# Will Wing Clipping Help??



## Becky45 (Sep 22, 2013)

Hey!

New cockateil owner here...

My little cockatiel is nearly 5 months old but he thinks his the boss!

When its time to go back in his cage he is running rings around us and its very difficult to catch him.

Will getting his wings clipped help us tame him so that he doesnt think hes in charge? Will it mean he will learn to rely on us?

And will he hate us for getting it done??

Also, how long does it take for the wings to grow back??

Thank you all in advance  :cinnamon:


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

many people do wing clip so they have control over their birds but is kind of forced obedience, versus the bird wanting to do what you want. wing clips won't grow out till the next molt, so it can take 6 months or longer. it's important to realise that birds with clipped wings can still fly - and in some cases quite well. sometimes bird's personalities change a bit when they're clipped, and they can get quite moody, but most cockatiels get over it fairly soon. 

before clipping, i'd suggest teaching him recall - Bjorn knows recall and it means i just have to call him and he comes to me. i love it when birds can stay fully flighted - it's natural after all 



> *I want to teach my cockatiel to fly to me on command. How?*
> 
> A good way to start is by target training your cockatiel. Program into them that if they touch the tip of a stick, they get a treat (spray millet is really useful!) Start by getting them to jump from one of your knees to the other – not hard work, but it definitely drills it into them.
> 
> ...


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## Mezza (Feb 19, 2013)

Skiddles had her wings clipped when I got her as a baby, then they grew and she was a clumsy flyer and crashing alot. She had to be clipped again for safety reasons - but this time I let them grow and let her learn to co-ordinate her flying. She's a great flyer (granted she's not graceful :rofl. 

She often expects me to chase her when its bed time but you know what...its part of her personality I guess. I love her for it.

Oh and I second what Ollieandme said.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I agree...most of my tiels think they are the boss, too! :rofl: Parrots do not have dominance hierarchies and cannot learn that you are the "alpha." Clipping is a way of dominating the bird. It makes them more dependent on humans, and less able to "act out" but i don't really see it as a good thing.

This is a long article, but it contains some good suggestions on clipping alternatives if you're interested. http://trainedparrot.com/Clipping/

No doubt some people will suggest clipping. You just won't hear it from me unless it's a case of a very aggressive bird.


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## lisaowens (Oct 17, 2011)

to be honest all of my birds are clipped mainly for safety reason i did have my grey flighted and living arrangements changed and i almost lost him so he was clipped. i am not against a flighted bird but i thank everyone's living arrangements and life is different and i thank each person should decide if clipping is the best for their bird or not. if it is attitude that you are considering clipping the wings for sometimes clipping wings does help and sometimes it doesn't you can try it and if it does not help you can decide to let them grow out or keep them clipped


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

A lot of people cite safety reasons for clipping, when actually in reality flighted birds are usually safer in my opinion. The article I linked above has some good info on how to keep flighted birds safe, and some counter-arguments against the "clipping for safety" mentality.

I am in no way trying to attack you or your choice, Lisa.  Just putting information out there.

Here's an excerpt from said article that pretty much sums up the safety aspect:

_Clipping wings is necessary for the parrots own safety.

This is the biggest load of bull I have to listen to from all over the place experts and beginners alike! First of all, I don't think anyone truly believes this and that it's just a cover up for other selfish reasons. But I will for the moment assume that people really think this and go line by line dispelling this fundamental myth of parrot ownership. Rather than addressing this classic line, I'm going to break it down to specific safety concerns that clipping is purported to address.

I clip my parrot's wings so that it doesn't fly away when I take it outside.

Many people who have never once seen their parrot fly indoors have been shocked to see their clipped parrot flying away outside. There are several reasons why clipped parrots magically seem to be able to takeoff outdoors. Wing clipping normally involves cutting the tips of several primary feathers. The primary feathers are a bird's means of propulsion moreso than lift. Primary feathers are more akin to a propeller than a wing on an airplane. Without thrust, a parrot cannot fly up or straight. However, it can still glide on its remaining secondaries and wing surface area. While the clipped parrot cannot glide or control its flight as well as an unclipped one, it is still able to do this to an extent. Indoors this usually means that a parrot can only fly a limited distance. Outdoors, there are three elements that can cause a clipped parrot to fly beyond any capability observed indoors. The adenaline rush of a major startle could give the parrot strength to flap harder than usual and overcome some clipping. Wind is the biggest cause of clipped parrots becoming able to fly outdoors. Wind replaces thrust as the source of air moving over the wing surface initially for a clipped parrot becoming airborne. By taking off into a headwind gradient, dynamic soaring occurs where additional lift is gained by increasing winds. Also winds can be deflected upward by trees and buildings, creating even more of an upward push. Worse yet, the wind drifts the parrot across a large distance, but being clipped it lacks experience or control to solve this. The parrot could end up in a tree, fall into water and drown, or get hit by a car. Don't be complacent and think that this is only a problem on windy days. Thermals can form without wind and suck the helpless parrot upward should it take flight. People have been shocked by how high or far their clipped parrot has ended up when it unexpectedly took flight outside. Whether clipped or not, companion parrots should be properly caged or restrained when taken outdoors.

