Should You Clip Your Parrots Wings? |PARRONT TIP TUESDAY 

Wow, what had Codys attention? He being so quiet and still. Hes not normally like this, lol.

What an eloquent way to discuss this topic. Thank you for this educated decision 💛

Shared from another bird group: About 19,000 pet birds are reported lost each year. Only 20% are reported found. Those are gruesome odds. If found, some are kept by their finder, who think if the bird was loose, the owner was irresponsible, so they keep it without guilt. Or they sell it to the first buyer they can find. The majority of these losses happen to people who dearly love their bird, but have lost the initial fear of taking it outdoors unrestrained. Once a bond is formed, it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking your beloved bird wouldn't fly away from you, or would come back if it did. So you take it outside on your arm or hand because you think your bird will enjoy being outdoors - and you may feel guilty for having to keep it in a cage. Please don't think I'm being self righteous. I fell into that trap. I walked outside with my parrot on my arm, something startled her and he flew up into the 80 ft evergreen trees behind my house where I could hear her, but not see her, and I couldn't get her to come back down to me. I'd had her over 12 years. I lost sight of my responsibility as guardian of a wild animal whose main instinct is to flee from danger. I went into shock and was unable to think clearly about ways to get her back down to me. I searched online and tried everything I could. The underbrush and mud beneath those trees was impossible to walk through. I didn't call a tree climber because there was no way to get to that tree without a 100' boom. I didn't think there was such a thing. In hindsight I should have called just to talk to someone with a clear head who might have been able to offer suggestions. Or called the local power company. I bet they have 100' booms. I would do anything to have her back but I found wing feathers down the road 6 days after she flew away. I failed to protect her by simply not thinking about what I might be risking by walking outdoors with her. I couldn't understand why she wouldn't fly back down to me when she got hungry, so I started doing research. I had to dig for it, but here's what I found out: 1. If your bird doesn't fly across the room to you now, it won't fly to you when it's outdoors and terrified. Captive bred birds haven't been trained by parent bird to fly downward (normal fledging), and fear will likely keep your from trying. 2. Captive bred birds miss that basic training because they are taken from the nest at 3 weeks to be hand fed so they'll make better pets. They miss out on flight training, foraging for their own food, and learning what's truly dangerous. Instinct will make them fly upward, but it's parentaltraining that teaches them to fly downward from a great height. Height equals safety to a bird. 3. The most commonly lost birds are African Greys, Cockatiels and parakeets. More parakeets are 'found' than are claimed by their owners. They survive because there isn't enough money in parakeets to justify hand feeding, so their parents raise them. They learn how to find bird feeders, and to fly upward and downward. Stop feeling guilty about keeping your bird indoors. It's the only life your bird has known and a roomy cage and familiar house feels safe. Natural sunshine is good for your bird - so take it outdoors in a cage or harness (harness training is not easy for an older bird). And provide a UVA/UVB bulb above the cage so it gets enough 'sunshine' to produce calcium and stay healthy. A pet bird never, ever belongs outdoors unless safely restrained. There will always be people who refuse to think any pet of theirs would willingly leave them, but unless you want to carry the horrendous sadness and guilt of a lost bird who loved and trusted you to keep it safe - refuse to allow yourself to be one of those people!

You make so much sence, I did let my Galah fly at first but I was sure that he was going to hurt himself it was not funny. So I spoke to a bird expert and he said to keep them clipped for a while until you feel ok about it.

Thank you so much for this video. These are exactly my feelings on things and wld hv been my words. I hv had some horror stories and heard some horror stories. I hv seem the happiness in my own birds faces when they were discovering flight and landing where they wanted to land then enjoy the praise from me. I hope and pray that ALL bird owners watch this video and hear the words. I am sharing this video to try and help spread the word. I LOVE companion parrots and hope and try to make those that i come in contact with who have parrots more knowledgeable and better parronts. They bring me a sense of peace and beauty in all the chaos of life.

Her advice is always so balanced and well thought out.🦜👍

You have a very idiosyncratic way about you. But you really have a keen sense of what an individual bird needs and what his personality is. It’s a gift. Really impressive!

