• Welcome to Avian Avenue! To view our forum with less advertisments please register with us.
    Memberships are free and it will just take a moment. Click here

No clipping?

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
I have two budgie that are now 1 year old and are very hard to train and help get over their fears. I have been trying to train them for over 7 months now and it hasnt been working out. They are very active and very chatty but refuse to go near new toys or perches and will fly around if you try putting something in their cage. I used to take them out to free fly and seem to enjoy it but i started getting scared when they would fly into small corners or fall behind furniture and get stuck. I blocked every corner and place since then but then one of them even found a way behind the shut blinds and kept flapping at the window and the other flew into the bedframe which i didnt think was possible. Needless to say they are verryy clumsy which got me scared to get them out. I have been thinking of clipping them just once so that i would be able to tame them better but dont know if thats the right choice. I have also tried to get them to eat harrisons pellets for over 6 months but they just throw them out of the food bowl everyday. Is clipping a good option for helping with this or not?
 

Aves

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
10/4/20
Messages
1,472
Location
Utah
No. Clipping won't solve any problems.
 

DesertBird

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/9/21
Messages
1,145
Location
NY, USA
I bought my budgies with their wings already clipped, and I think it has actually made taming them harder.
 

Sparkles99

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/9/20
Messages
6,315
Location
Ontario, Canada
Have you tried millet? My budgies are skittish, very wild rehomes, but they'll be brave for a sprig of millet. I'm hoping to build on this.
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
Have you tried millet? My budgies are skittish, very wild rehomes, but they'll be brave for a sprig of millet. I'm hoping to build on this.
yes ive tried but they wont eat millet outside of their cage if im trying to hold it and i cant stop them from flying into danger. The room is perfectlybird proof but they get stuck in areas or fly into stuff
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
Ok thank you. Do you have any su
No. Clipping won't solve any problems.
ok thank you. Do you have any suggestions on how i can stop any accidents like these out of the cage please thank you
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
I bought my budgies with their wings already clipped, and I think it has actually made taming them harder.
i dont really want to clip them either but it came to me as a thought since they got me a bit scared.
 

Sparkles99

Biking along the boulevard
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/9/20
Messages
6,315
Location
Ontario, Canada
I hold the millet in my birds' cage. Mine won't come out for it (or anything) either yet. It's just to get them to trust me more.
 

AussieBird

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
7/23/20
Messages
4,650
Real Name
Call me AB
I bought my budgies with their wings already clipped, and I think it has actually made taming them harder.
Same here, my two newest budgies were clipped and I found they were just lacking in confidence. Clipping will also make them more clumsy and prone to run into things.

You should slow down and take it step by step.
Do they have anything to do while they're out? Foraging, playstand, etc?
If they are scared of something don't put it in their cage.
@Lady Jane @Ripshod
 

Lady Jane

Ripping up the road
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
8/25/12
Messages
26,570
Location
Maryland
Real Name
Dianne
My two EB were also with cut flight feathers. I think the most important needs in this case are health in the form of exercise and then safety. I found the perfect budgie ladder. They learned to climb it and step up on it well. Ladder was tall enough to reach the cage door from the floor. It took them a while to learn the climb in cage with a little help from millet just inside the door.

if you have other pets it is not safe for birds that can’t fly to be on the floor. I suggest if we refuse to buy a bird with cut flights maybe this practice will at least slow down.
 

Ripshod

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/6/18
Messages
7,529
Location
UK
Real Name
Linden
The room is perfectlybird proof but they get stuck in areas or fly into stuff
Obviously not,by your own words.
I think it was John (JLCribber) who introduced me to the term "learned helplessness" and it has stuck with me. That's what happens when a parrot is clipped too much. I call it butchery. A budgie will not be tamed by just reducing it's ability to fly. As soon as the feathers grow back you'll be back at square 1.
They're going to get into scrapes, that's what learning to fly is all about. Block everywhere they could possibly get trapped (and everywhere else) , leave a gap at the bottom of the blinds so they can get out, pad the bed frame, do whatever it takes so they can learn to control their flight. Get some tools to help them if they get stuck - a garden cane is great for fishing them out from behind furniture.
As long as you have a few free hours and no food or water outside the cage they'll go back in when they're hungry. Add a perch just outside the cage door to make it easier for them to find their way back.You can even free-feed millet for a few weeks. Get them 'addicted' to it and they'll do anything for it.
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
Same here, my two newest budgies were clipped and I found they were just lacking in confidence. Clipping will also make them more clumsy and prone to run into things.