It is necessary to clip parrot wings so they cannot fly out of doors and windows.

Once again, even a clipped parrot has some flight and gliding capability. Sometimes it is just enough for something terrible to happen. This is why rather than using clipping (which isn't foolproof for preventing fly outs), it is important to solve this by keeping windows/doors closed while the parrot is out. Whenever doors or windows need to be opened, the parrot should be away in its cage. This is the only way to guarantee its safety.

Parrots should be clipped to prevent them from falling into toilets, sinks, and other sources of water.

I hear this all the time, yet it makes absolutely no sense. A clipped parrot is more likely to "fall in" by accident without escape than a flighted parrot. A flighted parrot can control its flight so most likely would not be in danger of this situation. I can tell you from personal experience that my parrots have never gone into sinks/toilets even when possible. They are scared and uninterested in them. They are less likely to fall into them than a scared clipped parrot without control of its flight. There still exists the possibility of doing it out of curiosity which really can apply to any parrot. Clipping wings is no guarantee that the parrot doesn't end up in the bathroom. Keeping toilet seats closed or better yet bathroom doors closed solves this danger without clipping parrot's wings.

Parrots need to be clipped or they can fall into a boiling pot of water while cooking.

I see absolutely no good reason for a parrot (or any pet) to be out during cooking. Besides boiling water, cooking usually involves knives, fumes, and other things that can be dangerous to any any parrot. The one and only case I have heard of a parrot falling into a boiling pot of water was a clipped parrot though. Parrots should be put away and attention given toward cooking. But if we're going to talk about theoretically who is safer, it's probably the flighted parrot as it can fly away. A clipped parrot fell off someone's shoulder once and landed right in the pot. Once again, clipping is not a solution at all (and possibly a greater threat). Common sense and safety precautions must prevail.

Parrots must have their wings clipped or they will fly into walls/windows and break their neck.

This myth I have only ever heard professed by people who have always clipped their parrot's wings. My parrots fly around the house and I don't have this problem and nor does anyone else I know with flighted parrots. If anything, it's the clipped parrots that end up crashing into things when they gain a few feathers without practice or experience using them. I guess owners take this as proof that parrots can't be trusted to fly and go right back to clipping them without even giving them a chance to get better. My parrots did take some harmless bumps while learning to fly but have practically never crashed again since then. Once a parrot is a capable flier, it can think on the fly and avoid walls and windows. As an extra precaution it is good to keep windows shaded, however, once parrots learn about windows they can fly in such rooms without knocking into them.

Parrots can become victims of other pets (cats/dogs) if they aren't clipped.

Parrots are at risk around other animals whether clipped or not, period. Despite people's hopes and desires of keeping both in harmony, parrots just are not compatible with carnivorous pets who instinctively see them as prey. Clipping may actually put a parrot at greater risk of not being able to fly away but keeping them flighted does not save them either. I have heard of more cases of parrots being killed by cats/dogs than most other kinds of accidents combined. Don't look for excuses, don't think if it hasn't happened that it can't, don't add a parrot to a household with a cat/dog/ferret, don't add a cat/dog/ferret to a household with a parrot. This really is a case of choosing one or the other (or keeping them entirely apart, like dog outside)._


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

If the main problem is him not wanting to go in the cage at night time, there are other ways to make it easy. In a very short time he will learn that it's inevitable, anyway, and will be more agreeable. 
One thing that helps if he's fast and you can't keep up, dim the lights. They don't fly in the dark and it will be a lot easier to catch him and put him to bed.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

That's what I have to do with Juju a lot of the time. It does work.
Freya and Willow also fight me in it sometimes, but they're gluttons and will always step up for millet. You'd think they would learn after a while that it's a trick, but I guess they don't care that much once they have their treat.


