My Poor Baby!

[kendrafitz]

So I decided to have Rosie's wings clipped. Not an easy decision, but necessary. I took her out the other day, just walked a couple feet to her cage by the pool. She decided to be independent and fly. Mind you, I have a very firm grip on her feet when we go to her cage. She somehow wrangled one foot free, started flapping and catching air. I thought she was going to break her leg so I let go thinking I could grab her. Nope. She is a clumsy flier, so she flew to top of a border tree, bounced off and landed on my fence. I was terrified and Jef and Ashley, who were taking the dogs for a walk saw the whole thing from the street. So as I am running and screaming to get her, I hear Jef yelling, Kendra get her, there is a hawk watching her. I have never been so scared.

So that made my decision for me. Plus I am nervous she will fly outside to get me if the kids leave the door open and I am in the back. I brought her to get clipped this week.

We went to BP and the man who was her "Daddy" and hand fed her took her to the back. She had her wings trimmed, her nails trimmed and her beak shortened a bit. Ash and I were shopping a bit and another guy I know that works there came over to us. He said, Rosie is really, really mad. So now there are two guys trying to handle my baby. I asked if I should go to try to keep her calm. He said, No, but she is REALLY mad! Ugh!

So they bring her out to me and I thought I would let her pick out a toy. I open her cage and she lets out a baby cry and snuggles. She never cries. This continued so I canned the toy idea, paid and we went home. She cried for an entire day. She spent several hours in her cage with the door wide open, which never, ever happens. I was a wreck and she was no better.

Fortunately she is back to herself, but it took almost 2 days. She tried to fly and no go, straight to the floor, beak first. I checked her feathers and they seem super short.

My poor baby. Now I am just not sure what to do next time she needs to be clipped. I figured she would be fine, but it completely stressed her out.

[jacksmom]

Whoa...no more trips to "Daddy", that is for sure...is there no qualified vet in your area? It sounds like she was cut too short - otherwise she should have glided down, not beak first. :( Absolutely, poor baby...but your decision was right, just looks as if you trusted the wrong person.

Jack is flighted, and I will probably never clip him again. I don't need to, though, for his safety...and it sounds like Rosie really does. But, she doesn't need to be clipped that short!

Many "bird experts" are not as good as they think. Paris had an owner that never brought her to the vet since he "had been dealing with birds for twenty years" he didn't feel he needed one. I guess he found a way to do his own fecal and blood work. ;)

My vet only charges 15 for a nail and wing trim, 20 if a doctor does it and not a tech. Maybe you can find a deal like this? It wouldn't be so bad for her (she would probably barely notice) if she wasn't so badly scared and clipped too short.

Don't beat yourself up too much. Totally understand you trusting the man who raised her! But I don't think he deserves your trust anymore! And probably lost Rosie's for good. You know, I think when I first joined this forum you had just gotten Rosie! :)

[kendrafitz]

I think you are right. What a mess. I think she really gave them a hard time and they got flustered. Which is not usual since they have hundreds of birds. She is beginning to get a reputation. Poor baby!!

I had asked her vet about clipping her last year. I know he prefers the birds not to be clipped and said I would be fine going to Bird Paradise. But next time maybe I will just call and see if he or his tech can do it.

[jacksmom]

Whoops, didn't realize I was talking junk about a business...they are probably used to clipping babies that can't fly anyway, and don't fight much. Yeah, I bet your vet will understand when you tell him that story! And he will clip her so she can glide down properly and not hurt herself. :)

[Mare]

Aww,,poor Rosie :(. I can appreciate your fear of when she flew off. I think in my mind my first thought would be "clip!". I hope she recovers from her trauma. My thoughts run along this track..being flighted gives our birds a confidence they couldn't own if not being able to fly. I've often thought that if Sassy was clipped how much easier it would be to have her loose in a room with others then I think,,she wouldn't be who she is without that advantage :th_biggrin: I'm not one to bring a being down! Have you tried a flight harness?

[kendrafitz]

It is such a hard decision, isn't it?

Yes, she is terrified of the harness. She was never nuts for it but last time we had it on was a disaster. It was about a year ago but she remembers. She fought when I was taking it off and it got wrapped around her. Now whenever I take it out she runs, pants and shakes. Sigh...

[Mare]

Carrier?..

[2birds]

When I got Clover he was clipped really, really short. He would just hit the ground. THUNK!! I felt bad for him. He now has all of his feathers except one on each side and has learned to use his wings again. He sure is loving it but I don't have people coming in and out of the doors at all. I just bring him and Lilliputs outside in a smaller cage so they can't take off. I guess you have to decide what to do based on your living situation and come up with compromises. Try not to feel so bad, Rosie will make it through this I'm sure.