I think that birds should be able to fly when possible. But I completely understand how sometimes you need to have bird's wings clipped. But with wings clipped you can lull yourself into a false sense of safety. I completely agree with Marlene that under certain situations, clipped wings are the best way to go. My parent's African Grey came to them with his wings clipped. He also had a lame claw and other physical issues. He never flew much at all, just a gentle flutter from here to there as much as he could muster. My parents (and they realize the mistake now) used to bring him onto their porch on occasion, which was covered, and he always just chilled there without a problem. One day he got spooked, and his wings must have been grown out and he just took off. We live in the city, but in an area with massive ancient trees. He flew up to the top of those trees and didn't know how to get down. For days we spotted him up in those trees. My parents were extremely distraught. We even watched live as a hauk dissented on him (Ray retaliated, clearly the hauk was not expecting an African Grey!). We thought Ray was gone forever (heartbreaking especially because we could continuously spot him, but he didn't know how to come down) but we managed to recover him out of pure happenstance. We had posted fliers around the neighbourhood (which I initially thought was silly). After days of no food and pure exhaustion, Ray descended to the ground on a neighbours driveway while that neighbour was bringing laundry home from the laundromat. This person had seen our posters, thought quickly, dumped their own laundry onto the driveway, and threw their empty laundry basket over Ray. They then ran to find one of our posters and called us. We called it Ray's great adventure. An avian vet checked him out and he was starving, but generally unscathed from this incident. We then realized though that this bird needed to have his wings clipped. He did not know his own abilities. We did let his wings grow out enough to give a little bit of flight around the house, but generally, he had never been able to fly and it was safer to keep him that way.

Love your videos! My Birdie was always flighted, I never had this advice but I have always wondered and it is great that you are being balanced and lovely on this subject. I started small and learned as I went along, but when birdie lost a load of tail feathers all at once I experienced how he suffered when he couldn't do what he was used to doing, I was so sad for him. I feel like he crashed into much more stuff and I had to keep more of an eye on him because he was more accident prone, had to wait for them to grow back so he wouldn't hurt himself, it took way more vigilance on my part x

Pretty bird

Thank you so much for this video. I'm planning on adding a cockatiel to my family very soon. I've seen so many videos about the importance to the bird's health & happiness to have him flighted, but I'll be a first-time owner and have been concerned about bonding & training a fully flighted bird. I had been planning on having him clipped when I first bring him home and letting his feathers grow out once I felt we had all been properly trained. :) I'm glad to have that validated by someone who's opinion I respect. Thanks.

Intelligent advise . I had a conure for 20 years before my Umbrella cockatoo ..Unless you have had parrots for many years.. you don't know what you don't know

Can you make a video on how to spend time with all 5 of your birds equally ? Please I've been waiting to see this video and I've even asked ur sis genna on Snapchat to ask u

My mom has a green cheek who is delighted, she loves her wings and is very very proud of them. I have a cockatiel who is with me in my dorm room (he is my ESA) who is clipped. He is a sweetheart and is about 3 months old and doesn't quite realise he *can't* fly... I have him clipped because I can't be sure what may happen in a dorm and there is another student on my floor who has a cat. He is clipped for his safety and my ease of mind. When I finish college, he will be left for his wings to grow out. I also have a cockatiel as they are more okay with longer alone time than a macaw or grey. and when I'm in my dorm he is out the entire time, even while doing my homework or practicing my piano. He's my little buddy and I made so certain to make sure he would be happy and that I chose the right bird for me. (he's never really alone, I always have the tv or radio on for him). I also have a breeder and bird group who I trust so much. The breeder does all of the grooming for both birds, she hand raises all her babies, and she knows well what she's doing. The bird group consists of some solo owners as well as some who run rescues and they are always helpful and we have birdy playtime every weekend. I feel like this comment is a mess now so I'll just leave it here 😅

Near the flat where my mom lives (in the Netherlands) there is this flock of ± 30 - 40 parrots. They are colorful and about the size of your bird Picasso. From her balcony you can see them fly over in the evening. it must have started with a few that escaped and grown out to this flock. (As parrots are not native to the Netherlands.)

I enjoyed your video :) Keep it up!

