# Trying to tame cockatiel. Should I clip her wings?



## Snork

Hiya, I'm very new here.

I got my cockatiel, Kiki, three weeks ago now. I know that taming/training a cockatiel takes A LOT of time, but she doesn't seem to be warming to me at all. She seems comfortable in every other aspect apart from when I try to hand feed her. If I get her out of the cage, she will "step up" onto a perch and, from the perch, onto my finger. However, when I try and hand feed her inside the cage, she will climb around the cage and act very scared. I was just wondering whether it would be a good idea to get her wings clipped. I don't particularly agree with it, however when she is out of the cage she will fly around the room and hit her head on things, fly into windows etc. I'm very worried because, although I know how to clip a birds wings, there is nowhere near me that will do it, so I will have to do it. 

Also, when I got her from the pet shop, I was told she was 10 weeks. I always thought that she looked older so I checked her leg band and it reads "7 61M6 NB16." I have no idea what it means, but have assumed that the "NB16" is her hatch date, therefore making her around 6 months old. I read somewhere that this is the "puberty" stage for cockatiels, which may be why she seems so uncomfortable. 

Any advice is accepted, however if your answer to the question is "It's cruel to clip a birds wings" I will not accept it. I am aware that it doesn't hurt the bird and if there are any cons then I need reasons. 

Thank you! :tiel6:


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## Nimra

Lots of people have this problem, and we already have a lot of threads on this topic, including one telling the pros and cons of clipping wings. If your bird is crashing into stuff, this can result in injuries and even death, so you can clip her wings. However, if you do that, your bird will not be able to fly and if you are not paying attention it might just get crushed under something, or you might step on it. Also if you will have to clip the wings yourself, you will have to be very careful, because you might accidentally clip a blood feather, which will result in bleeding and might even be fatal if there is too much of it. You will also have to cut the wings about once or twice a year, so if you don't want to do that, I suggest you don't try it. I also had a cockatiel who used to crash into things and stuff, and every time it did that it used to break its nail. So that is another one of the pros of clipping wings. If you decide not to clip its wings, you will have to clip its nails to avoid that. You should clip its nails anyways, because there are other ways they can break.
Hope this helps you!


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## Snork

Thank you so much! I've decided that for now I'm just going to let things flow and see how he (I recently discovered he was a boy) goes, as it's still early days and I still have plenty of time to train him. However, this has been super helpful for future reference! Thank you!


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## Nimra

Good luck! I am glad it helped.


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## ninfatiel

Wing clipping does help in training and bonding, and if you are not planning walking on the streets with the bird you may clip them not so short,therefore the bird still would be able to fly but wouldnt gain altitude. If clipping done correctly-bird should be able to gradually fly to the ground (not drop like a stone) Another thing-even my most friendly and tamed birds wouldnt like me to stick hand in the cage and catch them,so I think its better to let the cockatiel leave the cage on his own. In conclusion I want to say-that wing clipping works for me, I dont consider it cruelty but helpful and temporary tool,once the bird is trained-you may let the wings grow back


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