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## eduardo (Jan 27, 2012)

bobobubu said:


> If the main problem is him not wanting to go in the cage at night time, there are other ways to make it easy. In a very short time he will learn that it's inevitable, anyway, and will be more agreeable.
> One thing that helps if he's fast and you can't keep up, dim the lights. They don't fly in the dark and it will be a lot easier to catch him and put him to bed.


I agree. I always dim the lights, and mine actually take it as a "sign" that it's bedtime. They climb into their cage themselves and find their favorite sleeping spot. Then I cover them.


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## chasy (Nov 4, 2013)

bobobubu said:


> One thing that helps if he's fast and you can't keep up, dim the lights. They don't fly in the dark and it will be a lot easier to catch him and put him to bed.


This is really helpful to know!! Thank you!


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## Amz (Apr 10, 2013)

Rocko's wings are clipped, for now. I got him clipped before he had fledged, and like Skiddles, he was somewhat of a clumsy flyer at first - but he got much better at it and is a very strong flyer now. This is an unusual case, as many birds that are clipped before fledging are clumsy, unconfident, and weaker than a fully flighted bird would be.

Clipping helped me with Rocko's behavior. Fully flighted, he was much more unruly and aggressive, and didn't listen to my commands nearly as often. He hissed and bit for no reason, too, even when I did something as simple as asking him to step up. Rocko is actually only semi-clipped now... he came to me with his flights trimmed down as far as possible but when I trimmed him, I left them a little longer. Because of this, he can fly almost as well as he could when he was fully flighted, but his behavior is so much more manageable, anyhow.

For us, there doesn't seem to be any feelings of me "dominating" his behavior, as some of the others have said. I can definitely see how some tiels would react that way, but for us, it's never been a problem. He seems genuinely happier now than he did before, and we both get along better. With that said, he did grow in his first set of flights while he was going through some massive hormonal changes, so that could've been why he acted the way he did. To be fair to him, I'm going to give him another chance to have flights and see if he can handle it now that he's calmed down. If not, I'll be clipping him again.

But it is always worth mentioning that *every bird is an individual* and you'll never have the same result in two different birds. Clipping may help, or, it may not. In the end, it's your decision.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

Agree with Amz -- we clipped Elvis and Georgia so that they would stop being so aggressive, but it didn't really seem to do much. Now that their flight feathers have grown back, though, we think we are going to clip them again, but for different reasons.

For Georgia, she is severely cage-bound and flies back to the cage the moment she's removed from it. We think clipping her again will help with training.

For Elvis, we're concerned he'll hurt himself. He isn't a very good flyer and just today managed to get himself stuck behind a piece of furniture, and he's so hostile to humans that when we tried to help him he just bit and bit and bit. Basically we need to keep him out of trouble.

Honestly our apartment isn't big enough for the birds to be flighted without concerns about them crashing into stuff. They are pretty lazy and don't seem to want to fly to get exercise... I know a lot of people here say that their tiels like to fly around first thing in the morning. Ours don't seem to care. If they're flying, it's because they're startled. And they'll hurt themselves.

BTW right now they're sitting on my laptop and falling asleep there, pic attached!!!


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

Bird's been kept clipped his entire life and twice has managed to get out the backdoor. Not being able to fly, he still managed to get the lift to clear a house, and once the whole neighborhood. Mango was full flighted when we got her, and I've clipped her wings once because she wouldn't trust us, wouldn't stick around in the immediate area, and didn't step up even though. After clipping her wings, she calmed down significantly and is so much more hand tame than she was. Atlas and Rhea are full flighted and I don't really think I could get a hand on them if I wanted to, but their wings are so beautiful I wouldn't dare.

To be honest, since joining the forum, I've decided to not clip Bird and Mango anymore and haven't since. I joined last month so it's not like the feathers have grown back yet, but it'll be interesting to see how to goes. I still believe that clipping a birds wings help with bonding, and initially getting to know the bird more is so much easier when you're not chasing them around the house, but I do agree that it's more forced dominance than having the bird -want- to please you even though it can fly away if it wanted. But they do still have to rely on you, and thats something that wing clipping helps with, in my opinion. I honestly think it'd help, and it's something you can always change your mind about in the future.
It really should come down to your personal choice. Wing clipping is something that people are going to feel very strongly for or against.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I disagree that birds can't safely be flighted in a small space. My tiels live in a small room, and some love to do laps around it for fun. It's been great watching the clumsier flyers hone their skills. I only feel bad that they are forced to fly in circles because their room is so small, but one day hopefully I'll move and that will change. 

