On Clipping Your Companion Parrot's Wings (aka Tracy Learned to Fly Today!)
At the 2006 Canadian Parrot Symposium in Sidney, B.C., I heard two speakers with differing views on how a bird's wings should be trimmed. The advantages of having our companions fully flighted were also presented.
Not a week later, I had the misadventure of Ody, Odysseus Ulysses, my male cockatiel, getting out onto the balcony of my three storey apartment and then launching and landing on the lawn of the apartment building across the street.
See Tracy run, see Tracy run FAST! I have not been that scared for a very long time, and, let me tell you, do not want to be, ever again.
Ody has his wings clipped. He is a cockatiel: very aerodynamic, strong, cocky, handsome and very curious. I had the balcony door open two inches to let in some fresh air. Ody and Joey, his girlfriend, were on top of their cage preening and snacking. I was in the kitchen having a snack of my own.
Then I heard Ody whistling one of his tunes and but it sounded a bit too faint. I looked around the corner into the living room and couldn't see him even though I could still hear his whistling. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a movement on the balcony and to my horror, realized it to be Ody.
I dropped my cereal bowl and raced to the window. BAD MOVE! In doing so, I startled Ody into flight. I bolted out onto the balcony to watch where he landed and then raced out of the apartment, down three flights of stairs, out the front doors and across the street to retrieve him. I am so lucky that a couple of the tenants in the building across the street heard my distressed calling of Ody's name as he flew. They were out on their balconies directing me to Ody's location. I scooped him up, thanked my neighbours profusely for watching out for him and cried all the way back to the apartment.
The line on the dove's wing indicates approximately how short Ody's wings are clipped. I am thankful that Dr. McDonald (my avian vet in Vancouver and my part-time employer) knows what she is talking about when it comes to clipping wings.
I learned at the Parrot Symposium that the primary flight feathers give a bird ability to create the lift needed to gain altitude while the secondary feathers control direction of flight.
Ody has his primary flights clipped. When he launched, he flew a fairly straight line across the street in a gradual decent. He was unable to gain altitude, thankfully, and landed in the grass about 30 feet away. As I ran toward him, he tried to get off the ground and couldn't. I picked him up and brought him home.
While sitting and calming him and after a long 15 minutes to collect my wits, I started thinking about how the mechanics of wing clipping work. Reviewing the information from the Symposium and my first hand experience of watching one of the loves of my life fly away, I am thankful that I:
- …do not have to be an expert on how to clip wings.
- …have a great Veterinarian who knows what she is doing.
- …have my little guy home safe because of Dr. M.'s knowledge.
This is the time of year we all like to air out our houses, do some spring cleaning and yard chores. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Be very aware of where your companions are and that your windows, screens, and doors are closed.
- Be cautious when closing windows, screens, and doors if you have flight or semi-flighted companions out of their cages
- When coming in and out of the house while doing yard chores, I suggest you put your companions in their cages until you are in for the day or at least a few hours while you need to open and close doors.
- Be ever mindful that we are our birds caregivers. It is our responsibility to watch out and second guess our flighted companion's next moves. Please take every precaution to keep your Fids safe at home.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. May you all have a safe summer.
Tracy Flavelle
www.ohboyparrotfood.com
birdworks@shaw.ca