Clipping Wings
I clip my birds' wings if I am hand-raising them to sell as pets. I generally wait until they learn to fly first (about 7 weeks) but one of my friendliest birds never learned to fly. They are much easier to hand-tame if their wings are clipped. Only the tips of the feathers are clipped (where there are no nerve endings) so that it doesn't hurt the bird in any way. Then at the next molt (about 5 or 6 months of age) the flights will grow back in. At this point you can decide whether to clip them again or let them grow out.
1.
When the wing is fully extended you will notice the long "flight" feathers. These are the ones you will be cutting. You don't want to cut them too short, or the bird will bleed. Cut them just beyond the smaller feathers (you can see a distinct line in the picture.)
2.
Picture #2 shows you the angle to clip. Start with the first four or five feathers, and then try them out. The bird should not be able to fly far, but should be able to glide to the ground. (If you cut too many, it will fall with a "thud" and can hurt itself, so start with four, and clip one more on each side until you get the right amount.)
3.
Picture #3 shows how the wing should look after clipping. Compare it to the fully extended wing in picture #1.
Last Updated: 4/21/01
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