Parakeets (Budgies) and Clipped Wings

[doppel.ganger]

I am going to be buying a parakeet and I want to get one without clipped wings. The trouble is, it is really hard to find breeders that sell them without clipped wings in my area. So I was thinking I could buy one from the local pet store with clipped wings, which would make it easier to tame, and then once the flight feathers grow back it could fly. What are the odds that this would happen?

Thanks,
DG

[Mikeb85]

I am going to be buying a parakeet and I want to get one without clipped wings. The trouble is, it is really hard to find breeders that sell them without clipped wings in my area. So I was thinking I could buy one from the local pet store with clipped wings, which would make it easier to tame, and then once the flight feathers grow back it could fly. What are the odds that this would happen?

Thanks,
DG

Just buy it from the breeder with clipped wings, then let the feathers grow out later... Or buy a younger bird who can't fly anyway, by the time it can fly it'll be tame.

[doppel.ganger]

So the odds that the feathers will grow back and the bird will learn to fly are good?

[Mikeb85]

So the odds that the feathers will grow back and the bird will learn to fly are good?

Yes. Depending on which feathers are cut and how short, the bird will be flying well in a few months to half a year.

Birds also generally learn to fly pretty quickly. Once they're strong enough to lift off they'll just go, crash into something (birds are also quite durable), and it'll only take a few times for them to learn how to fly half decent. I've never seen an able bodied bird that couldn't figure out flight.

I bought my last bird (20 year old cockatiel that is still around) from a breeder, it was too young and fat to fly, pretty much as soon as it could flap it's wings fast enough it was flying all over (and thus lost the fat too).

I'd definitely recommend going the breeder route, get a very young bird, hand feed it, makes training alot easier. Don't worry about the clipped wings, by the time the bird is decently tame (and if it's young, by the time it's strong enough) it should be flying.

[Linuxratty]

The odds are 100%. Once the flight feathers grow back,it can fly. Your job,during the non flight period is to finger train it and as it regains the ability to fly,teach it to fly to you on command,ride on your shoulder,etc.
Males are your best bet as a young one can also learn to talk...
I had them as a kid and did all of the above.
To keep him off the floor,simply drop a book whenever he lands there and "rescue" him.

I disagree on hand feeding a baby bird. If this happens the bird will imprint on humans and will see them as a sex partner which can lead to aggression and other unwanted behaviors.
( I experienced this directly with a hand raised bird and I will never own a hand raised bird again.)

If you work with a young male bird for at least an hour a day,in a few days you will have a friendly bird..
You can also use the bathtub method to finger train the bird..Doing this,it took me two hours to finger train a java temple sparrow.

[Mikeb85]

I disagree on hand feeding a baby bird. If this happens the bird will imprint on humans and will see them as a sex partner which can lead to aggression and other unwanted behaviors.
( I experienced this directly with a hand raised bird and I will never own a hand raised bird again.)


Never had this issue although I'd never had a single bird (we always had a pair). Speaking of which, having a pair of birds is great as they are less lonely and likely to misbehave. Boredom/loneliness can have a bad effect on birds.

And all birds, hand trained or not, can exhibit aggression, usually territorial - so putting their cage in a well traveled area is a much.

[doppel.ganger]

Thanks everybody! You have been such a big help.

[KiwiNZ]

Mutilating a bird is disgraceful.They should be free to do what most birds do....fly. Not cut up for pleasure.

[Mikeb85]

Mutilating a bird is disgraceful.They should be free to do what most birds do....fly. Not cut up for pleasure.

Cutting their feathers is mutilation?

I agree though, the pet birds I had as a kid never got their wings clipped, and were free to fly around. Cage was never closed either.

[KiwiNZ]

Cutting their feathers is mutilation?

I agree though, the pet birds I had as a kid never got their wings clipped, and were free to fly around. Cage was never closed either.

Yes it meets the definition of mutilation. Leave the birds in the wild and enjoy them there.

[Mikeb85]

Yes it meets the definition of mutilation. Leave the birds in the wild and enjoy them there.

Same could be said for dogs, cats, and any other pet. And while the idea of domestication seems to be counter to an animals nature, they are less stressed and generally live longer domestically.

[KiwiNZ]

Same could be said for dogs, cats, and any other pet. And while the idea of domestication seems to be counter to an animals nature, they are less stressed and generally live longer domestically.

Are dogs and cats crippled so they cannot run?

[Mikeb85]

Are dogs and cats crippled so they cannot run?

No but they're limited to certain areas of the house, put on leashes, choke collars are used on them, they're mildly electrocuted, etc... A bird still has legs and can walk, they can flutter and flap their wings, I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying, but the reality isn't all that bad.

I think all birds should be able to fly, but if their feathers are clipped for a training period it's really not all that different from some of the things dogs are put through.

We had a couple birds we adopted which were ill-tempered, and the previous owners had them locked up all the time. We let them fly around, but one in particular was impossible to control/tame. So we clipped her wings, trained her, and by the time she could fly again, she was fairly tame, controllable, and we never clipped her wings again.

As an aside, I don't have any birds anymore (nor dogs or any pets) because I live in an apartment with my wife and don't feel we can provide a happy active life for a pet at the moment. I'm all for treating animals kindly (also a vegetarian and buddhist), but domestic birds can have a great life. And if clipping their wings means they're not relegated to a cage for their whole life, then I don't see the issue.

[KiwiNZ]

I also disagree with keeping inner city Dogs and Cats.

[Primefalcon]

if you want to keep it unable to fly, only clip one wing

[Primefalcon]

I also disagree with keeping inner city Dogs and Cats.
nothing wrong with inner city dogs and cats, just don't be an idiot and kee them indoors... idiots who let the animals roam the streets don't deserve to have animals....

[KiwiNZ]

I have a 1.7 Hectare ( 4+ Acres) property which would be great for Dogs, plenty of room to run and explore which they are at their best physically and mentally, I don't keep a dog as I travel way too much and Dogs are social animals and need company.

They need open spaces, clean water, good food, clean air and company anything less is cruelty.

[jockyburns]

I also disagree with keeping inner city Dogs and Cats.

Where I live, we have (what are called in the UK) Urban foxes. Which live in the inner cities. I can watch these outside my windows almost every night.
Are you saying , these animals should be removed from the inner city simply because you disagree with animals living in an inner city?
PS, some of these foxes are that used to us humans, they can be trained to sit, give a paw, lie down etc. Yet they remain wild animals.

[Linuxratty]

let me clarify..By the time the flight feathers grew back,I did not need to clip them again cause i had a trained and friendly bird.

[HermanAB]

A budgie will fly even with a clipped wing - just not very well. Clipping one wing causes an imballance, but they figure out how to handle that for short hops. Of course, as the feathers grow back their flight will improve, so the transition is quite seamless.