Great video. We have a rose breasted cockatoo. He is a little over 1 year old. When we got him he was still on 3 feedings a day and were able to bond with him. The pet shop owner recommended we go to an avian vet to ensure he was a healthy bird. So I researched and found what was suppose to an Avian certified vet. While there the vet trimmed his wings ALL the way across. Fortunately for Raj he has not injured himself badly when he attempts to fly, since all he does is drop like a rock now. This trimming took place in August of 2016. A couple of months ago he started to molt and serious problems have come about due to what this vet did. As you stated in the video about a birds confidence. Our Raj has no confidence in his abilities and has stopped stepping up, is hesitant to come out of his cage. The least movement or noise will make him jump and attempt to fly. He has broken several of his new feathers in these crazy fits he has. It will take him several hours to calm down and at times will not even come to us, but just runs around the house. The good news is that his wings are over halfway grown back in. They started to grow back from both ends of the wing. Unfortunately the feathers on the wing tips have been knocked off/broken during his fits. However from his "shoulder area" moving towards to tips the feathers are over halfway in now. When he attempts to fly I can hear how much more air he is moving and he now falls slower. We are very careful where we let him perch, so he is as close to the ground as possible. This video is very helpful in understanding the "why" of what our Raj is experiencing. At this point I do not think there is anything that can be done other than let his wings grow back in and be very attentive to make sure he doesn't injure himself. If you have any other helpful advice we would appreciate it and thanks again for making these videos.

Safe bird first, flighted bird second! Marlene, I love you - I've never seen you put your opinion or sentiment above the health and safety of the birds in your care.

My amazon and myself have spent the morning watching your vids. Your obvious love and dedication to these amazing creatures comes across in all of them. Would love to thank you for the work you do. I know its not easy!!

Here are my two cents. I'm no bird expert, though, so feel free to take my opinion with a grain of salt. I think that it should be the owner's decision. It doesn't make you a sh*tty pet owner if it's your first time with a bird and you get them clipped so they are easier to tame and don't fly into windows. It doesn't make you a terrible person to care about the well-being of the bird. People say "when you say 'safety', you mean 'convenience'", but that's not true. It's actually caring about the bird if you don't want them being lost or hurt. It's not "more convenient", it's trying to keep your OWN PET SAFE. If you think you can handle having an untamed, flighted bird, then fine. You do you. And I would recommend that you stop clipping them when they are tamed and can fly to you when you call them, unless you REALLY need it. But do whatever if it helps you and your bird. Oh, and by the way, clipping a bird's wings is NOT akin to cutting off a pet's feet. That is just a ludicrous comparison and completely untrue. Wings grow back. Feet do not. Wings still let them glide and flutter. Wings don't hurt when they are clipped. Make your own choices, get informed, but DO NOT prevent your bird from getting clipped just so you can claim the moral high ground. Do what YOU think is best for your bird, not what somebody telling you that "it depletes the essence of the animal" says.

Who are the idiots that disliked this video? Marlene thank you for your advice, it saved me from returning a rescue....he is not tame yet but he now hops onto a rope so he can spend time in the outdoor aviary 😬💚💕. The wings were clipped by a vet and are growing back, but has changed my birds behaviour from aggressive to so sweet and happy, he sings and grinds his beak all the time now👏🏽

love your videos

In England, alot of birds come from breeders flighted. Only one of my birds has ever come to me clipped and her clip was awful. My other birds all came to my fully flighted. I've never had to clip a Bird's wings to tame them. Yeah it's harder but more worth it in the end. I think you gotta do what's best for your birds in the end. If that means clipping their wings then that's what you gotta do

All birds are different, i've had small birds that I did not clip and they were fine eg; Conures and Cockateils but when I got my Galah I did clip and he has been great he's nearly 4 and he is so friendly and loves his little cuddles and snuggles he loves to walk around pull the carpet out climbing on my towel sitting on me and and sitting on his cage he climbs all over me and he's cage and LOVES it. I 'm not saying that I'm going to have him clipped all he's life but for now he is really happy but he's at a stage where I clip a couple of feathers as they grow slowly.

