# On cockatiel cottage is says for taming you need to have your birds wings clipped



## florajay (Jun 24, 2011)

I've had my cockatiel since Saturday. he's still quite scared of my hands. He will eat millet from my hand but if I even move a finger he will go to the other side of the cage. 

If I were to get his wings clipped do you think it really would help taming?

Also, how would i get him to the vets? How would i get him in the small animal transporter I have?

I don't have my budgies wings clipped and for the cockatiel i would probably let them grow out after the initial clip.

What do you think? Thanks!


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## Sar (Sep 22, 2010)

Hi and congratulations on getting a tiel. 
Clipping wings seems more common in North America than in the UK. I had two tiels when I was young and tamed them both fine without clipping their wings. It may have taken longer but personally I prefer a bird to stay with me because it wants to than because it can't get away. Other people feel very different to me and find birds easier to control when clipped (tiels can be VERY stubborn!).
If you do decide to get the wings clipped be sure to go to a vet who knows what they are doing - sometimes they can make a real pig's ear of it.
Patience is the key (oh, and millet. They'll do anything for millet). 
All the best xx


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## MeanneyFids (Aug 24, 2010)

agree with sar here. its possible to tame without clipping. if you dont want to, then thats fine.


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## florajay (Jun 24, 2011)

If I did decide to get it done, how would I go about getting him to the vet? I have a small animal carrier but I have no idea how I would get him in there D:

It's not just for taming though. I'm a bit unsure about letting him out of the cage to fly freely in my room. I let my budgie do this and he does sometimes fly into walls or fall down places (I try to bird proof but I can't move my bed or sofa out of the room). But my budgie is obviously very small and light, the cockatiel is bigger and heavier so would he cause himself damage if this happened to him? The birds are mine and live in my room (budgie is temporarily in the living room), they won't be going anywhere else in the house. Even if they did I wouldn't feel safe doing so because my dad is always leaving windows and doors open. At least in my room I am there and know they are safe. Thanks for the help guys!


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

To get him into the carrier you're probably going to have to towel him...wrap him up in a towel and place him inside. This may cause him to regress some in training but its for his own good. I clip on a case by case basis. I have several birds who fly to me no matter what I'm doing so really clipping them is unnecessary. Then I have birds who if I let them downstairs would fly as high as they could and laugh at me as I try to get them down (my living room ceiling is so high up!) so for me it all depends on the bird.


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## Mentha (Jul 11, 2010)

To me clipping their wings is a safety issue. My aviary birds are not clipped for obvious reasons, but once my inside birds (hand fed babies) can fly and land properly they are clipped because I have a cat and a dog and windows that are not screened. While my cat usually leaves my babies alone, I don't want to take chances that she will try and pounce if they land on the floor. The dog is another story, he chases anything. I also don't want them flying into glass because they think the window's open or out an open window if someone were to open one without me knowing it. I've had aviary birds step up on command. I've also have some house birds that were wild as snot so they must be clipped if they are out.

Clipping their wings does not hurt and you can do it yourself. There are two rows of feathers on their outer wing, clip the flights no further than the second layer of feathers and make sure they are not blood feathers either. Those will be easy to spot as they will look like they have not completely came in. You can always let it's wings grow once you've trained it to step up and taught it where it's boundaries are. If you're diligent in training one clip should be long enough to tame your bird. If you want to leave it flighted afterward, that is totally up to you.


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## minischn (Jun 5, 2011)

If your worried about taming I will know what youre goign through in a few weeks. I'm adopting a fully flighted very shy cockatiel in a few weeks and I have thought all about your problems. I can't bring myself to clip a bird personally, but I understand why some people have, so I'm target training asap with Bird. It's a pretty simple thing, especially if he already accepts food from you. It builds relationship, and unlike toweling it doesn't ruin relationships. Birdtricks.com uses it a lot, and all of their birds are fully flighted. 

here's a link to a video about it http://www.birdtricks.com/blog/first-step/

Chet, one of the owners of Birdtricks.com takes home a never trained petstore bird and begins target training. Even if you do plan to clip later, I suggest this to get him into the other cage. It would build your relationship and prevent the toweling.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Cockatiel Cottage is a good site but their advice isn't always perfect. Clipping is helpful for taming but it isn't required.

Clipping helps with taming because the bird has less ability to get away from you. People argue endlessly over the ethics of that, but for me the safety issue trumps everything else. Cockatiels are powerful fliers, with the highest wingspan-to-body ratio in the parrot family. An untamed bird in an unfamiliar house is almost guaranteed to do some panic flying when it gets out of the cage, and your efforts to get the bird back in the cage will provoke more flying. There's a very real risk that the bird will get hurt or worse. On top of that, all this chasing can make the bird think you're a predator who's planning to have cockatiel for lunch, which builds fear instead of trust. If the bird is clipped you will be able to handle it more safely and with less fear-producing pursuit. By the time the bird gets its flight power back, it will be familiar with you and with the house, and flying will be a lot safer.

If you decide not to clip, it will be helpful to do your training in a small room with the door closed and any windows and large mirrors covered up. A cockatiel can't build up to full speed over a short distance so there's less risk of injury in a small room. You may still have some problems with reckless flying the first few times you take him into a bigger part of the house.


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## Lulu The Tiel (Apr 11, 2011)

When I first got Lulu I had her wings clipped. I was told it would be easier to try and tame her with her wings clipped. I got her back at the beginning of April. Now that I look back, I think that I am happy she was clipped. The times that I did want her out of the cage, she wouldn't come out, fluttered out, or I had to actually get her out (but it's for her own good). When she was out, she would flutter around and try to get away but I eventually calmed her down. I don't have much experience, but I am learning. I do think that it's on a case by case basis though. Now she is growing her flights in and doesn't fly off in a panic. She knows her surroundings. I am still worried that once she can get high enough she will try and run. But, so far so good. 

So, use your judgement!


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## florajay (Jun 24, 2011)

Thanks for all the help everyone!
I am going to persevere with what I have been doing (Pippin stepped on to my finger today, only with one leg and to reach the millet I was holding, but it's a start right?! I was so ridiculously happy haha)
But I think I will get his wings clipped anyway. I have quite a large room I guess and there are places he could fall down that I can't really help. And if I clip his wings it means that I can take him downstairs with me (no way would I be able to do this flighted).

Thanks again


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## Riccochez (Jun 29, 2011)

Growing up in Germany we never clipped our brids' wings... it seemed unnatural. Here in the states, with my new set of birds, I am clipping them because we have ceiling fans in every room...
Taming is surely EASIER when the birds are flightless, but NOT necessary. My bird in Germany (un-clipped) was pretty tame but it wasnt until he accidentally lost his tail (he was sitting on the door and my mom didnt see him and shut it) that he became super bonded with me... I mean beyond anything I thought possible - bonded. 
You can clip their wings for the first few months, till they're tame enough, and then just let it grow out.


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