# Blood Feathers, why not to clip *graphic



## FrostNBandit (May 29, 2014)

Back story is that I got my first baby tiel at around 4-5 weeks and it had been clipped. She was always determined to be with me and one day tried to fly off the top of the play top, she crash landed and I found her dead the next morning. Due to internal head trauma I think. I was so sad. My husband took me to get another bird and I got Doofy, who was my first tiels sibling. 

Again, Doofy was clipped but I was very cautious with him. Never letting him fly from any height. When he did try to fly from the floor he would go backwards and eventually broke all of his tail feathers. Fast forward 6 months and now his flight feathers are trying to grow in. His tail has grown back, but he still breaks feathers from it. 

Doofy still can not fly, he tries. I cant leave him in a cage because he will flap around and damage his feathers. I have him in the aviary but he somehow still breaks at least one feather per month off his poor wings. I can put him inside the house but he will always try to get to me which would involve some attempts at flying or walking around on the floor following me, and that could be dangerous due to not seeing him there or the cat deciding she's interested in something besides budgies.

Major scare two days ago, see the pictures? Normally I can get doofy's broken feathers clotted with no problem. This time after I thought it clotted and I had brought him in with me to keep a eye on him, I noticed blood droplets on my desk where he was walking around. I grabbed him and some tissue and applied pressure slightly while calling me neighbor to give me a hand. I thought I would have to pluck this one. by the time my neighbor arrived the feather had clotted so I left it alone. I was sure I was going to loose Doof this time due to the blood loss.

This is a lesson why baby tiels should not be clipped.

Are there some extra vitamins or something he can get to grow stronger feathers?


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## Peetenomax (Nov 23, 2013)

My heart aches learning of the death of your young one 
I'm with you 100% on clipping babies.

I'm going through the same exact issue. Baby bird clipped to soon.
this week i was at the ER & Benny needed 3 leading edge flight feathers pulled due to breaking. Haven't done it yet, but others have suggested that i give him a small clip to shorten the few feathers he has. This should make them less likely to break till the others grow in & the feathers can suport each other.
I'm clueless abou what to do about the tail freathers.


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

I join you against clipping birds no matter what age they are. I insist that birds were designed by Nature to fly so they should not be clipped. We are the ones to adapt and create a safe environment for them to fly and exercise. Very sorry about your loss . It's unacceptable somebody doing that to a defenseless little bird . All the best with your new. Irdie . Unfortunately I cant advise you about the blokd feathers because Im a doctor for humans, not a Vet, but Im pertty sure a lot of more experienced members will be ready to help X x Teresa


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

I aM not against clipping, I think there are times it is necessary, however a bird should be allowed to learn how to fly very well before clipping, a clip should restrict flight not remove the ability altogether. A clipped bird should still have some flight, they should not drop like a rock. This is a very controversial subject with people feeling very strongly on both sides.


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## Peetenomax (Nov 23, 2013)

Yes it is a controversial topic. I've never had a strong opinion on it. There are households where cliping is in the best interest of the bird.

However i do think it is important that people speak about thier bad experiences & the consiquenes of it being done wrong or at the wrong age.

Both FrostNBandit & I have experiences where our birds suffered due to the clip. His resulted in a fatalty & we both have birds that have overcome this human created handicap. I know there are others on the forum have similar experiences. 

And expressing a strong opinion here. Breeders shouldn't be clipping pre-fledge birds. Personally i think they do it because they have to many to deal with, clipping keeps the pandemonium under control.


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## nassrah (Feb 27, 2012)

I agree with you Peetenomax , We had a terrible experience with our William,that came to our home with butchered wings .He fell in the cage,probably while we were away at work,had a big cut in his chest that took ages to heal.Not being able to fly,he depended on us for everything,and this took nearly all his confidence .When his wings finally grew back,we were relieved that the feathers were normal,so he gradually started to learn to fly ,but it was only when our Syd came to live with us that our William started to gain confidence . He would watch his mate,who never had his wings clipped and learn simple things like climb properly, hang on a big toy or swing . We did had a horrible time until our little William blossomed.This is why my husband and I are against clipping . X x


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Peetenomax said:


> Yes it is a controversial topic. I've never had a strong opinion on it. There are households where cliping is in the best interest of the bird.
> 
> However i do think it is important that people speak about thier bad experiences & the consiquenes of it being done wrong or at the wrong age.
> 
> ...


I wasn't disagreeing, I was just stating an opinion. I agree no bird should be clipped before learning to fly very well. It leads to bad accidents and birds that never learn to fly.


