Breeder wing clipping

[Ripshod]

we have 6 children who will not be as mindful about doors, ceiling fans, toilets etc…

I bring this up yet again. You expect those children to be constantly mindful of a bird on the floor?

They wait until after the bird flies first, then they do a “baby cut”

No such thing.

She has some green cheeks that are clipped. From my non expert vantage point it appeared as of the first 6-8 flight feathers were trimmed way back….

That's butchery.
I'm going to have to ignore this thread and it's contradictions.
I have no power over people places and things. I do have the power to leave it there.

 

[flyzipper]

I agree with @Ripshod about the ineffectiveness of relying on people behaving the right way to accomplish an objective (the more people involved, the worse this approach becomes).
I've been involved in security for many years, and safeguards need to be automatic to be effective.

Tagging @FiatLux because I know she has kids and dogs and has a specific approach to keeping her little one safe.

 

[Craigfam]

I bring this up yet again. You expect those children to be constantly mindful of a bird on the floor?

Yes. As I said my children are not young.

No such thing

Again, as I said I didn’t know what “baby clip” meant - as in there’s no such thing.

That's butchery.
I'm going to have to ignore this thread and it's contradictions.
I have no power over people places and things. I do have the power to leave it there.

Which is why I’m opening up more communication with the breeder, getting clarification and working on a solution I’m comfortable with.

Is this what I can expect from this forum? Im literally just trying to educate myself by seeking advice and asking questions. Not to be judged for a decision I haven’t even made yet.

 

[The_Mayor]

I know it can feel overwhelming. Heck, it can feel like piling on when it's a question of which pellet is most liked by birds (the answer is Roudybush, and yes, I will fight you for it ).

But, part of it is that some of us have very visceral reactions to the thought of birds being clipped. For me at least, some of those reactions don't even have anything to do with birds, but are part of a larger issue.

The fact that you're pushing back against the breeder clipping your new bird's wings tells me that you're aware that flight is important for your bird's well-being and are trying to balance that knowledge with your, entirely reasonable, concerns about how to have a flighted bird in your home.

Perhaps it might be helpful to start a separate thread about living with a young, flighted bird. Explain what you see as the dangers that might exist for your bird being flighted in your home, and then have a dialog with people about how much of a risk those things are, and what are some ways to make the space safe without having to change the bird.

 

[Craigfam]

I know it can feel overwhelming. Heck, it can feel like piling on when it's a question of which pellet is most liked by birds (the answer is Roudybush, and yes, I will fight you for it ).

But, part of it is that some of us have very visceral reactions to the thought of birds being clipped. For me at least, some of those reactions don't even have anything to do with birds, but are part of a larger issue.

The fact that you're pushing back against the breeder clipping your new bird's wings tells me that you're aware that flight is important for your bird's well-being and are trying to balance that knowledge with your, entirely reasonable, concerns about how to have a flighted bird in your home.

Perhaps it might be helpful to start a separate thread about living with a young, flighted bird. Explain what you see as the dangers that might exist for your bird being flighted in your home, and then have a dialog with people about how much of a risk those things are, and what are some ways to make the space safe without having to change the bird.

Thank you. I appreciate your helpfulness, that’s a great suggestion

 

[Sparkles99]

I encourage you to talk to the breeder & pay a premium not to have it done, as someone suggested.

Aurelius was clipped when I got him. I realize looking at wing diagrams that his primary and many secondary flight feathers were clipped to the level of the wing coverts. It was like he had half wings, & it was, indeed, butchery.

He flew out a couple of times, once in anger & once in panic. Both times he dropped like a rock. A fall of over a metre. He ran to the foyer the first time & to the kitchen the second time (tried to hide underneath the fridge). It was horrible. His inability to fly while clearly experiencing intense emotion induced panic.

He's still regaining flight skills. Winston demonstrates things multiple times & Aurelius eventually tries. He's afraid of falling, but is getting better. The flying lessons are actually pretty cute, but the ought not to be necessary. And his shocked look when he succeeds is just plain sad.

 

[FiatLux]

Hi there and congratulations on your new baby. I have a green cheek conure, am new to birds, and as @flyzipper mentioned I also have two children (4 kids actually but only two at home) and two dogs (as well as a very cute canary). My bird came with wings “lightly” clipped and was able to fly a few feet from the time I got him. I follow a schedule and rotate who can be out and about when. My GCC (Pitchounette AKA Pitchy) has five stations: her large cage, her large tree stand (from a forum member), her small table tree stand, her travel cage for outdoor time (it’s too hot where I live for him to be outside for more than 20-30mns) and my fingers. Occasionally, he gets startled and flies a few feet from one of his stations. He is not allowed to stay on the floor. He is only allowed around my young children while I am next to him. We spend 75% of the day together (in the same room) but he is not out of cage nearly as much as most members on this forum. That is the difficult compromise I made and the ethics of this choice are debatable. He seems quite happy and is a delight. I knew next to nothing and I’ve done tons of research, read and watched everything I could before getting him and still found this forum to be my saving grace. The same passion that makes some comments perhaps hard to read fuel the patience and generosity with which forum members answered my endless questions, from the philosophical to the anxiety filled detailed inquiries. So my best advice -and again I am a novice, is to synthesize the knowledge here with your personal situational needs and add in a dose of your gut feeling. My bird was clipped, it seems rather lightly since he can fly a few feet and lands safely, and we reorganized our physical environment and our schedules and behavior patterns to maximize (not guarantee -that’s impossible) Pitchounette’s safety and well being. Good luck on this chapter of your growing family’s life —I hope it is filled with as much joy as Pitchounette has brought into ours.

 

[Zara]

Welcome to the Avenue

I don´t have children, but I do have a partner who gets on his phone and works and then does things without thinking. Because of this, he is not allowed to have the birds out of the cage without me present. He just can´t be trusted. It´s not ideal, but it works for us. This way I can be sure the room is secure and the birds are safe.
Maybe something like that could work for you? Only certain members of the family are allowed to have the birds out always under supervision and others not. They can still interact with the birds out of their cage but with the sibling/parent present to make sure no mistakes are made.

This goes for clipped and unclipped birds. An open window gives means of esape to any bird, clipped or not. A toilet will drown a clipped bird and a flighted bird alike. etc etc

As for the breeder clipping, Personally I would not buy a clipped bird from a breeder. But I don´t know what arrangement you have and what has been paid and contracts etc so that is your decision how you proceed. Just do whatever you think is right.

 

[sunnysmom]

I agree. I’m starting to see through the “it’s about safety” when it’s really about convenience (for the breeder). We are considering clipping (again only considering) because we have 6 children who will not be as mindful about doors, ceiling fans, toilets etc… My kids are constantly going in and out and I anticipate that habit being slow to break. We’ll work on it! Best case scenario would be well trained kids and a well trained fully flighted bird!
The breeder seemed to be more concerned about the bird flying on top of my cabinets and doors or into a closed window or wall….

All my birds fly up on cabinets and on top of windows. I just get them down. As for flying into things- honestly, they have to learn. That sounds terrible but all baby birds are going to have some crashes. It's scary but they soon learn to maneuver. And you can minimize the window thing but having curtains, blinds, or even putting decals on the windows so they can see that it's not something they can fly through.