, for transportation, to escape, to burn off energy and just for fun.