To Clip or Not To Clip...Floor Walking

[Elvenking]

I have read that I should discourage floor walking and clip my Grey's wings once he learns how to fly. What is the community thought on this? I hear it's dangerous to let them fly because they can get hurt...and\or get away if you ever go outside with them. And floor walking can lead to chewing on the wrong things or getting into wires and such. Penny for your thoughts. Thanks.

[Spinner]

By all means, search the forum regarding clipping. It always generates a nice debate.

My opinion (you asked):
Don't clip unless there's a medical reason or a specific danger to the bird or family. Birds use their wings for much more than just flying around, including hopping around, jumping up on things, jumping down, balance, etc.

I don't believe there is any inherent danger of a bird flying. I would be interested in hearing what you hear about the danger of flying.

Another point is that even a clipped bird WILL get away from you outside if not properly harnessed. Clipping does not prevent flight, it just makes it much harder for the bird.

The only danger I see in floor walking is the potential to step on them. They will get into wires and other dangers if we dont' pay attention to them - walking, flying, or not.

So....Don't clip. Let your bird walk. Keep your bird harnessed outside. Pay attention to your bird at all times.

Where's my penny?

Have fun!

[luvparrots]

Oh this is a hot topic! When I got my grey she was clipped by her breeder. I had to wait a year for those feathers to grow and both Ana Grey and I were not happy campers! She did a lot of floor walking and my bare toes were constantly being pinched with her beak so I would pick her up! She would constantly flap her wings and jump off her cage and hanging perches trying to fly. It was heartbreaking. She is now totally flighted and she and I are both happy. She flies to the room I am in or back to her cage at her leisure. I can call her and she comes flying! It is a joyful thing to see you grey flying, totally independent and happy! Clipping is a personally choice, I hope you will try to let your grey remain flighted unless it becomes hazardous to your grey's health.

[Dave007]

In upper right hand corner where moving cube is, type in Wing Clipping in SEARCH FORUM. Get a beer, pull up a chair and get ready.

[Elvenking]

Yeah...this is a touchy area of concern. All the books I read say to clip him...and that includes my breeders recommendation. Just due to the fact that they can tend to misjudge walls and such...although he seems to be improving his landing greatly. Also, I like to have him out of the cage and worry about him just wanting to fly all the time. Most of the time its not a problem.I really do not want him to get hurt in anyway though. My intuition tells me not to clip him...just because if I had the ability to fly, I'd want to keep something like that.

Will he develop this, "I am the king of this domain" complex if I let him keep his flight? I really, REALLY don't want him to get hurt too. He started at 10 WEEKS....I was amazed. ONe day he stopped going down and began going up.

I will query other threads though....sorry...I am new. <br><br>Post edited by: Elvenking, at: 2010/02/05 00:33

[Dave007]

Nothing to be sorry about. It's asked a lot and there's great responses. Probably more than you can imagine.
"""I am the king of this domain""""

He's simply a bird who's been given some body parts in order to go from one place to another.

"""""I have read that I should discourage floor walking and clip my Grey's wings once he learns how to fly.""""

Well, if he's clipped, floor walking is what's left.

Flying is more appealing and a floor becomes less attractive.

Al the baby birds bang into things when they start to fly. It normally hurts the owner more than it does the bird. Birds were born to fly. When a child learns how to walk, he's gonna fall, right? When he learns how to ride a bike, he's gonna fall and scrape those knees, right?
I know that when I was a kid I went through all of those things and I turned out alright, at least physically. Mentally, well that's another story and it didn't have anything to do with wings, walking or riding a bike.

[luvparrots]

You should know Elvenking that the two gentlemen answering this thread are both well-respected breeders who are always generous with their knowledge and expertise for which we are truly grateful!

[danmcq]

Elvenking wrote:

My intuition tells me not to clip him...just because if I had the ability to fly, I'd want to keep something like that.

Your intuition is correct.

Most the books and people that just automatically state to clip your bird is the very old school of thought. This is probably due to people in early years that bought a parrot thought of it more like a puppy or other flightless critter.

It is my personal belief more birds are harmed every day due to being clipped. They will jump off their cages for example and split their keel. They can not flee from a cat or dog coming at it. They can not flee from an object falling towards, like a person on a ladder...yes this really happened. A person was up on the ladder hanging something the bird was down on the floor watching and he fell on it. A flighted bird would have been gone before he hit the floor. The bird obviously was killed instantly.

Birds fly every day with out running into things. They are masters of flight. If they weren't, you would see birds dead all over the place from flying into tree branches, telephone poles etc. They actually process vision 4 times faster than humans. Thats why they can be flying 30 miles per hour through a tress and swoop and swerve through it. A human would hit dead smack on the first branch at that speed.

The birds respiratory and cardio-vascular system is entirely built around flight and the oxygen flow required for it. A clipped bird is not nearly as healthy or coordinated as a flighted bird.

Your Grey will learn fast, just as you have described he is already.

Hope this helps in your dicision. :-)

[dhorje]

Let your bird fly. He will be happier this way.

[bigbird519]

i too have been doing much research on the pros and cons of flight. here is my ? i am more concerned about the german shepard/ shiba inu mixed dog that i have. harley (my dog) is two years of age and very quick. i dont have the grey as of yet. (still doing research) and i am not wanting to kennel the dog, or cage the bird for long periods of time. how long does it take a grey to learn flight? also, is this a major disadvantage to adopting a five year old bird?

found this on the web, thought i could post it here. lots of interesting stuff on the pros and cons to clipping flight wings. as of yet i am not sure of my opinion.
http://www.parrothouse.com/pamelaclark/feathersandflight.html