# When to clip the wings



## Alemap118 (Aug 9, 2013)

I just brought home new baby tiel. He is 8 weeks old and weaned. He is very gentle but fully flighted. When is the right time to clip..the breeder said I need to wait at least two weeks because of the blood feathers. Is there a correct time to do this?


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## Tequilagirl (Mar 4, 2013)

You could always leave him flighted


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

Some bird owners prefer to not clip at all. With a friendly hand tame baby, it's not really necessary unless you want to clip for safety. I've done both and actually prefer flighted. It's better for their physical health and happiness in a lot of ways because they're simply naturally meant to fly. But there are a lot of situations, like dogs, kids, ceiling fans etc where clipping would actually be the safer option for the birds well being. It's really up to you and if flying around the room would be safe or a hazard. People have been fighting for both sides for decades, lol.


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## sunnysmom (Sep 23, 2011)

I actually am against clipping a bird's wings but here's an article that discusses the pros and cons of both: http://talkcockatiels.com/showthread.php?t=33319


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## Charlotte (Jun 4, 2014)

Murray is fully flighted, and it's not nearly as difficult as I imagined! She learned where the windows and mirrors were so fast. She mainly flies between her three or four favourite places, not just around at random. She really enjoys it, particularly in the morning  Can I ask why you'd like to clip? I'm not criticising of course!


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## Binca (Oct 15, 2013)

I'm not sure when the best time to clip is, but just keep in mind that a bird with a clipped wing can still fly/attempt to fly. They just can't do it as high, evenly, or for as long. I bought Rocky as an adult with a very severely clipped wing recently and he can still do short flights. He just can't do anything but crash landings, and can't fly very high - he goes across and then down.


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## Alemap118 (Aug 9, 2013)

I would love to keep him full flighted but it is a safety issue at the moment. I have one other tiel and two Quakers and they are all clipped. I have an old dog who needs the freedom to go outside at a moments notice so I have to leave the slider cracked open all day or else pick up accidents all day. And my 83 year old mother who sometimes is a little forgetful May leave the door open if I didn't need to keep it open. 
I hate to have to keep him caged until I get his wings clipped so just wonder is there an age? How will I know when it is the right time. I have never had a bird this young..


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## Fredandiris (Nov 27, 2012)

Hmm, generally the breeder should trim the feathers. Since they're young they need to go through what's called a gradual wing trimming so they don't end up hurting themselves. 

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/trimming-a-cockatiels-wing-feathers.html

This is a good link. 

There isn't generally an age. By 8 weeks though she should have grown in all flight feathers and if she hasn't been clipped then there shouldn't be any blood feathers to worry about. I start clipping my babies wings around the 7 week mark after they've had their first flights.


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## Charlotte (Jun 4, 2014)

Sounds like a responsible decision Alemap118  

7 or 8 weeks sounds about right, but most people I speak to ask their breeders to do it right before they take them home, so right when they're weaned. 

I hope you and your new addition have many happy years ahead!


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## CrazyArtist (Jul 10, 2014)

Alemap118 said:


> I just brought home new baby tiel. He is 8 weeks old and weaned. He is very gentle but fully flighted. When is the right time to clip..the breeder said I need to wait at least two weeks because of the blood feathers. Is there a correct time to do this?


I came to this forum first when i got my tiel and asked this very question and some people told me i was forcing him to love me. But to them, i say that my cockatiel can still get away form me if he wanted to and i don't force him to be with me at all. I clipped his wings a little but a month after getting him he loves me. We're best friends. But i would maybe suggest not clipping because he is young. My cockatiel has such a hard time flying when i got him that now i have to teach him and it's scary. I wish i could keep him clipped so he wont fly into a window!

So for saftey reasons (if you have the window issue like me) i say clip him. If he can't fly then no. Of course, I adopted my 7 month old from an abusive home so he never learned to fly but i dont know your situation.
What i do with my budgies is i clip them one time when i first get them and then train them. i haven't clipped them since i adopted them.


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## slugabed (Jul 27, 2014)

Yea, Cassie's wings are clipped, but she can still take off and fly for several metres
If spooked sufficiently, that still means an escaped 'Riel if you're not careful.

Cassie's wings were clipped when I got her at 7 weeks, and she clearly wasn't comfortable with flying yet. I don't know the exact age but do people here think it's better for them to learn to fly first?


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## mohum (Sep 5, 2014)

Peppy is clipped but it doesn't stop him getting anywhere. He just has to flap twice as hard and is very clumsy. I won't be doing it again if they grow when he moults.


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## Colorguarder08 (Sep 13, 2014)

slugabed said:


> Yea, Cassie's wings are clipped, but she can still take off and fly for several metres
> If spooked sufficiently, that still means an escaped 'Riel if you're not careful.
> 
> Cassie's wings were clipped when I got her at 7 weeks, and she clearly wasn't comfortable with flying yet. I don't know the exact age but do people here think it's better for them to learn to fly first?


I am a member on 3 forums and the general consenses is that they should be allowed to become confident flyers before clipping so when they molt they can fly with confidence and not have the crashing into things issues.


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