The reason I am considering to clip my cockatiels wings is be because he isn’t a very good flyer (I got him from an aviary) so I’m worried he would accidentally injure himself. I got him almost 3 weeks ago and he was parent raised so he was harder to tame but I don’t think it’s a problem since we are bonding well. I believe I’m going to get his wings clipped though I am worried about the exercise problem

A clipped bird will be much less confident and more likely to resort to biting than a bird that is free to have choices in it's life and be with you because it wants to and not because it has to. To be outside with clipped wings is unbelievable dangerous! You know it is a false sense of security and not really safe to have a bird outside that is clipped if the bird gets spooked it can and will fly and fly far enough to get lost and have a terrible and often tragic disadvantage . Everyone should teach their bird to come for safety . Most people already know their bird is smarter than most other pets and so why not teach them to come when called ? Starting with leaning into you , walking to you, hoping to you, short jump flight to you...and increase distance slowly. Your bird has a much better chance if lost if it is flighted and trained than if it is clipped and untrained. Babies are commonly clipped and not even allowed to fledge and complete their crucial very important developmental fledgling stage . If still there is insist on clipping at least wait until this stage is completed and they know how to fly, to land, and how to fly down ...clipping before learning how to fly has consequences even if later you decide to let the wings grow in. More than likely when someone says their birds don't fly it is because they don't have the confidence and haven't been taught the skills and been with others of their species (or con species) as wild parrots are. Most companion birds have already had their wings clipped before they were allowed to correctly fledge and people buy them this way. If a bird isn't taught how to , fly, stop, or descend, in a large area, he will not be a confident flyer, and choose not to fly but walk instead...a red flag he was likely never fledged . Birds are taken away from their parents way way way too young. The favorite macaws I trained at NEI ( Natural Encounters, Inc. ) where the parent raised Blue throat macaws! We need o educate everyone including especially starting with how we raise a baby parrot.

I hate what we do to our pets. Clipping wings, neutering dogs, declawing cats, removing dew claws, and putting animals in cages for much longer than what's needed. If we are incapable of keeping companion pets without cutting off body parts, we shouldn't have them.

Before you bring home your first bird you must understand that bird flys and will fly away if it gets lost outside. Bonding with bird and tameing is not enough to expect that bird will not get lost any more. Keep your bird in safe room and nothing happens, why not use some special window nets, if it keeps your bird safe? I´m glad in my country clipping birds wings is not alowed and i haven`t heard about breeders who do that, pet shops are not doing that either.

I don’t actually have a bird yet but when I get one it will defineately be flighted because I have 3 dogs and if it ever needs to get away that will be necessary, the bird won’t be in danger though because if I’m gone it will be in my room and my dogs won’t be in my room and I will keep the dogs away, only one is kinda a threat but I can teach him and they won’t be together often Like if you love animals

100% Agree. I dont disagree with wing clipping but its nice to see them fly and should be an end goal. I use to do it but now they fly and fly very well. I also use to own a pedestal fan but now got i a Dyson bladless fan so i can keep it on in summer with them around. Also i was wondering maybe to cover if possible how to not just deal with the birds but people who are scared of birds or inexperienced with them when they come over.

I love you so much you have helped me so much

what makes me so sad and angry is when people say ALL birds should be clipped ALL the time because it's "safer". that is absolute bullshit. for inexperienced owners who live in dangerous households, maybe, but not ALL birds and not for the entire duration of their lives. it may not hurt them physically, but it hurts them emotionally and is therefore very cruel. /:

Yeeeeeeees my gurl, Marlene the Parrot Queen! :)

Awesome, thank you for your awesome video and spreading this important message.

Its so important to flight train your birds. If they should ever escape your home, they will know how to come back to you. If you are bonded to them, YOU are where they feel safest and will come to you. It may take a while even a day, two or three to get them back, but if they see you they will come to you when you call their name and say the words you say when you trained them. I think a flighted bird must be flight trained to come to you.Thank you Marlene.. Another great video.