Personally, I would think it would be better not to force a cage-bound bird out of its comfort zone, but rather give it a large cage and the option of coming out.

I've noticed that birds that have their free will are happier, more confident AND in many cases easier to bond with. Astrid was clipped when she came to me, and at first I tried to teach her to step up on a perch. She was always too fearful and nervous and finally I just stopped. When her wings grew in, she worked up the courage to come check me out. I am positive that this had to be on her terms; she feels safe knowing she has the power to leave if she wants to.

My newest addition, Bandit, is clipped. He's tame, and instantly showed an interest in being friends with me, but doesn't like being asked to step up. I don't even think he's afraid of hands -- he just demands more respect. He's very independent and only wants to interact on his terms. Now, as I type this he is sitting on my shoulder demanding scritches, having come to me all on his own. His grumpiness has greatly diminished since I started giving him space and allowing him to make his own choices.

I bonded with Willow, Juju, Solaire, Dolce and Gypsy and they were all flighted. So in short, I don't believe clipping helps with bonding.

I think a new bird shouldn't be allowed out if the cage until it's calm, to avoid them panicking and flying into walls. And I think ideally, a new bird should be kept in a small room at first if not tame, so that out of cage time doesn't turn into a traumatic chasing ordeal when it's time for them to go back in.

Basically, in my experience and opinion, if you want to win a bird's trust and friendship, show it respect. Remember they have desires, they are little "people" and don't consider us their masters.


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## SoCalTiels (Oct 8, 2013)

I didn't mean to say, or sound like, the only way to bond with a tiel is through clipping the wings. Sorry Moon! I more just meant in certain cases, it can have benefits in training, not in all cases. It's just a different approach. Bird's only been clipped for so long because I got him as a freshman in high school and didn't know the benefits of full flight, the pet store I got him from was insistent and the research I had done at the time heavily implied that an unclipped bird would be a wild bird. Again, I was younger and didn't have the outside knowledge to know otherwise. Since coming here, I've realized it more as something that really isn't necessary or needed, or wanted, but I still believe in certain instances of training or safety with someone less experienced with birds and less knowledgeable in all the aspects of training or how to go about it, it can help.


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Yeah, each case is different as is each bird. Most people take a more moderate stance on it than I do, and I don't judge them for it. I just truly believe birds should fly. And my observations with my own flock have only served to reinforce this. 

I know clipping is a long-standing practice and many still believe in it, but I'm glad things are slowly changing and people and becoming more progressive.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

moonchild said:


> I disagree that birds can't safely be flighted in a small space. My tiels live in a small room, and some love to do laps around it for fun. It's been great watching the clumsier flyers hone their skills. I only feel bad that they are forced to fly in circles because their room is so small, but one day hopefully I'll move and that will change.


Ours don't do laps. They don't even seem to really like flying (though we give them plenty of opportunities) -- they literally only fly when they are trying to get away from us. Thankfully, they are pretty content to just sit around most of the time. Our old tiel apparently used to fly around in circles for fun before the other two tiels came along (this was years before I met my BF and his birds) but the current ones, Georgia especially, are way more into climbing than flying. Georgia LOVES climbing... we even got a decorative fishing net that we hang on the basement wall so that she can climb on it 

I agree that clipping does not necessarily help with bonding. It certainly didn't do a thing for our birds, and it also didn't stop them from bullying the third tiel. That said, we may need to keep Elvis clipped because he manages to get places where he could really hurt himself whenever he tries to fly away from us. Georgia is a much better flyer; I anticipate we'll only clip her once more so that it's easier to train her to get over being cage-bound, and then will let her be flighted again.

I think it's really something to assess on a bird-by-bird basis.


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## chasy (Nov 4, 2013)

Actually, moonchild, I am REALLY glad to hear you say that you bonded fine with FIVE different birds that were flighted because I have left Tango flighted -- not a strong overall conviction about birds in general, but a very strong personal conviction ABOUT MY BIRD -- and I kept waffling every time I thought about the fact that he wasn't tame to me yet and "maybe clipping his wings would help"... So it's reassuring to hear that it ISN'T necessarily necessary to clip in order to bond. More and more, I am made confident that flighting this guy is the best thing for him. It really helps to hear other owners of flighted birds share their experiences. 

I wish it weren't so controversial (although I COMPLETELY understand why it is) because both sides of the fence have a lot to offer us newbies. I'm sure there ARE good reasons and good circumstances for clipping and certainly, in my case, I really needed to hear some things from people who own flighted birds. I guess it just can't really be helped that some topics need some tip-toeing for the sake of avoiding accidental hurt feelings, etc. 

