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To clip a new baby rose breasted cockatoo or not?

JLcribber

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I just heard back after leaving a text. He said he would not clip. All safe
I'll believe that when it happens. Don't be too surprised if they clip him anyway.
 

Begone

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That makes sense! I’m curious what is a safety door and where do you use a curtain?
Safety door is two doors away from where the bird are accept to be. Both should always be closed but if the bird manage to follow you through one it will still be safe. The curtains is when you not have doors to use. Can also be placed right in front of the door.

You will also need to cover windows with something.
 

EkkieLu

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Please don't EVER clip a baby's wings!!! The surgeon wanted to clip Angel's wings to make sure he wouldn't try to fly while he's healing but I threw a major fit. Our babies have enough to deal with without crippling them too. We as owners need to make whatever changes or adjustments required to keep them safe and not cruelly adjust them to fit safely into our homes.

Sorry, I don't intend to sound so mean. It just struck a nerve and vividly brought back the ugly scene I caused at the vet hospital the other night.
 

Shezbug

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My baby came to me with no clipping. He had only actually gotten airborne once at the breeders.
He did fine learning to fly in his new environment (my home).
As most of it was still practice flying he never got up to a speed to do any serious damage while he learned. He actually had more trouble learning how to stop going upwards....he banged into the ceiling more often than he crashed into things.
Each little crash he had seemed to make him plan his flying attempts a little better.
I picked him up straight away after a crash landing and told him he was fine and doing good (while checking him over for any cuts or bruises on his face, we never had any real problems with him and his crashes.
I think your bird will be best left not clipped as it is more natural for them to have a few crashes and learn from them than to constantly end up with no flight control or ability to better their skills.
 

Tinabell

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I won’t clip. After reading the articles I decided absolutely against it. I have a feeling the breeder won’t clip as he promised. He wanted to lightly clip, I told him I was against it , he warned me , but agreed to not clip . I don’t think he’ll do it after our conversation.

I was wondering, after I get my bird home from the airport, what do you all think is the best plan for getting him of her in the cage and for the next few days afterwards to my bird happy and not flying away from me too far away from me in the house before it’s bonded? It will be taught step up apparently before I get get. If should be around 12+ weeks old ?
A couple people gave some good ideas in the beginning of the thread. I’m just looking for more help .
 

Begone

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I let my new birds out from day 1. Often 1-2 hrs before bedtime. It's important that they are allowed to fly. (fly = exercise)
If they are not tame I just wait until it's dark outside and take them back in the cage with a stick. (in a room that is almost dark)
If they are tame I try to take them on my hand/arm first and if they don't want that I use a stick.
And bribe them is the best way.
I never train in the cage so I must have them out for training. My birds cage is 100% theirs.
It's important that they have some place that they feel safe.
I have never had a bird that was cage aggressive. They have never had a reason for that. Respect them and they will respect you.
 

Shezbug

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I think each bird is quite individual and unique in the best way to let them settle in.

My bird was very quiet but curious and not showing signs of stress when I bought him home so I put him in the main room up high so he could just take in the sounds and sights if that room from a safe height, he could also see his new cage from where he was first placed.
He seemed to respond well when spoken to and looked at and seemed to want more of that so we took him into my bedroom (as it was a much smaller area than the room he was in and there were no dangers in that room for him) I opened the carrier door and he came out and wanted comforting straight away. He snuggled in and looked for comfort then passed out for a baby nap.

Each bird will respond differently and each person will tell you a different way to deal with things.

The best I can advise is to read your bird and try to put yourself in its position, this may help you to decide if the behaviour your seeing means your bird wants some quiet time or some interaction.
Take everything slow and don’t expect too much from your bird.
It may be sold as hand tame/reared but it will be used to the original owners so it will still take you some time to show the baby you will be kind and gentle and respectful and for you guys to get to comfort level the breeder had with the baby.
 

Gazimon

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I think it really depends on how tame or secure your bird feels after arriving in a new environment. Some are very confident and can be let out on day 1. Others may be a bit more nervous about the new place and people [especially after transport], and may benefit from a few days to a week's time in cage so that they can observe their surroundings and the rhythm of the place and people.

For getting it into the new cage, can you align the carrier and cage's door so that it 'wanders' in? Or is the cage door much much larger than the carrier?
 

finchly

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I'll believe that when it happens. Don't be too surprised if they clip him anyway.
Captain Jack’s breeder trimmed, I mean hacked his wings. I had asked her not to. I got him at 10 weeks.. He’s now 15 months and doesn’t know he can fly.

But he can hop really, really far.
 

Tinabell

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That’s so sad! I sure hope my breeder doesn’t do that! I’m so sorry. I think that’s really bad if you specifically requested it not be clipped. I’m so sorry .
 

Nikomania

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So happy to hear that you're allowing your bird to keep the gift of flight! I have 13 birds and they're all flighted. It's all about creating a safe environment with safety rules in place.
Congratulations!!!
 

Tinabell

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My cage will have a large door compared to the carrier . I can arrange perch close to the door and some trays there and hope it will stay in. I was thinking of putting the carrier close to the top of the door so it can’t climb up and out .
 

Shezbug

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I asked the breeder I got Burt from not to clip his wings..... he was horrified I thought he would do that but so pleased I stipulated that I wanted him to learn as early as possible what his wings were for. Thankfully he doesn’t clip any of his birds.

Hopefully your breeder will follow your wishes and leave your birds wings alone.

I can’t wait to hear all about your first few days together :)

 

Tinabell

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My breeder felt it wasn’t ok to not clip his wings. He recommended a light clip so he could still glide. I told him I didn’t want him to clip them af all and he agreed not to, though he didn’t approve. I think he will honor my request. I’ll keep mentioning it as he and I speak to be sure he knows how important it still is to me.
 

finchly

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A light trim is ok but still not my favorite. And a lot of them say they’ll do a light clip but then they don’t really know what that is.

People think you can control the bird with trims but you really can’t. I have very high ceilings, and yes the birds can go up where we can’t reach them but (so far) it’s not really been an issue. You just teach them to fly to you.

And of course, there’s “if I clip him he can’t fly away out the door.” Well, the day I trimmed a cockatiel hubby walked into the garage and forgot tully was on his shoulder. The wind caught him and he was gone for 24 hours! We got him back, he’d gone a mile. That’s the day I stopped clipping.
 

Tinabell

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Oh wow! You’re so lucky to get him back. I read that Unclipped is actually safer and more hope in getting them back home safely. Initially I was thinking lightly clipped was ok until he bonded to me and I trained him to recall. Now I changed my mind after reading information this group has passed on to me. So no clipping for Bisou!
 

Nikomania

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Yay! He'll be so much happier doing what comes naturally. It'll take him awhile to figure out how to maneuver around your place, so expect a few crash landings in the beginning.
 

Gazimon

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I remember seeing a young sparrow trying to alight on a "balcony" of a large graphic advertisement which depicted an upcoming condominium. The graphic itself was a flat sticker, but the young sparrow kept trying to land on the middle of it because the balconies looked so real, like miniature perches. It tried 4 to 5 times before it gave up. I was just so amused coz it was like watching a toddler trying to grab an image.
 
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