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## Jaguar (Jul 11, 2014)

Phoenix had his wings absolutely butchered by the pet store I purchased him at - I don't even know if he was fledged, but it has been **** dealing with the broken feathers, blood feathers, flights growing in and breaking with no protection, etc. he looks terrible and 4 months and a heavy molt later he later still drops like a rock. It could be many more months before he is able to fly again... if he even knows how, or has the will to. I will never clip a bird again unless it is a life or death decision, in which case I would also heavily consider owning a bird in the first place. They were designed by nature to fly...










Phoenix with his tail COMPLETELY BROKEN OFF from falling and dropping like a rock due to a terrible and way too young clipping.


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## Tisena (Sep 28, 2013)

Poor babies, I am mainly against clipping and my birdies know it'll only ever happen if they were to get injured *touch wood they don't* and are not allowed to fly due to it causing them more injury/pain


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

If you follow this link and scroll to the bottom post, Calitiels has said this helped with Beaker's feathers:
http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=110689

Kiwi's tail was trimmed off by the pet store I got her at. It took so long for her tail to grow back. She would hit the tail feathers that grew in on bars and had a blood feather break under her tail when she had a night fright. It only got better when the two middle tail feathers grew in a little, the rest seemed to fall into place. I think it is patience and luck. When that doesn't work, then the trimming idea (not blood feather trimming as you have pointed out) to minimize the chances of it hitting anything. Or maybe even putting them in a fish tank or travel cage until their feathers grow out a little.

I've heard of using supplements to help with the feather growing process like Featheriffic: http://www.amazon.com/Avitech-Featheriffic-Supplement-3-oz/dp/B0033ZPYGY

Of course amazon does tax now. Alternative buying places:
http://www.avitec.com/Featheriffic-Feather-Conditioning-Supplement-s/73.htm
(first item, link to it not working): http://www.wingedvictorys.com/store/free-shipping-items


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## FrostNBandit (May 29, 2014)

Thanks guys and girls 

I did not mean to start a war, more as a warning. I can understand why there could be a need to trim wings on older birds but I am against it on the little guys due to my bad experiences with it. It should never stop a bird from flying but just limit the area they can cover in one flight.

Our sun conure was 12 weeks old when we got her but her wings were freshly clipped and she has the ability to fly about 20 feet before having to land. She doesn't crash like Doofy does or Spikey, Doofs sibling I first had.

I have not clipped Ernie, my two month old baby tiel. She's in the aviary now (and totally wild) but she flies around like a pro. Seeing the difference in Ernie who is still a baby and Doof who is reaching maturity, is like night and day. Ernie never needed me like Doof does. I wonder just how much of that was due to the inability to fly.

*Thanks for the links Kiwi, I will definitely give that a try


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## Kiwi (May 12, 2013)

No problem! I have several of Avitech's supplements and they come with a little scoop to measure the amount of powder. Of course you'd have to give them several times the dose for it to start being bad avitech and other companies have told me in emails, so you don't have to worry about being extremely to-the-line accurate. Since companies don't want birds to overdose because most seeds and foods are supplemented today, they are made to be hard to overdose on.

Kiwi will eat the powder as it is, others give it on soft foods and in bird breads and veggies to get them to eat it. I can say that you probably just want to go for the smaller ones. I got an 8 oz of Avi-cal a calcium supplement, and I think it will last me for 2 years. That's around the time of the expiration date anyway. :lol:


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

Very sorry for your loss. 

I don't clip my 'tiels wings anymore. I did clip Coco when I first got him, which I now understand was a big mistake and I never should have done it. He's a weak flyer with little to no control or steering ability, and I'm not sure if it's just the way he is or if it's because he was clipped young. I took him to my avian vet to address this issue and she examined him thoroughly, concluding that he has a permanently injured/bruised/possibly cracked collarbone and that there's nothing we can do about it. He crash-lands almost every time he tries to fly, often falling one or even two metres to the floor. He gets dazed, but no major injuries so far. I am constantly aware that he could badly hurt himself. Clipping his wings would just worsen the situation though, I think, so I leave him flighted and try to keep him safe as best as I can.

I clipped Honey and Henry as soon as they came into my care. With Honey's very breakable feathers and accident-proneness, that brought broken blood feathers galore, and numerous emergencies. Never again.

At least now I've learnt a lot and for future reference now know how to stop a blood flow.


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## CrazyArtist (Jul 10, 2014)

My baby had his wings but absolutely no tail when i got him. He was in a small cage and slept sitting in our over his water dish. His tail was destroyed, and had only recently started growing it back. Poor baby


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