Wing Clipping

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Wing Clipping: Is it right for your pet?
By: Rita Sinclair
Posted: April 29th, 2004

Are you considering the purchase of a parrot or other pet bird? No doubt you've considered the products you'll have to buy--cage, food, toys--and the additional responsbility you'll assume as a bird owner. Though training, bonding, and health are main concerns when purchasing any new pet, birds require special care. One of the major decisions you must make as a new bird owner is whether or not you'll clip your bird's wings.

Exotic birds have the same flight abilities as the sparrows and finches outside your window. Clipping your bird’s wings is a personal decision based on your lifestyle and your home. In this article, we’ll cover what you information should take into consideration when clipping, the pros and cons of clipping, types of clips, what can go wrong with wing clips, and consulting your avian vet for advice and further information.

Wing clipping is one way in which you can control your bird’s movements. Clipping involves trimming some or all of the Primary flight feathers (see image). Primary feathers are the long, often colourful feathers that help the bird glide and gain altitude when flying. Picture a soaring eagle; he can soar and gain altitude because of the long feathers at the ends of his wings--those are his primary flight feathers.

Proper clipping will limit your bird’s flight ability to a gentle downward glide. He shouldn't be able to fly upwards or horizontally for long stretches. Cutting the primary or secondary coverts or secondary feathers (see image) can cause serious balance and health problems for your bird. If you choose to clip, it’s always best to have a professional handle the scissors.

Wing clipping is a personal decision based on you and your lifestyle. Most avian vets recommend clipping for the safety and security of your feathered friend. I’m the proud owner of a Dutch Blue Lovebird named Indigo. Due to the single-floor nature of our small apartment, I don’t keep Indigo clipped. However, Indigo must stay home when my husband and I vacation, and in his cage when we have company. It’s too easy for an unwary person to open a door or leave a boiling pot unattended without considering Indigo's welfare.

Bird owners may choose to clip some bird species and not others. For example, smaller birds such as Lovebirds and Budgies have more flight than larger birds such as Amazons, Macaws, and African Greys. When making the decision on wing clipping, take into consideration the type of bird you have, your home, and your lifestyle. You may also find the following pro and con points useful in making your decision.

Pros of Clipping

I walked downstairs with my husband one day and held open the side door of our building as he jogged to the car for our last bag of groceries. Indigo was sitting on my shoulder, staring avidly at the seagulls fifteen feet away. Next thing I knew, he’d shot off my shoulder and flew twenty feet straight up, before streaking across the sky and out of my sight.

My husband, thankfully, had come around the corner of the building in time to see Indigo take off. Without taking his eyes off my little blue-green buddy, he ran full-tilt down a hill and into a townhouse complex in hopes of catching Indigo.

We were lucky; Indigo wasn’t used to full flight (his breeder had trimmed his wings before we brought him home) and tired easily. We managed to locate him in someone’s backyard and carried him home, wrapped tightly in the tails of my t-shirt. A long talk about bird safety and free flight followed this frightening episode! Too often you’ll hear stories of someone who inadvertently opened a door or a window, and lost their fully-flighted companion. For those living in the northern climes, a trip outside in winter can prove fatal for a tropical bird. It's much easier to control the movements of a clipped bird; if they do manage to get outside, hopefully they won't make it too far, and you'll be able to rescue your friend.

Clipping wings limits your bird’s lift, or his ability to fly vertically and horizontally. This will protect your curtains from claw marks and unsightly guano stains. Clipping will limit or eliminate your bird’s ability to destroy your furniture, such as wooden bookshelves, picture frames, and curtain rods. Unless you’ve trained your bird to defecate only in his cage, a bird with free flight will coat your doors and window ledges with multi-coloured stains that may or may not wash away. Limiting his flight will limit your cleaning!

You may find that training your pet is easier when he can’t fly away. This includes teaching your friend to “step up”, and other assorted tricks such as riding a bicycle or learning to whistle a particular tune. You may find it easier to bond with your bird if he is more dependent on you for his movement. This includes teaching him that you are his mate; you will become his source of well-being and love.

Birds in new surroundings may tend to fly into walls, windows, and doors. These accidents can seriously harm breastbones, beaks, and cause potentially fatal head trauma. Eliminating the ability to fly removes these concerns. Without vertical flight, he is less likely to endanger himself near your kitchen appliances, gas ranges, or boiling pots. He won’t be able to land on upturned lamps or lampshades and potentially burn himself on light bulbs, nor will he be able to fly into ceiling fans.

Cons of Clipping

Be aware that if you have other pets in the house, clipping your bird’s wings can limit his ability to escape dangerous situations. Our cat likes to “play-pounce” at Indigo when he’s on the floor. Because he’s flighted, he can escape her games without injury. In retribution, he’s learned to dive-bomb the cat when she’s playing her games—who said cats and birds don’t get along?!

