The last time we spoke, I promised to let you in on the benefits of a fully flighted (unclipped) bird. While there are some drawbacks, hopefully you can make a good judgment on whether or not you want to keep your bird’s wings clipped or allow them to grow long.
There are many benefits to unclipped wings such as your bird will be calmer and less likely to startle. Birds that are clipped feel threatened and vulnerable because they have lost their only defense mechanism (flight), which creates behavior problems that are undesirable such as fearful contact calling, nipping and fussiness.
The second benefit directly effects your bird’s survival; while a clipped bird has no chance of escaping predators, a flighted bird does; even curious housecats can do a great deal of damage in less than a second. And, while a bird getting out of a ground-story window doesn’t seem scary, it can be. A clipped bird is uncoordinated and can flutter from the front porch across the driveway in seconds (my own conure crashed into the pavement that resulted in feather loss of the entire front of his chest). After a scare like that, I still didn’t clip.
It wasn’t until I realized that if my bird fluttered from our five-story apartment window, his chances of survival would be far less if any at all. The drawbacks are that good screens, screen doors and a careful eye are necessary to keep your companion indoors when not in a taxi or flight suit. But those are wonderful outings that all birds should have anyways.
Talk to your avian vet to see if clipping is as beneficial as you think. Consider if you are denying your bird a chance to feel independent and secure.
See you next time.
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