You should slow down and take it step by step.
Do they have anything to do while they're out? Foraging, playstand, etc?
If they are scared of something don't put it in their cage.
@Lady Jane @Ripshod
When they come out they usually are on the top of the cage so i started putting toys on there and a playstand but they get scared of it and fly around since its on the top of their cage
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
It's a shame most new members only come to these forums after they've bought a clipped bird.
yes but mine have never been clipped and i didnt get them clipped which is why its a bit different
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
Obviously not,by your own words.
I think it was John (JLCribber) who introduced me to the term "learned helplessness" and it has stuck with me. That's what happens when a parrot is clipped too much. I call it butchery. A budgie will not be tamed by just reducing it's ability to fly. As soon as the feathers grow back you'll be back at square 1.
They're going to get into scrapes, that's what learning to fly is all about. Block everywhere they could possibly get trapped (and everywhere else) , leave a gap at the bottom of the blinds so they can get out, pad the bed frame, do whatever it takes so they can learn to control their flight. Get some tools to help them if they get stuck - a garden cane is great for fishing them out from behind furniture.
As long as you have a few free hours and no food or water outside the cage they'll go back in when they're hungry. Add a perch just outside the cage door to make it easier for them to find their way back.You can even free-feed millet for a few weeks. Get them 'addicted' to it and they'll do anything for it.
thank you i might keep trying again. They are very much addicted to millet and they can step up and do tricks inside the cage but refuses to outside and ive tried tempting them with millet to stand on my finger but they refuse outside of the cage. I will get them out with corners blocked again but theyve also hit objects like the bedframe. Thank you
 

Ripshod

Biking along the boulevard
Avenue Veteran
Mayor of the Avenue
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
12/6/18
Messages
7,529
Location
UK
Real Name
Linden
I will get them out with corners blocked again but theyve also hit objects like the bedframe.
Pad the bedframe. Something I forgot to mention is make sure there are a few flat spaces for them to land safely. Also I prefer to let them come out in their own time. If you take them out before they've had a good chance to look around and plan a flight to a safe spot they will just fly around until they tire and crash land anywhere.
 

Alisia

Moving in
Joined
6/13/20
Messages
11
Real Name
Alisia
My two EB were also with cut flight feathers. I think the most important needs in this case are health in the form of exercise and then safety. I found the perfect budgie ladder. They learned to climb it and step up on it well. Ladder was tall enough to reach the cage door from the floor. It took them a while to learn the climb in cage with a little help from millet just inside the door.

if you have other pets it is not safe for birds that can’t fly to be on the floor. I suggest if we refuse to buy a bird with cut flights maybe this practice will at least slow down.
i didnt buy my birds clipped and theyve never been clipped. I believe that it can be bad for them since they are birds for a reason but mine just scared me quite a few times with what could of been bad injuries and i
Pad the bedframe. Something I forgot to mention is make sure there are a few flat spaces for them to land safely. Also I prefer to let them come out in their own time. If you take them out before they've had a good chance to look around and plan a flight to a safe spot they will just fly around until they tire and crash land anywhere.
Ok thank you very much
 

DesertBird

Rollerblading along the road
Celebirdy of the Month
Avenue Spotlight Award
Joined
1/9/21
Messages
1,145
Location
NY, USA
Have you tried just opening the door and letting them come out on their own? Don't try to lure them out or anything, just let them do it by themselves.
 

BirdWorld

Rollerblading along the road
Joined
5/22/20
Messages
2,953
Location
The Bird World
Clipping won't fix anything. If you clip they can't get away if they are scared causing stress and then they will become more scared of you. Stress can also cause plucking, sicknesses, screaming, anxiety, it's just not worth it. Clipping might make it easier for you to get near them but it won't make them like you.
 

kayosa

Walking the driveway
Joined
11/30/20
Messages
188
Real Name
Katy
The only reason I would clip a bird is to keep them safe, like when you first buy a bird and you have a house Full of large windows(like mine). Clipping a few primaries will slow them down. My Akiko has flown head first into two different windows, one resulting in a bruise. If she didn’t have clipped wings it could have been way worse! But she now knows where the windows are, and haven’t flown into anymore. For taming purposes, clipping won’t work, it doesn’t stop them from flying. They just get more muscles and continue flying as they used to do.
 
Top