Wing Clipping

The Crystal Parrot - “Flew out when 3 year old opened the door.” “Bird flew out the door from our house.” “Today our bird flew outside. She was trying to land on my mom as she went outside to put something on the porch.” “Flew out our door at night.” “He escaped his cage through a small window in his cage he apparently knew how to open while outdoors.” “Flew out suddenly.” “ She was on my shoulder and when I opened the door and forgot she was there she took flight.” “The wind took her away.” “He is fully flighted…. he escaped his cage which was on my second floor deck.” “It flew off my shoulder in the morning.”

These are actual words of broken hearted bird owners who have lost their birds! Their words are excerpts from lost birds’ ads on the internet! We have customers in the store everyday who truly believe that “their” bird won’t fly away – “it won’t happen to them.” However, in the above real life examples – none of those people thought it could happen to them either! Not all, but a majority of lost bird incidents could be prevented if a bird is properly clipped. Most people do not understand that clipping their bird is not and all or nothing proposition. When done correctly, a bird can still fly. But it will not gain the dangerous amount of height and distance that fully flighted birds possess that will enable them to get lost at a fast rate of speed! Once lost outside, our companion birds are rarely recovered – alive. Clipping a bird’s wings does not guarantee it will never fly away and/or get lost if it gets out! It is always up to the owner to exercise at least a moderate amount of common sense and forethought! Also, lighter and more aerodynamic birds such as cockatiels do not need much in the way of flight feathers to get far very quickly. These types of birds should be clipped more often!

As far as common sense and forethought go, there are several things to keep in mind. NEVER have your bird outdoors in an unrestrained manner. Ideally they should always be in a suitable travel cage or carrier. Some may see it as cute or a status symbol to be walking around with a bird on their shoulder! Some see it as a “humane” thing to do – giving the bird some freedom and fresh air! Whatever the reason may be – in the end – the reason doesn’t matter if your bird ends up gone! It only takes a split second for something to startle the bird sending it into and instinctive flight response! It will not seem cute or humane when you are lying awake at night envisioning your bird being eaten by a hawk or lost, lonely and scared because you were neglectful in the care of your bird!

When indoors, always “eye your bird” before opening any door or window. This will ensure that your bird does not have a fly away accident! When you have your bird out in the home, turn off all fans and cooking devices! Always supervise your birds’ out time! Just because they are quiet this minute, does not mean the next minute they won’t fly over to the nearest electrical cord and chew it! If you routinely leave your bird on a porch unattended, make sure that no other animals can gain access to him! Most vets will be able to relay the horror of a raccoon or other wild animal maiming and/or wounding birds while they are helpless in the cages “getting some fresh air.” Clipped or not – they do not have a chance in this situation!

We would also like to remind you that the West Nile virus has been officially reported in Northampton! If your bird is outside a lot, you may want to think twice as this virus can be very deadly to our avian friends!

As always if you have any questions about wing clipping or anything else bird related, please do not hesitate to call!