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Flight for Birds - Knowledge

Monica

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Just sharing some various articles about flight vs clipping, or how important flight is for birds. Links courtesy of a Haley from FB. :)











 

Zara

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Nice thread - handy to have lots of good information in one place :)


Here´s a thread with links to all six Pamela Clark articles about wing clipping:
 

Appolosmom

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thanks Monica, important info. My gracie (female bourke) still can not fly. She has learned to climb to get to where she wants to go, so sad, I don't know if she will ever be able to fly again :cry3:
 

Monica

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She just may need more time. Has all of her flight feathers grown out yet?
 

Monica

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Then once she managed to go through a full molt and regains some of her flights, she should be able to learn to fly in time. :)
 

Cat The Great

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Great information. Thank you Monica for posting this. I do wish I had known what I had known now clipping then when I first got Georgie. I would fought to have her wings fully flighted. :( Luckily, she was only clipped twice and has been fully flighted for at least two years. However, some of the behavior such wing wanting (even though she has the ability to fly) has stayed with her. :( I hope that in the future she will fly more for the joy and happiness it brings, not because she is scared or wants something.
 

Monica

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It saddens me most how many people continue to clip for "safety" reasons, and how many still clip because the birds "need an attitude adjustment". No, the birds need training and you need to be more vigilant in their care.

But clipping is really the answer to "everything".... except for their health and well being.

Cat, if you ever end up with another Broto that has the confidence to fly, I do wonder if Georgie would benefit from being around him or her. (even if they never get along) You never know! :)


I used to clip... I clipped because I didn't know any better... I clipped because everyone did it... I clipped because that was the advice given to me. However, I never really saw any point to continually clip their wings. I've only clipped the wings of budgies, cockatiels and conures. I have not clipped any other species. The conures I clipped? There really was never a good point in doing so... it didn't change their behaviors and did no good for one of them.


I hope by next year sometime I'll be able to have a cage free room again where the birds can freely fly around. :)
 

JLcribber

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No, the birds need training and you need to be more vigilant in their care.
Well it’s usually the human that needs the training so they respond appropriately to the bird’s natural Behavior.
And the bird needs a little training. :)
 

Monica

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Well it’s usually the human that needs the training so they respond appropriately to the bird’s natural Behavior.
And the bird needs a little training. :)
Aint that the truth!!! :rofl: Trying to help someone train their puppy. She's almost 4 months old and didn't get much socialization when she was younger (human too paranoid about parvo...) so she's nervous with strangers. It's his first dog (technically) and has been doing great - overall, but still needs work in some areas. Their idea of socializing her is forcing her to hold still then having the stranger come up and pet her. I keep telling them that *NO* that's bad! That can result in increased anxiety and fear. She needs to go up to them, not the other way around.

She also jumps on people... and my dog was blamed for her bad behavior... as if it's somehow my dog's responsibility to train her! Nope!
 

Rain Bow

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I found that when they clipped Buddy's wings @ his 1st vet appt (oh I was so mad!) That it made him unstable. He started to fly into windows & walls. Buddy was just learning to fly after 20+ years of being grounded. He was trying to recall & measure (mentally). The clipping just caused so many complications, Thank goodness that he didn't break his darn neck!

Buddy's is a great little sprinting flyer now (his 3rd yr. Gotcha day is April 1st). Shorter distances but very accurate & very fast (there's only so much you can do indoors). As long as I live he'll never be clipped again & just thought I mention it... I Have a brand NEW vet & he's wonderful!!! Considering that he couldn't open his wings when he 1st came, I'm very proud of the progress.
 

Cat The Great

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It saddens me most how many people continue to clip for "safety" reasons, and how many still clip because the birds "need an attitude adjustment". No, the birds need training and you need to be more vigilant in their care.

But clipping is really the answer to "everything".... except for their health and well being.

Cat, if you ever end up with another Broto that has the confidence to fly, I do wonder if Georgie would benefit from being around him or her. (even if they never get along) You never know! :)


I used to clip... I clipped because I didn't know any better... I clipped because everyone did it... I clipped because that was the advice given to me. However, I never really saw any point to continually clip their wings. I've only clipped the wings of budgies, cockatiels and conures. I have not clipped any other species. The conures I clipped? There really was never a good point in doing so... it didn't change their behaviors and did no good for one of them.


