How to clip wings?

[luvpunkbetty]

I need to clip Nila's wings...i have a book, but wanted to hear from you guys on how you do it!!!

thanks bunches

[ParrotletsRock]

My best advise if you are going to do it yourself is to only do one or two feathers at a time.. test fly after each set of feathers is clipped till you have the desired amount of restriction...do not over clip. If it is possible it is best to have someone that knows how to show you the first time. Having said that however I mustconfess I never had anyone show me the first time...lol. I also used a quill clip... in a quill clip you follow the feather down the shaft to the bare quill part.. making sure it is not a blood feather clip the bare part of the quill. My plet worried about his clipped feathers badly.. they drove him crazy but the quill clipped feathers didnt bother him... it also looks tidier.

[ttoilleecarg]

if it were me, the first time id take them to the vets/breeder/who ever to show me how to do it first to be honest
there are good demonstrations and stuff in books and on the internet, but if it were the first time i was doing it, id want to be shown how to by some one who really knows what theyre doing
i duno maybe im just a wuss, but id hate to do it wrong and know that its my fault that theyre in pain for the sake of having some one show me first.

saying this ive never had any of mine clipped and dont intend on trying any time soon lol

[trinity]

Take it to a vet and have a COSMETIC wing trim done. Removing all primary feathers means that if they fall off the perch to the floor - they break thier rib cage (many times cannot be fixed). This is what happens if you cut all of the primaries. A good cosmetic trim leaves the first 1-3 primaries but takes the rest. It allows them to glide to the floor softly, if they fall, but they cannot achieve lift (if done right). Once you've seen it done right it's easy to duplicate.

[enborgle]

I respectfully disagree with Trinity's advice - I find that a cosmetic wing clip leaves the outer primaries too vulnerable to breakage, especially if just the very outer one is left. A proper clip will NOT have the bird fall to the ground like a rock - simply take the first 5-7 primaries at the bare quill (taking care not to damage the coverts), any more than that and they will start to fall. Here (http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html) is a step-by-step article with photos.

[Riley]

I either have the pet shop where i got Riley or our groomer does it in our home town. It is must faster and no worries. lol

[ParrotletsRock]

The hardest part of clipping wings is holding a wiggling angry BITING ball of fury .. while you gently extend their wings to clip... they breath with their chest wall muscles so you must make sure not to put pressure on their chest or they can suffocate.

[janelpopp]

Here's a few videos on YouTube that I used to figure out how to clip my parakeet, Frootloop's, wings. It helped me a lot. It might for you, too!

This one explains about bird clipping, and which layers to clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXz-q_U0qB8

This one actually SHOWS you how to clip them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Z4zom8xts&feature=related

This one goes a little faster in showing it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6_7JYmN4lg&feature=related

I hope they help you out!

[Flugmeister]

I found the best wing clipping video to be this one (http://www.youtube.com/v/0_xMMQdsupc?fs=1&hl=en_US). In it, at the beginning, they show a parrotlet named "Stewie" getting clipped.

[janelpopp]

Flugmeister, that really was a great video. It's better than all the ones that I posted combined! Thanks for posting it! I'll be sure to recommend it to other people that need help clipping their birds' wings!

[Flugmeister]

Flugmeister, that really was a great video. It's better than all the ones that I posted combined! Thanks for posting it! I'll be sure to recommend it to other people that need help clipping their birds' wings!

I stumbled on it by accident since the parrotlet (Stewie) was one of three birds clipped. I used it when I clipped Copi. Later, when I took him to an avian vet to have his beak trimmed (scissors beak beak from the breeder!), the vet commented on what a good job the clip was.

Copi can easily flutter down to the floor to keep from hurting himself, but that is it. A parrotlet is an easy bird to lose since they are so small, so no long distance flying for Copi.