Anyhow, all of that to say -- THANK YOU. LOL Kind of a rambly thank you but there it is.


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## roxy culver (May 27, 2010)

I clipped my boys when they were bullies and left the other birds flighted so they could get away from them. Once they stopped being jerks, they got their wings back. This was during their hormonal male nasty teenage stage. I had one girl that I regularly clipped because when flighted she'd get an attitude and fly to the highest point in the room (or fly in circles above my head) and putting her in the cage at night was tiring. I believe its all on a case by case basis and wings are like hair...it will grow back if you aren't happy with the results.


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Caterpillar, you have two birds who are traumatised and the only way for them to feel in control is to fly. Maybe a better option for you, instead of clipping them because they get into dangerous places, would be to bird-proof the room where they live. 
I don't mean a completely bird-proof room because that's only doable in a bird room and impossible in a humans room, but eliminating dangerous corners can be done.
My boy Yoghi was an aviary baby who, when he was 1yo, was taken from the aviary, clipped and put in a cylindrical cage. The guy who had him thought that it was a good way to train him to be "friendly"; he got rid of him when it didn't work out of course. 
When Y came to live here I didn't have much hope of him getting better, he was shaking all the time and, well, just terrified. In time he learned to step up on a stick and being more relaxed, but this happened AFTER he got his flights back. He would even come to me and take millet spray from my hands, never completely comfortable but hey, it is more than I ever expected.
Traumatised birds in my opinion can't benefit from clipping.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

bobobubu said:


> Caterpillar, you have two birds who are traumatised and the only way for them to feel in control is to fly. Maybe a better option for you, instead of clipping them because they get into dangerous places, would be to bird-proof the room where they live.
> I don't mean a completely bird-proof room because that's only doable in a bird room and impossible in a humans room, but eliminating dangerous corners can be done.
> My boy Yoghi was an aviary baby who, when he was 1yo, was taken from the aviary, clipped and put in a cylindrical cage. The guy who had him thought that it was a good way to train him to be "friendly"; he got rid of him when it didn't work out of course.
> When Y came to live here I didn't have much hope of him getting better, he was shaking all the time and, well, just terrified. In time he learned to step up on a stick and being more relaxed, but this happened AFTER he got his flights back. He would even come to me and take millet spray from my hands, never completely comfortable but hey, it is more than I ever expected.
> Traumatised birds in my opinion can't benefit from clipping.


Yeah, we clipped them this afternoon and they are SO ANGRY right now - they won't even step up or eat treats that we hold up (which normally they both do) but they'll calm down eventually. Georgia was pretty terrified; Elvis is just pissed off. 

To be honest... I think keeping them clipped for the time being is going to help train them, if not make them bond to us. When we started training and started seeing IMMEDIATE results, their flight feathers hadn't grown back in. Once they realized they could fly again, they started getting increasingly more difficult again, especially Georgia who has been getting worse rather than better about being cagebound. It's been backward progress lately and I think that's part of it.

how do you eliminate dangerous corners? the real problem areas with the one room we can let them out in is some of our furniture, like bigger stuff like the bed and chest of drawers, which frankly we can't afford to replace right now.


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Poor babies 

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

I don't have all the answers, Caterpillar...I can try to think of suggestions or do some digging online when I have the time. But I agree with Bobo. Scared or traumatized birds really do benefit from the confidence of being able to use their bodies the way nature intended. Astrid and Yoghi are living proof. I'm not trying to criticize you, as I know your situation isn't as easy as mine. I'm lucky that I can have a bird room even in my tiny apartment. It's just something to think about.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

moonchild said:


> I don't have all the answers, Caterpillar...I can try to think of suggestions or do some digging online when I have the time. But I agree with Bobo. Scared or traumatized birds really do benefit from the confidence of being able to use their bodies the way nature intended. Astrid and Yoghi are living proof. I'm not trying to criticize you, as I know your situation isn't as easy as mine. I'm lucky that I can have a bird room even in my tiny apartment. It's just something to think about.


I understand. Meanwhile we have tried to see if we can get our landlord to let us put up a dividing wall in one basement room that would keep the birds away from some dangerous pipes and machinery, but our landlord said no.

UGH they are having such a bad day today. I think they're molting, they just got clipped, and to make matters worse our upstairs neighbors are moving furniture so whenever there is a big shoving noise from above, they SCREAM!!!