Our bird is not clipped. Instead we have a rule that we tell our visitors. If someone is entering or exiting the house the bird must be held

Thank you, Marlene, for having such an open mind about this

I do agree with you to some extent, but not when it comes to the first time bird owners. See, in Germany it is extremely uncommon to see birds with clipped wings, I think it’s actually illegal in some way. Yet, people here have birds, many people have budgies, cockatiels or ringnecks and, well, I’ve never seen any but some people have bigger birds as well. Everybody starts with some kind of bird, but none are ever clipped. None. But even first time bird owners do their job well and keep them healthy for their entire life, at least most people do. Taming flighted birds is not impossible. I have 4 budgies, i know someone who has a bigger flock of 10 budgies, and they are all tame. So personally, I don’t see the point in clipping these kinds of birds - i do understand why bigger parrots (cockatoos, macaws, african greys, amazons etc) may be better off clipped in some cases, but i see people clipping budgies and cockatiels, and that is something I do not and will not understand.

This was so helpful! Thank you! Cody is beutiful!!

I personally only think that if you are 100% sure your bird is a useless flyer and keeps knocking itself into walls or windows or whatever, and ultimately they could kill themselves (I've seen and heard it happening many times before) That's personally the only reason I think it's OK to clip a birds wings. Even then I think you should always leave your bird being able to glide or fly slightly, I think completely taking away a birds flight is cruel. Also, although I'm not a huge fan of it, I don't think it's too bad if you clip your birds wings when you first get them. (Some of the instances you said I agree with its OK to clip a birds wings) And other than those reasons, I personally can't really think of a valid reason to clip a birds wings. Also, I would absolutely love an African Grey one day, they are definitely some of my favourite birds! Cody is so gorgeous, I love his eyes ❤

Thank you. This is exactly how it should be. It is unfair to the bird that they might have to have their wings clipped at first because their owner doesn't have that instinct, but ultimately it's better than the bird getting hurt because their owner didn't have that instinct. Believe me, no matter how much research you do, you won't really have that instinct until you have a bird or are around them a lot. Since this is coming from you, I think this is great. It helps put the record straight for any parrot owner. Personally, I have my female parakeet's wings clipped because a) I haven't bonded/tamed her enough yet and can't just pick her up to put her where she wants to be and b) I have a fish tank that is not covered (yet) in the same room. She also tends to run into stuff. My male is older, more coordinated, and lets me move him most of the time (keep in mind I'm still not letting them be free just for the week that it'll take for the cover to be made!). They're both small birds that still have their wild instincts, and even my male will jump away if I move too quickly/suddenly. Small birds also, in my experience, tend to be more flighty. Well, they make up for the lost flight time by clinging onto a perch and flapping their wings, which is good I suppose. Cody was strangely quiet. Probably that bug I saw flying into frame.

great video

My green cheek conure had her wings clipped because she went everywhere with me and I didn't want her to fly away accidentally, we were constantly outdoors with her - though she was usually stuck to me like glue and she never tried to fly away. However - I was sitting in my aunts front yard and a stray cat I was unaware of, attacked us (trying to get her) while she was on my shoulder. My bird tried to escape but obviously couldn't use her wings to fly away she couldn't get more than maybe 3ft off the ground, and the cat almost got her until she ended up in the middle of the street (as a car was coming) I had to dive and grab her (car saw me and stopped) and LUCKILY my bird was ok, but I have to think she would have been better off if she could have flown away and I feel she would have, due to her connection to me, came back to me.

Thank you !!! I am currently thinking about having my first bird (maybe a Ringneck). I then watched a lot of videos (yours and other's), read several articles about parrots and parakeets. And still continue to do my researches about it. This subject, "to clip or not to clip", is so contreversal that it's very complicated to find an objective point of vue. This video is very interesting and "open minded". Thank you so much for this.

We have a gcc & a jenday & 2 lab mix dogs. We are new parrot owners and their wings are clipped now, but im not sure if we should continue to clip their wings or not because of our dogs. Right now we seperate the birds & dogs with baby gates but eventually our babies will be able to fly over them. I want whats best for them...

When I first got my BFA, I had the guy trim his flight feathers, he was not a companion bird and I had never had a bird before. I let his wings grow and I have never trimmed them again. He is well able to fly, but is rarely inclined to do so.

Oh no! Today I got my B&G's wings clipped 😭. I will let them grow and see if he's happy with them. Thank you!