[Pinkbirdy]

Be careful though . When they start to grow you would be surprised how far they can get.

[kendrafitz]

Thanks everyone!

We do have a fairly hectic house. Dogs in and out. Kids and friends in and out. The back door is left open quite often, either for the dogs or kids forgetting. So it is a worry.

Next time around I think I will try the vet. I tried to get a pic of her wings, but she is having no part if it tonight. Poor girl.

[plax]

I'm late to reply here. Sorry Kendra. It's so sad when our feathered kids become terrified by maintenance or medical procedures performed on them by non-family members :(. I've been through my share of that, especially with my sweet guy, Zaffer :(. I honestly thought he was going to give up and die once after one very rough session with the vet. And most of the time when experiencing an emotionally traumatic procedure, they are not "mad" as you say the people at the bird store reported of Rosie. Most of the time they are terrified for their lives :(. I'm sorry that Rosie had to go through that clipping ordeal. I sure hope she's doing better today! Thankfully, they are usually fairly resilient. It sounds to me also that lighter, more frequent wing clips may be the best thing for her.

[kendrafitz]

She is much better, thanks! Although she isn't thrilled with me today. We had a garage sale and then a graduation party. So besides a quick cuddle session, dancing and a shower, I have not spent much time with her today.

I had to laugh. When we had the garage sale, Rosie started yelling which was clear and loud even though she was inside. One of the men shopping looked up and asked, what type of parrot do you have? Only a parrot person would know that horrendous noise. ;)

I think you are absolutely right that she was terrified. Just too much for her. My poor baby!

[jacksmom]

The jumping out to snuggle as soon as she saw you, and the terrified little cries...yeah, I'd say poor Rosie was just scared! Glad she is feeling a bit better! :)

[Luthien]

I will never ever get my birds wings clipped! I think it's cruel to them, I understand people think they are keeping them safe and have good intentions but these are birds we're talking about! They were born to fly! It would be like us loosing our legs (which does happen and is a very sad moment).

There are many other ways to keep your bird safe and happy without doing something un-natural to them. Have them harnessed and tethered outside, no free flying where it isn't safe and concealed. Be careful when going out doors when your bird is free, if you have a porch their are inexpensive ways to conceal your porch so your bird can't get to the outside door. When you are cooking make sure your bird can't get into the kitchen (I've heard many horror stories of parrots being burned by landing on the stove).

Just my opinion and advice but I will never take away my parrots flight!

[spiritbird]

Sorry you felt the need to clip her wings but safety is very important. Perhaps there is another way.

[kendrafitz]

Luthien - I completely understand your point of view. I was trying to keep her wings grown in, but it just didn't work for us, for safety reasons.

The harness is awesome!! However, Rosie is TERRIFIED of it. She runs away and begins to pant when she just sees me take the stupid thing out. If I get close to her, she tries to bite me, really bite. The only time she has ever drawn blood was harness related, it is just horrible. It is extremely stressful for her and honestly, I like having all of my limbs, so it is just a no go for us at this point. I keep trying to desensitize her to the sight of it, so maybe one day...

Being careful when going outside sounds great! Unfortunately, that hasn't worked for us either. Right before we had her clipped we had an incident outside. I was carrying her from my back door to her crate by the pool (a total of about 20 feet), her feet secure. Something scared her and she started flapping like a loon. We struggled, she managed to get one foot free and began to take off even though I had her other foot secure. I was afraid she was going to break her leg so I let go to grab her body and she took off. She flew into a tree in my yard, bounced off and landed on my gate. Thank goodness, it could have ended disastrously for us. That was enough of a scare for me, so being careful just isn't good enough for us.

As I said, I see your point of view and I wish that we could go without clipping her. But if I want her to be with the rest of the family in the warmer months, it is a necessary evil, for now. We spend a great deal of time outside and Rosie wants to be with me, and she should be. The thought of losing her either to flying away or getting taken by a hawk is terrible. So for me, although clipping is not a great solution, it is the best I can do to make sure my girl is safe.

Sometimes in life things are just not so black and white. :(

[Cedardave]

Next time round let the person doing the clipping know of this experiance.Ask they be clipped and left a bit longer.It may do you some good to try extending the wings and getting your bird used to the wings being handled.After a few times it becomes just another adventure for most birds.Im assuming this was the birds first clip?

[kendrafitz]

Thanks Dave! I will do that. :)

No, actually it wasn't her first clip. I think it was her third. She had one as a baby at the store and then one more before this last one. Always seemed fine. All at the same place, which has hundreds of birds. She gave them a really hard time, so I am guessing they got flustered. They actually left one long feather on one wing but clipped the corresponding feather in the other wing. It was just a bad situation. :(

I think I will take her to her vet next time and explain what happened.

