Trimmed Wings: Done Wrong, Done Right

Trimming feathers can improve budgie safety in the house. Can't fly into the cooking area, can't fly into a ceiling fan, and so forth. This video is intended to show the difference between proper and improper clipping jobs. Watch the difference in flight.

Zenny (blue budgie) and Zafu (white pied budgie) had their wings clipped in different ways. Zenny's were done by an avian vet at his first check-up, and touched up by me over the months. Only the primary flight feathers were trimmed. Zafu's wings were trimmed by a bulk pet supplier. ALL his flight feathers were lopped off, which is a Bad Thing.

More info on Zafu:
In order to have more normal wings, he needed to grow out his feathers. Because of the severity of his clip, this took quite a while, and from time to time a feather would grow out that was over 3 inches longer than any around it. This had to be clipped in half so that it would not break when he flapped, because it had no support from surrounding feathers. Eventually, he grew out all his feathers. He then had to learn to fly properly, since it is likely he did not have much experience before his wings were clipped, as he was a pet mill bird. I left him completely unclipped for a while so that he could learn to control his flight, an he can now fly very well.

If you are going to attempt to clip wings...
FIND AN AVIAN VETERINARIAN IN YOUR AREA.
THEY CAN SHOW YOU HOW TO CLIP SAFELY!
More info: http://birds.about.com/od/birdhealth/a/choosingvet.htm

© Moraea Productions 2009
Educational Material

Category:

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• parakeets
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• clipping
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• correct
• cruelty
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[coocoobird100]

the fail is sad.... who the heck would literaly throw the bird?!?

[zenologue]

@coocoobird100 Me. 1 foot onto a soft bed. The fail is him trying to fly directly out of my hand before I got there, so he bounced off the bed. It was unintentional but I thought it was a good demo of how out of control his flight was.

[hangingwithstupid]

Okay this is sooooo weird. My budgies is blue and white pied, and they look identical to the ones in the video.

[zenologue]

@hangingwithstupid Cool :)

[zenologue]

@Pookspoons The whole point of the video is to let people know that trimming wings IMPROPERLY causes them to crash land.

And no, I don't cut off my dog's legs, but I do put him on a leash!

[codeythesilent]

I recently got a pair of parakeets, and I clipped their wings myself. Those who think wing clipping is immoral... they both flew around and into walls and windows full force a couple times. So I clipped them just enough so they couldn't fly up, but they could still glide and land safely. Now, would you rather I let them kill themselves by flying into crap? Or Should I just keep them in their cage forever and not have to worry about it? You people make me laugh.

[linnieworld]

@CannibalUnicorn123

To compare wing clipping with a haircut is nonsense. People forget that hair grows back immediately and people do not need their hair for movement. First the feather has to fall out until it grows back. This takes time ... often many months. In this time the bird is not able to navigate. Many clipped birds are harmed because they tumble down (but nobody tells about accidents caused by the human hand).

[CannibalUnicorn123]

@AngelSparksTheEevee I couldn't agree more!

[CannibalUnicorn123]

@linnieworld It's true though. My bird is starting to fly again now, and the fathers are looking better..........and alot of people say it's like getting a haircut, not just me. 

[coocoobird100]

ohhh i get it! thanks it makes alot more sense now! i thought you acually THREW the bird!! lol

[zenologue]

@linnieworld The fact is that sometimes it improves the bird's situation, and sometimes it doesn't. My point was that if it's done correctly, birds can still use their wings to get around. And correctly is NOT the way they do it at most pet stores when you see birds with severe clips.

[linnieworld]

@zenologue

Naturally it is okay to put a leash on your dog. Cutting off his legs was not a good comparison. I can understand the thoughts of Pookspoons because wing clipping is like a surgery ... it is done directly on the bird's body. I regret that wing clipping is usual in many so called "civilized" countries, because it is a fact that clipping is a mutilation of healthy birds. A well done bird attitude is practised without using scissors! Pls excuse if my English is not good ... I'm German.

[linnieworld]

@CannibalUnicorn123

Please don't be so stupid to compare hair with feathers ^^ Or do you move with your hair?

[linnieworld]

@TheLPSParadise

No offense but it was your fault! If you are not able to close windows, doors and toilets you better stay away from birds. It is immoral to mutilate a healthy bird. It's always the same ... the bird has to suffer because of the thoughtlessness of their owner.