When I started my research on parrot owning, I've gone back and forth on wing clipping. Ive learned a little on flight training but it seemed so intimidating on top of everything else that I need to do with taming. I came to this exact conclusion! When we get our bird soon, I will clip until I feel confident in starting to flight train. Thanks so much for all your videos and information, it helps so much.

My conure's wings were clipped by the breeder. I hope they grow back smoothly

my birds were already clipped when I got them from the pet store which was so sad!!! but they grow back the feather so yay!!!!

What about my bird where we go outside a lot. I clip so she can't fly away. Now she just flies down

I’ve had two birds before my current one, both of them clipped. When I first got my current cockatiel we bonded almost immediately, it was incredible. Therefore, I’ve let her grow out her wings and she’s just so happy. She’ll fly around the room in circles and then sing, it’s so cute. It’s also nice since she can go from the cage to the window to me whenever she wants. I treat her cage as you would a dog’s crate, she goes in there when I’m not around but it’s open when I am. It’s strengthened our bond because she chooses to be with me, not forced. She just molted out her last few clipped feathers from the pet store and her wings are so big and beautiful 😊

I've just rescued a 25yr old African Grey..Can you please tell me if a bird is too old to tame ? She's very gentle and will take food from my fingers but will not step up at all.. I wish I lived closer to you BUT is there anything you can advise me on ?? Yes she is flighted !

I know im late, just wanted to say that this video was very helpful when i just got my new budgies and i didnt know whether to clip them or not. this video had some good points and reasons, probably one of the most helpful videos that ive seen so far when researching. Also, you have a beautiful bird, and i love your videos. Thanks so much!

Thanks for the video marline plz make a video on all ur birds together and all about them (an update)

Hey Marlene! In Australia we have a local group called Adventures of Roku... they get together on weekends to a park or property and free fly their parrots! It’s so beautiful ! Check them out on RU-vid and Facebook !

One of my teachers in animal caretaking school used to be a vet tech and she taught us something that I never hear elsewhere but it is worth mentioning for those that want to clip since I thought it made so much sense when it comes to bird health. We were taught to not cut straight across the feather but along the feather on one side of the "pen" so that the feather still has enough weight to fall out properly when it's time to grow a new one. With some half width feathers there is less resistance to get a lift. I don't remember how many of the wing tip feathers to save though because it was over a decade ago but to have it mentioned, research which feathers are usually clipped before you do. And I have never heard this part confirmed but I am guessing that there could potentially be a similar happening with this comparison. When cats are declawed there is a major defence mechanism removed and they are commonly more likely to get aggressive and I hear of cats that starts to bite instead (I know, it's a whole other heated topic) so my logic tells me that maybe a flightless bird might have a similar reaction. Fight or flight, I can't flee/fly so I'll fight/bite. Again, it's just a guess but you could keep your attention open for it and see if you see a connection between the two with your individual bird if you would have a stress or aggression issue. :)

for me, I like to bring them home with the wings clip. it gives me time to get to know the bird and what freaks them out and if I do my job with them by the time the wings grew out they are tame and people frendly.

I agree there is a certain time or situation to clip the primary feathers but still should be able to glide so don’t clip uneven or to short .... mine are all flighted and I even climbed a fence following my Amazon to a neighbors yard (someone else’s fault) I TOTALLY DISAGREE WITH SURGICALLY CLIPPING... TIPS OF WINGS. NEVER DO IT.

Love it!!!

I have a blue and gold macaw

Thanks so much for this. I'm an inexperienced lovebird owner (since yesterday!), and today I let my bird out like one of your videos was saying. Problem was when I had to catch him because he just wouldn't come back to his cage! D: I'm considering doing this, specially since the wings do grow back in time

I have 2 parrots who are untammed and female parrot is very aggressive ..can u plz help me i want to tame them but when they come out of their cage they fly all around in the house and at the same time they are very scared of touching ..plz help me..how can i tame them????plz plz plz!!!!

