Appropriate time to re-clip a bird's wings?

[NotSoSilentHill]

It's been 6 month I got my little Bud, and I got his wings clipped that day. He has started growing his flight feathers back and I'm not sure when the appropriate time to get them re-clipped is. He is still in the middle of growing them back, but he has about three fight feathers right out the outside of his clipped wing- giving him some really good height and distance when he wants it.

My concerns are 1) in waiting for the rest of his feathers to grow to a full set to then clip, he might get himself into trouble (or just BE trouble for me), but 2) clipping them before he has completed a whole set is going to be bad for him in some way, or will require him to clipped twice- now, and then when the rest come in- which I assume is just a stressful experience.

Any input is appreciate. :)

[plax]

Hi Jess... If you really want to keep your bird's flight ability limited for safety, you can clip the primaries at intervals somewhere from every few weeks to every few months. Some folks clip twice per year. It really depends upon the specific bird, and certainly upon its individual molting pattern, and its feather growth rate. A bird's primary flight feathers typically fall out and are replaced one-by-one... not so much all together. So it's probably best to watch those new feathers closely, and once a few of them reach 2/3 of their full length or so, consider performing your clip. I personally don't clip my birds' wings. Doing so is a personal choice for one's specific situation.

[Valery]

Do you clip his wings yourself? Have someone show you. It's not hard at all. Just have to check for blood feathers before you clip. When my birds get more height than I'm comfortable with, safety wise, I clip. I'd rather do it more often than take a chance. If they get outside all they need is an updraft. Even if only a few primaries are grown in they can take off. And when they don't know how to fly they can panic and don't realize they have control of turning. They might take off. Research how many primary feathers should be taken for your breed. Primary feathers only. Never into secondary feathers. And both wings. They need stability. You want your bird to glide to the floor. Not crash onto his keel bone. But then get no height.

[Mare]

One of my all time favorite, informative, life-saving books is, "Parrots for Dummies" by Nikki Moustaki. When I first had a bird laid on me, knew nothing of parrot forums and had no one to ask, I found this book in the pet store and it saved our lives! There is a section in it about clipping birds wings yourself. I highly recommend this book for every new-comer to parrothood :)