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

If they're molting, their flights will be regrowing. Not really a good time to clip since you can cut a blood feather and they can bleed to death.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

bjknight93 said:


> If they're molting, their flights will be regrowing. Not really a good time to clip since you can cut a blood feather and they can bleed to death.


Ugh I am just the worst bird owner. I didn't know this since their flights were already back in.

I am awful. This is the worst day

I have to give away my birds I just can't seem to do anything right


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

NO! you are doing a lot for these guys, don't think in a negative way because there is no need, really. 
I killed one of my babies, that's definitely much worse than clipping them at the wrong time of the year, and I am sure everyone here once or twice did something not exactly by the book. I am sorry if I added to your distress, I didn't mean to make you miserable.


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

bobobubu said:


> NO! you are doing a lot for these guys, don't think in a negative way because there is no need, really.
> I killed one of my babies, that's definitely much worse than clipping them at the wrong time of the year, and I am sure everyone here once or twice did something not exactly by the book. I am sorry if I added to your distress, I didn't mean to make you miserable.


It's ok. Just having such a bad day today and the tiels clearly were too. They grew up in a frat house so they have more reason to complain than I do 

I still feel guilty. I just can't seem to do anything right for our birds. And it's especially frustrating because my other animal companion, Kitty the cat, bonded with me perfectly and immediately in spite of the fact that she had bounced from one foster home to another for her whole life and had every reason not to trust me. I love animals and this is just so hard.

I hope tomorrow is better than today


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## bobobubu (Dec 12, 2011)

Look, if you feel miserable and a failure because of this, life isn't good and you just need to explore other possibilities. 
After all we are all different, for example I don't like cats and if I suddenly had the responsibility of caring for one I would immediately try to find him a better situation.
And as you say, hopefully tomorrow is gonna be a better day


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## moonchild (Jul 29, 2012)

Take a deep breath, give the birds some millet and maybe do something to take your mind off of the problems for now. You are trying, and that's a fantastic start. Parrots are incredibly complex, and can be much more challenging to live with than domesticated animals like cats and dogs. Especially if they've been mistreated. Don't be so hard on yourself. Things very well might look better in the morning.

Is there any chance of you being able to get a larger cage? I understand you're working with limited space. But it might really help calm them down. Especially since they're cage-bound.


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## Becky45 (Sep 22, 2013)

Thank you all for your replies. I think we will try someone of your suggestions before getting his wings clipped for now... And dimming the lights seem like a really good idea, we hadnt thought of it that way before!

Thanks again  xx


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## Zzzonked (Jul 13, 2013)

caterpillar said:


> Ugh I am just the worst bird owner. I didn't know this since their flights were already back in.
> 
> I am awful. This is the worst day
> 
> I have to give away my birds I just can't seem to do anything right


Hey, most people wouldnt bother searching for a forum or asking others for advice. You've definitely found the right place for tiel knowledge and the fact that you're here shows you care for them more than anyone else would, they are definitely better off with you  keep at it!


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## ollieandme (Mar 25, 2013)

It's definitely possible to bond and train flighted birds. Ollie and Ivy have never been clipped and i have great relationships with them 

Caterpillar, you really are trying to help your tiels so don't give it up!  i would let their wings grow out from now on. Since they're still a bit scared of you wing clipping simply serves to increase their negative view of humans. One of the great things with having flighted birds is that it gives them a way to let you know what they don't like/tolerate and i think it's useful for us as owners to bond even more!! You've been doing a great job with Elvis and Georgia. Keep up the treat food so they learn to love you


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## tielsdownunder (Sep 27, 2013)

I'm thinking about letting Gizmo be fully flighted once he has his first molt. My only worry is that living with 3 other housemates in a rental property he might become a nuisance and annoy them. They are fine with him, and enjoy him now that he just walks around climbing and chewing on his toys. But, that might change when he starts flying onto their heads, and onto plates and bowls. He already does he best to climb across couches and coffee tables in search for toast and pasta.


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## chasy (Nov 4, 2013)

tielsdownunder, how about talking with them first and getting an idea of their boundaries? Then maybe everyone, including birdie, can be pretty happy right from the start, rather than working through conflict after the fact?


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## caterpillar (Oct 14, 2013)

chasy said:


> tielsdownunder, how about talking with them first and getting an idea of their boundaries? Then maybe everyone, including birdie, can be pretty happy right from the start, rather than working through conflict after the fact?


Yeah, if your housemates are OK with you having birds in the first place (they make a lot more noise than a fish or ferret, after all) they will probably be more chill with this than you think. Definitely have a dialogue about it.


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