My 6 parrots were flighted, but my IRN was not a good one. I lost her when her cage door opened accidentally when she was outside and the wind took her away. I was having no success taming my other parrots, especially the new ones. A parrot expert came over and watched me interact with my birds, and then told me that my birds like me but don’t consider me the flock leader. She recommended clipping so that flying away is not an option when trying to train/tame them. It broke my heart but I did it. My newish moustache parakeet no longer tears pieces out of me, but steps up and flies to me. My parrotlet also steps up and will work with me. My trained and tame GCC female is super hormonal and runs away from my hand. My 2 boys, a GCC and a Quaker, are resisting, but my GCC is coming along. The Quaker is super stubborn. I posted this on parrot station but it never showed up.

I love Cody! He is similar in color to my Greys feathers. She had the DARK grey almost black feathers. She was beautiful as is Cody. Most are lighter.

my Umbrella Cockatoo male is 26 and he has not had his wings clipped that I know.He does not fly.He learn new words very smart.can I teach him to fly.I bought him a huge outdoor aviary and I have a harness he has never worn???

My cake had his wings clipped when he was only 5 months old or less. We took him for a normal vet checkup and they told us his wings were not clipped right. I believe in flighted birds as well but the vet said it would take two molts for his wings to grow back right. He said after the first molt they are going to look "off" and may even receive a different coloring because of it. My question is will this affect him when he becomes flighted again? We have been trying to get him to practice flying or I guess floating, lol, as much as possible.

My bird will step up, eat from my hand, sit on my sholder, but he won't stay for long he will fly back to his perch after about 30 seconds and he is very scared of my hand. he is a cockatiel. How do I get him to know that my hand isn't going to hurt him? Can anyone tell me? We got his 5 days ago.

My cockatiel was fully flighted when I got her, she was caged bound and kept in a cage for two years by the previous owner and she is very scared of people so she was never interacted with. I just clipped her wings due to when she has came out and does come out she panics and flys into walls and the windows. We just got her two weeks ago and due to her not being tamed yet or comfortable with us we feel it’s best she’s clipped until she’s comfortable with us. I will never clipped them again if I don’t have to but for her own safety right now she has to be clipped. I would love for her to be fully flighted eventually.

I completely understand why you said everything in this video. I could not agree more. Birds should be able to do what birds do but unfortunately some circumstances May prohibit that due to safety concerns. In a perfect world all companion birds would be able to fly.

Hello Marlene,can u help me with a problem please?i have 2 indian’s ringneck and one is calm and answer when i want to train him,he step up and came when i call him and he kiss me,and another is the Vinny type,don’t answer when i want to train him,he step up,he came when i call him but not all the time and he bite me a lot i don’t know if he wanna bite me or he didn’t realize when he plays it hurt me,last week he broke a birthmark on me,still don’t know if it was intentional or he was just curious,they are both fully flight parrots i have them from about 4 months and i don t know if is ok to clip the wings at the”aggressive”one...i don t wanna make him sad because he fly like a combat jet,i’m an inexperienced owner and they are my first birds but i do my best to gave them a happy and a healthy life.Thank you.

I didn’t watch the entire video so I’m unsure if you covered this. What if I clip my birds wings once to be able to bond with it better so it won’t fly away? If I work with my parakeet with his wings clipped once and then just let them grow back would that work?

I have a cockatiel and I just clipped her wings yesterday because she kept running into walls and getting bloody noses, and sitting on my fan and pooping on it the. Eating the poop . She also makes it very hard by having me go all the way up to my fan and get her every 10 mins, my parents don’t let her in certain rooms so she is usually in mine and doesn’t have a giant place to fly and just flies in circles. She only flies when she is scared and doesn’t seem to enjoy it very much, yet I still feel bad that I clipped them is because she is a bird and should be able to fly. Did I do the right thing

I have no bad feelings towards people who clip their birds wings. But in my own personal opinion. If you are not willing or are not ready to go through the risks and all the challenges of having an animal that flies.... Don't buy a bird. MAYBE a bird isn't the right animal for you. There's a TON of other amazing animals in the animal kingdom you can involve yourself in. Again I have no cruel thoughts or harsh words towards anyone who does, but it just seems like common sense to me.

I left my baby full flight. Flew away once but i got him back. He never took off again. I know it depresses him. I will not take his flight from him.

Now I don’t know if I want an African grey or a Marlene!!!lol. Absolutely beautiful!!

