Wing clipping & discipline

External Since: Sep 18, 2003 Posts: 7

I'm new to this group, and this topic must come up a lot, so I'm sorry
for bringing it up again.

I have a 4 month old Blue-Front. He's generally adorable, and is
bonding well, but sometimes he doesn't know who's boss. We are in the
early stages of training. He likes to land on heads, which I heard is
to be discouraged, and he also lands on shoulders without permission.
And he also likes to perch on doors (being much higher than us, which
might give him a sense of superiority), and sometimes fly low overhead,
perhaps marking out his territory.

I'm not sure what should be regarded as "normal", and what behaviour
could eventually lead to problems. Given that the bird is flighted,
should I, and if so how, discourage him from flying to heads and doors?
He's a bit selective when it comes to commands like "no" and "off
there", and I'm not sure if he even understands them yet.

I've heard mixed opinions about wing clipping. It would certainly solve
all of our discipline problems, or is that considered too unkind and
lazy on our part?

Calum Grant

External Since: Sep 18, 2003 Posts: 3

Most of the "experts" will agree that wing clipping is not only a training
technique but also a good safety measure. Birds flying around indoors can
easily fly into a closed (or open) window and either injure themselves or
even escape. Ceiling fans is another thing that can mame or kill flying
birds. Clipping feathers that have grown out completely is a painless
procedure - much like clipping our fingernails. Birds do not have any
feeling in their feathers, but if you cut a feather that is in the process
of growing (known as a "blood" feather") you can have a potential problem on
your hands. When clipping the wing only clip the outer flight feathers at
the very end of the wing (normally about three or four feathers). These are
the feathers that give birds the ability to gain altitude when flying.
Without them birds can still fly but will normally fly to the floor and not
very far at all, unless something suddenly scares them. Be VERY careful
when taking a clipped bird outdoors. Most people think that since their
bird is unable to fly indoors with clipped wings that they will be unable to
fly outdoors - NOT TRUE. A gust of wind can easily allow a bird to fly off
even with clipped wings.

Mark

"Calum" <calum.bulk DeleteThis @ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:bkc0rv$vkd$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
> I'm new to this group, and this topic must come up a lot, so I'm sorry
> for bringing it up again.
>
> I have a 4 month old Blue-Front. He's generally adorable, and is
> bonding well, but sometimes he doesn't know who's boss. We are in the
> early stages of training. He likes to land on heads, which I heard is
> to be discouraged, and he also lands on shoulders without permission.
> And he also likes to perch on doors (being much higher than us, which
> might give him a sense of superiority), and sometimes fly low overhead,
> perhaps marking out his territory.
>
> I'm not sure what should be regarded as "normal", and what behaviour
> could eventually lead to problems. Given that the bird is flighted,
> should I, and if so how, discourage him from flying to heads and doors?
> He's a bit selective when it comes to commands like "no" and "off
> there", and I'm not sure if he even understands them yet.
>
> I've heard mixed opinions about wing clipping. It would certainly solve
> all of our discipline problems, or is that considered too unkind and
> lazy on our part?
>
> Calum Grant
>