[plax]

Kendra: Rosie's emotional trauma may well have stemmed from the particular people (or perhaps from one of them specifically) who did her last clipping. Feelings of terror in a bird can easily result from a mere forceful manner, or even from an attitude that's projected by the people performing a grooming/maintenance procedure. And it seems reasonable to assume that such an adverse reaction may be intensified if all trusted humans are nowhere in sight during a session. If Rosie has dealt well with clipping sessions performed by your vet, that's the route I would probably take in the future.

[2birds]

Kendra, it really isn't that hard to clip a few feathers. Do you think you could do it yourself? If so maybe Rosie would think it wasn't that big of a deal. You could make a game out of it like teaching her to show her wings and letting you touch them. I prefer to do certain things myself because I don't trust other people with their lack of patience. I also groom my own standard poodle for the same reason. I hate doing it because it's about three hours of back breaking work but groomers have a tendency to loose their patients and I don't want her to experience that. When I do my dog, by the time I get to clipping her feet I'm just about worn out and so is she so I usually save it for the next day.

[kendrafitz]

That is a good idea Lori! I thought I might hurt her somehow so I just assumed it was better to have a professional do it. I will have to see if there are any videos on YouTube. :)

[plax]

Lori's suggestion is very much worth considering. I don't clip any of my birds... but I do regularly trim their toenails, and I as well clip Zaf's lower beak on a frequent basis. Each of my four allows me to perform the task(s) while he is perched. It's nice not to have to 'towel' these guys or have the need for another person to assist me. When doing Zaf's lower beak trims, I just gently steady his head and lower mandible with my left hand while I perform the snipping with my right one. And when doing their nail trims, I simply lift one foot at a time and then snip away - Zaf actually offers each foot to me most of the time. And I only clip off the very tips, so there's never any quicking to worry about. So I'd think there's a chance that Rosie may eventually accept wing clips done by you, Kendra. My tip would be to use lots of baby talk throughout the process... and of course follow a qualified instructional source. You'll probably want to have your avian vet coach you on an appropriate technique for clipping wing feathers before you begin doing the clips on your own.

[2birds]

That is a good idea Lori! I thought I might hurt her somehow so I just assumed it was better to have a professional do it. I will have to see if there are any videos on YouTube. :)

When I brought my birds to the avian vet she showed me a couple of places to clip depending on what was needed. Your vet would show you.

[Mare]

Kendra, do you have the book "Parrots for Dummies"? (Let me know, it will be a great "pay it forward gift :)"). The first recommendation on wing clips is seeing your vet and having him/her show you. There is also "how to" info.

I'm torn,, birds were born to fly, right? Not all birds live in the wild to need this very important function for escape and survival..BUT..shouldn't we also be thinking about their psyche?

[kendrafitz]

Thanks Lori and Tony - I really appreciate all of the help!! :)

Hey Mare - no, I don't have that book. :). So next time she needs a clip I will definitely bring her to see her vet.

I agree Mare. In our case I just don't know what else to do. To Rosie's credit, she still flies a bit even though she is clipped. She is a very strong willed girl. It is crazy how short her flight feathers are and she still makes it across the family room to get to me if I am ignoring her demands. :) I am hoping to get over the harness fear and then it won't be necessary.

[Mare]

With her crazy, long wings, I believe it! She could probably get across a room with NO feathers! I'm happy to hear she still tries and it's still working :)

[froggij]

I know I'm late to the party, but ... yeah, doesn't sound like Rosie should be around those guys anymore, the last thing a stressed out bird needs is a stressed out human working on them. Poor Rosie.

When I first got Orsino, I had both a pet store owner and my vet show me how to clip wings, and I do wings and nails on all my birds - we have ceiling fans, and ever since I heard of someone's 'tiel getting a whole wing chopped off by a ceiling fan and another bird I knew flew into the apartment building next door where we used to live and dropped three floors the one time they didn't have his wings clipped, I've made sure to keep my kids trimmed and tidy. They aren't trimmed very short, so all of my birds can still flutter, they just can't get a lot of height; they can still get across the room and have a lot of fun flapping about in a controlled environment, but not to the fans. And when you get enough practice doing them, it takes a couple of seconds and they won't even notice it.

As far as varying the wing feather lengths on each side, I've actually had a vet suggest doing that with wing clipping - it keeps them from getting equal lift: if you cut them evenly on both sides, they can still just learn to fly normally with slightly shorter feathers, so you either have to cut them really short (which I'm not comfortable with) or vary the feathers on each side.

At least that was how it was explained to me, so that's what I go by. Just throwing my two cents in there.