I'm adopting a lorikeet from a rescue but if we want to adopt him we have to agree to a policy that says you have to keep their birds wings clipped. What should I do I really want him to be flighted!

Clip wing for me song like cutting the whose wing off when I just got my bird. I think we should say clip wing feather.

Clipping wings evenly gives stable flight. By clipping one wing they are unable to fly whereas an evenly clipped bird can sometimes fly away.

My budgie had one wing clipped as a baby because he was uncontrollable. if he's out the cage, the windows and doors are closed, I don't trust him not to fly off and love him way too much to lose him >_< he's very tame, and i let him fly around daily. His cage is literally, right next to me , like about 30 cm off my face right now, he's got plenty of space to flap his wings in the cage, and i let him out for 2-3 hours a day, but with it being summer it is way too hot to keep the windows/doors closed and the fan off. Any advice? T_T Oh! also, I'm disabled - he keeps flying off to high places, and I can't keep getting up to get him from them, because of my hips and shoulders dislocating daily, i'm so confused about what to do, I love my bird and I want what's best for him, I feel bad keeping him in a cage.

Thank you for the very helpful video but I have a question ... on Instagram your account @engagednotcaged isnt working.. u haven't Posted anything for weeks ! Why ?

I don’t know if I should clip my budgies wings they keep flying into my walls and windows and my ceiling fan (my fan is off) and they both fall when they can get a grip should I clip there wings!!!! Plz help

Plz reply marlene we are thinking on getting a ringneck 1st time owning a parrot have had a bird before but not a parrot had a bugie is it bad to clip their wings or not checked so many website's help anyone

My aunt had a cockatiel that she later found out she was allergic to so she couldn’t touch her she tried giving her away to my other aunt to have but turns out her husband was allergic this bird was in her cage and neglected for about 10 years! She has a huge cage but she has a limp when she was born and developing her leg was rotated she can still walk but she wobbles but ten years unable to fly that much not able to move around really and not much human contact so we decided to clip her wings because we wanted her to get used to being out of her cage and not hurt herself and to also get her used to us but I got a lot of flack about how birds should fly etc etc but honestly I’m glad we did she is now used to the room and the home she is in we want her to fly eventually when she grows those feathers out again but I don’t regret the decision

My rosy bourke is tame and she will fly to me, but she loves to fly fast and high and she smashes into the wall, the windows and most recently has started hitying her head on the ceiling. It is really scaring me.

MY FAV BIRD OF URS IS LEO 🐥🦆🦅🦉

Thank you, this was very helpful. I am planning on getting my first bird.

My baby budgie crashed into my window and we arent sure if he will live 😭

I want to eventually be able to take bird outside to fly free and stuff but in order to train them i heard it's easier to start with clipped wings

Is salt water bad for their feathers when you give them a bath?

Before I got my cockatiel from the pet store the people that owned him they butchered his wings

I wish you would do a video of how safely clip your birds wings so I would know where to clip at.

Hi Marlene I have recently gotten a sun conure 2 weeks ago. The previous owner said he was 2 years old and has lived with him for 4 months... right now he is rather noisy and eats lots of seeds. The previous owner said it would fall ill(diarrhoea) if it ate any other fruits than Apples Or Corn.. I gave it grapes and he absolutely loved but it did have diarrhoea. Now he doesn't rlly like Apples.. What do i do?? Also it seems rlly bored and I'm not sure how to play with him... could u help me out??

thank you so so much you really helped me with those informations ❤

how long does it take for an african grey clip feather to grow back?

Your so balanced Marlene, thank you for being so broad minded

wats ur input on a black headed caique as a pet .....

My bird flew away, he got out of his cage and when I got home and opened the door he flew out... I miss him so much :( The bird I have at the moment has clipped wings because my landlord didn't put up screens on the windows for nearly 2 years! and now we're still waiting for a screen door..... :(

When you say that if they drop one feather on one side, they do on the other. Do they pull it out?

I'm looking to get a bird and as a first time owner, I am debating whether or not to clip the birds wings. I have 2 cats and 2 dogs and I'm scared that they will get the bird and hurt it. I also don't want it to land on something dangerous and hurt itself. What should I do?