Thread: Should i clip his wings or will he remember and hate me for that?

Depends very much on the bird, environment, nutrition, whether or not they chew wood, use a sandy perch, etc.; there is no set schedule. However, given how young Tiki is, you shouldn't have to do anything just yet. If you notice when he grips your finger that his nails are curling under or his toes are turning sideways or his beak seems long, feel free to post pictures and ask.

Are his wings not currently clipped? Caique generally don't fly great distances, they are walkers/hoppers by nature.

Yes, hes clipped. We had Louise do his wings the day we picked him up to bring him home so-two months ago? I have noticed that he has an ability to fly "up" a bit more then he used to-as opposed to just being able to conduct his usuall crash landing.

That's good! Means he's getting stronger and should be encouraged. Fly training is a good way to teach him to "come".

"come" is not the problem. Its "Bird-get offa me!" that is the tricky one. Unless he is eating something he insists on being on someone. Interestingly enough, when we brought him home, he was all about shoulders-now hes more about hands and arms. (half way through this post, he hopped off my arm, up onto the keyboard, and flopped onto his back causing about 30 characters of gobbledy gook in my post- apparently it was wrestling time)

I keep the girls at chest level and very rarely allow them on my shoulder and only when I put them there. At the the computer, one will generally be on the playstand while one stands on my knee supervising spelling.

Originally Posted by 5minters

Ozii-Pain relief meds? What did they give and why was there pain? If he needed a painkiller for a wing trim they did it wrong!

My vet charges $45 for wings each bird but that's because he charges an office visit fee too, no exam, just occupying his space. That is the main reason I do them at home. Rick, that's a steal! If I could get all that I would have the vet do it at least a couple times a year.

She had her wings clipped before we brought her, by someone who didnt do a good job of it (basically an unprofessional), so the Avian vet, had to try and make it look tidy, Peaches hated it.... and I mean hated it.... We had to leave room and hear her cry and was the most awful thing I have ever had to hear. Then, the vet did more test on her, and then told us we had to have pain releif, for the wings as she was in pain (which I thought was strange, but I didnt question it, as they are meant to know what they are doing). Looking back now, we (my mum and msyelf) think the vet hurt her, and was covering up by giving us that stuff. I dont want to go to her again, but they are the only ones close to us, the other is on the other side of Wales, unless I ask to see another vet, and not the lady vet. (sorry took a while to reply back, been busy and been feeling low, but I am back now :)).

Oh, that is sad to hear. You trust the vet to take good care, not to hurt our companions. I'm sorry Peaches had to go through that. You are paying them, you have the right to ask for whichever vet you want. If you don't want the lady vet, tell them so when you schedule. Frankly if she can't do a wing trim on a tame bird without causing pain, she doesn't need to be seeing birds-in my opinion anyway!

Originally Posted by 5minters

Oh, that is sad to hear. You trust the vet to take good care, not to hurt our companions. I'm sorry Peaches had to go through that. You are paying them, you have the right to ask for whichever vet you want. If you don't want the lady vet, tell them so when you schedule. Frankly if she can't do a wing trim on a tame bird without causing pain, she doesn't need to be seeing birds-in my opinion anyway!

Thats why I think, Peaches hated me, I have only started to get her to trust me again, and I dont want to break that trust again. I'll ask for another vet, when she goes for a check up, I dont want her to go through that again. (just noticed how many agains there are).