I hope by next year sometime I'll be able to have a cage free room again where the birds can freely fly around. :)
I do wonder what would happen if I got another Broto. I hope that if I do that Georgie will learn to have more confidence of flight from the other bird. If I do get another I will be making sure to keep the second flighted for the benefits and so that they equal when they meet (Each bird being fully flighted and able to get away).
 

Appolosmom

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the problem with my little gracie is when I got her and her brother they were 5, she had been flying but her previous owner said she was an escape artist, which I would have been also, they were in a very small cage. So now I fear that it has damaged her psychology. :crycry:
 

Monica

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Birds are, thankfully, quite adaptable. It's hard to say what, if any, long or short term damages there may be as each bird is an individual.

In the long run, I do believe she will be fine! :)
 

Rain Bow

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As long as you take safety precautions for her not to escape, she will adjust. Buddy was almost 25 when I re-taught him exercise & flying.

I can't say this enough... ALWAYS AUse a double door situation to have it as safe as possible. By double door, picture a hallway or foyer area w/ stairs. Door @ top, door @ bottom. Double doors...


Always leave 1 door shut, if 1 door is open don't open the other. This is possible in almost any situation. Even in an apartment it can be created w/ curtains or shower curtains. Birds are not car hood or home decor ornaments, they have bodies that need the excersise of flying. They're hearts & lungs need it. Persistance & Determination are your greatest friends. We're here to help guide you if you need help creating the doorways all we need are pics & you getting things & installing them from your home improvement store. If not you (as I would need help), pay a handyman to do it, your fids lives depend on you. Your fids bodies depend on the flying.

:hug9:
 

berries

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It saddens me most how many people continue to clip for "saftey reasons”
That drives me nuts. I understand that people have different opinions on what’s best for their birds and I can respect good intentions. BUT most people who clip need to own up to the reason for it. It’s not for the bird’s safety, its for your convinence because you can’t be bothered to take the precautions that are necessary to having a bird in your house. I did used to clip my budgie’s wings, but it was because he was a poor flier and would constantly run into walls and get stuck in hard to reach places. I clipped the first few secondary flight feathers so he couldn’t get the lift he used to so he wouldn’t crash or get stuck, but could still get where he wanted to go. After some time he became a more skilled flier and i’ve never clipped again. I would consider that an exception but mostly I think it’s owners’ laziness.
 

Yoshi&Raphi

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Yoshi was clipped before we bought him. Every single fibre in him wants to fly. So much that he often jumps off his cage madly flapping and always ends up on the ground or crashing into walls/windows as he has no control.

He is in WAY more danger with his wings clipped and it drives me insane that I cant do anything about it. It shatters my heart in to a million pieces. :sad3::darkcloud:
 

Monaco

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I have been playing a game with Monaco lately. She gets antsy and bouncy and she will flap like her life depends on it when I pick her up. I sing and say "flap that bird" and make a big show of it. It's becoming a large part of our hands on interaction, and I have to assume that she likes it, because she is doing the antsy dance a lot, and picks her foot up the second I move in her direction. It's adorable! She's got a few flight feathers in, but it's going to be a while before she's got enough new primaries to start figuring out lift. I'm so excited about teaching her to fly! I don't know if she was even allowed to fledge. She has been clipped for at least 20 years. Makes my heart hurt, but I'm glad she is building muscle in the mean time. Who knows if she will ever really be able to fly, but we're both going to give it our best effort.

Yesterday I started adding the word "zoom", and tried a little forward motion with it, both with and without the flapping. She jumped (maybe even because of a little lift) and crashed, but it was a so much softer on the landing compared to when she has nosedived off of her cage. I'm so grateful she's going to at least be safer on the way down if she gets the hang of all the flapping! Dropping like a rock is for the humans!
 

Zara

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BUT most people who clip need to own up to the reason for it.
Key word is ¨most¨.
I do believe some clip because they have no other option. For eg. a blind bird or an elderly bird with heart problems, or a bird with illnesses etc.
It´s sad that it what it comes to, but it is for the birds well being.

As for healthy birds and chicks, I´m pro-flight. I really do think that it is just a matter of education for most people. Like @Monica said, people clip because that is what they know, and if they knew different then they wouldn´t clip. And I speak of this only from what I have read here on AA because it seems clipping is only really a thing in America. Here in Europe, clipping is not the norm. But when I hear other peoples stories, they usually say 1. They didn´t know and 2. They regret it/feel guilty.
 
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