This raises another important point: fight or flight instinct. When in a dangerous or threatening situation, your bird will try to fly away—it’s instinct. Clipping his flight feathers removes this option and may leave him fighting…or confused. Consider the bird’s environment and possible dangers when deciding on clipping. If you have six massive dogs or a hoard of cats, clipping your feathered friend may not be the best idea. If this is the case but you're determined to keep your friend flighted, you might consider a separate "bird room", to which other animals do not have access.

Take your bird cage into consideration when clipping. Most cages sit on tables or stands; you’ll have to find a way to ensure the bird can reach his cage from the ground without your help. Otherwise, you’re endangering his feeling of security, removing his food source, and potentially dehydrating him.

Speaking of nutrition and cages, clipping also removes a healthy form of exercise for your bird. Without the ability to fly, your pet must walk and flap his shorn wings enough to stay in shape. To a bird, flying is as natural as walking is to humans. You may be opening the door to potential nutritional and weight problems if your bird cannot get the exercise that he needs. While there are a variety of bird gyms and play areas on the market, they can be rather expensive and there’s no guarantee that they will interest your pet.

Limiting the bird’s environment is a two-fold con. One, bird lovers can make the claim that limiting flight is both unfair and unnatural for your pet. We are not likely to cut the legs off a three-year old child to ensure she doesn’t get in trouble; don’t you have an ethical responsibility to ensure that your bird’s environment is safe for flight? Second, limiting the bird’s environment by trimming his wings can cause boredom. Without extra stimulation and plenty of toys, the same environment will get dull, fast. Birds are naturally inquisitive creatures who thrive on a large, ever-changing environment. Limiting him to the floor may speed up his boredom.

Last but not least, some birds have been known to pick at clipped feathers. Your friend may attempt to soften sharp, poking quills through excessive preening. On rare occasions, clipping has lead to serious feather picking problems in larger birds such as Cockatoos and Macaws.

Types of Clips

There are four main styles of clips, briefly described below. Prior to any type of clipping, the bird should be wrapped in a towel to prevent struggling and possible injury to himself (or you!). Consult your avian vet to see what type of clip she supports, and why.

Show Clip: This style leaves several of the end primary feathers intact. In smaller birds such as lovebirds, this will leave an attractive criss-cross pattern on the bird’s back. For all intents and purposes, it looks like the bird’s wings are not clipped at all. In most cases—especially with smaller, more agile birds—flight is limited, but not stopped as in a regular clip. This clip also poses a risk to the bird’s wings; leaving a few long feathers at the end of the wing opens the bird to possible injury, such as broken wings or ripped or broken feathers. One vet clipped Indigo's feathers in a Show Clip. He was flying--albeit a little off-kilter--that afternoon.

Every Other Feather Clip: This clip is rarely used by experienced bird handlers. Clipping every other feather leaves birds with too many flight feathers. Most birds will still be able to fly, which eliminates the effectiveness of the clip.

One Wing Clip: This is one of the worst possible clips for a bird. Trimming the feathers on one wing will prevent the bird from flying. However, it will also throw off the bird’s balance, resulting in a more injury-prone pet. Birds should be able to glide gently to the ground with a proper clip; a one-wing clip may impair landing ability and result in beak, breastbone, and head injuries. This clip is not recommended. If your avian vet recommends it, consider finding a new vet.

Standard Clip: In this clip, most (or all) of the primary feathers are cut in half length-wise to the covert feathers. The number of feathers cut and the severity of the cut depends on the species of bird. Most vets and professional handlers will cut the feathers, and test the bird for flight. If he can still achieve loft, more length is cut from the feathers, or more feathers are cut. This is perhaps the best-known and most popular clip.

Quill Clip: A relatively new clip, considered by its supporters to be safer and more effective than the Standard Clip. Instead of cutting the primary feathers in half, as in the Standard Clip, the primary feathers are cut at the quill, underneath the primary coverts. Not only does the clip result in an attractive-looking bird that doesn’t look half-shorn, it eliminates sharp feather edges that may poke the bird and cause feather picking or extreme preening.

Clipping Gone Wrong

Do not attempt to cut your bird’s wings unless you are fully confident that you are properly trained. Lack of experience can result in serious health risks for your pet. For example, using sharp scissors may result in inadvertently stabbing the bird. Incorrect toweling methods can suffocate your pet or break his wings or legs.

Incorrect clipping methods can also result in cutting or injuring blood feathers. Blood feathers are growing feathers, with a blood supply flowing down the quill to help growth. These feathers push old feathers out during molting, or other feather loss. Cutting a blood feather can result in potentially serious bleeding that may require a vet's attention.

Clipping too many primary feathers may result in the bird not being able to glide to a gentle landing, potentially causing beak, head, or breastbone trauma, not to mention the damage to the bird’s confidence.

Consult your Avian Vet

The best gift you can give your feathered friend is finding a good avian vet. Discuss wing clipping with her, and come to a mutual decision about whether your bird’s wings should be clipped. If you are confident in your abilities, ask your vet to show you how to clip your bird’s wings, or plan on making regular appointments every 5-6 weeks to have your feathered friend clipped by a professional.

Important: Please consult your own vet or pet professional before using any advice!