File :-(, x, )
Anonymous
Does anyone have any good guides/diagrams on how to clip a parakeets wings?

I bought a couple birds about a month ago and they recently discovered they can fly again. Now they're being complete assholes to me(lunging, biting, etc.) since they know they can fly just out of my reach whenever they want to. Pic related
>> Anonymous
That looks more like a lovebird. It's always a good idea to let a vet do the wing clipping.
>> Anonymous
...or you can go here.
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html

Google is your friend.
>> Anonymous
Ah yes, the cat declawing of the bird kingdom.
Go to a vet if you want it done, asshole.
>> Anonymous
In Britain we call Parakeets, "Budgerigars", I have two named Pretty and Charlie, and I sliced off their wings using just an ordinary box-cutter. The best technique is to bind their legs, wings and head with twine so they cant move, then stretch one wing out and lay it flat against a hard surface. Now cut the wing off withe the box-cutter, sliding the blade in at a diagonal angle, and drawing it across the wing's width using slow, steady pressure. Bird bones are very weak, and you can cut through them with little difficulty.

After the bone is severed and the wing is mostly off, use a pair of nail scissors to snip off any tattered threads of skin/flesh/connective tissue. Now cauterise and seal the stump using boiling glue or hot wax from an ordinary candle.
>> Anonymous
>>149312
I'm not usually one to shout animal abuse, but that's fucked up.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>149315
It.. it would work though.

OP plz do not follow>>149312's advice.
>> Anonymous
>>149296
Wings can grow back, asshole.
>> Anonymous
Op here; Do vets charge for wing clipping?
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>149317
Er. FEATHERS grow back. Wings do not. Clipping wings is equal to clipping nails. De-winging is equal to declawing.

>>149318
Yes, but it shouldn't cost much. You could call an animal groomer, that might be cheaper.
>> Anonymous
>>149312

A future torturist or serial-killer in the making. Wonderful. Do us proud.
>> Anonymous
This thread is full of retards.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>149338
And you're posting in it.
>> Anonymous
>>149334

Fuck you, it's a traditional method of clipping Budgies wings, I learned it from my Grandad, and he learnt it from a 1930s book "Everyman His Own Veterinarian".

Grandad taught me that vets are just scam artists, charging money for simple procedures you can carry out yourself, such as docking puppies tails, or spaying and neutering cats and dogs.

Newsflash, animals are tough and can take a little suffering, they evolved to survive.
>> Anonymous
     File :-(, x)
>>149280
You need to clip the primary flight feathers (the long ones). I found this really crappy diagram, which should help you to get the right idea. Usually it's enough to clip the first 8 flight feathers.
>> Anonymous
>>149344
Troll poster is troll.
>> Anonymous
>>149344

Dude, the point is to clip their feathers, just so it can't fly. NOT to chop off their wings so they're the equivalent of a kiwi.

Basically I think you just clip the longest feathers to be about the same length as the others. Use scissors.
>> Anonymous
Why are you talking about feather trimming? The OP specifically mentioned wing clipping.
>> Anonymous
they're called budgies in Canada too. But wing clipping is fucking nasty if you o it yourself.
>> Anonymous
>>149356
>>Dude, the point is to clip their feathers, just so it can't fly. NOT to chop off their wings so they're the equivalent of a kiwi.

Yeah, but if you clip the actual wings it's less hassle than clipping the feathers each time they regrow.
>> Anonymous
>>149382
Just clip of the head. That prevents them from flying too, and is much less work.
>> Anonymous
>>149382
>>149375

I thought he just meant trim their wings so they can't fly again for a few months, not clip off their wings so they can never fly again (and won't have wings, which is where all the colors are...)

And we call them budgies in the States too. Budgies or parakeets.
>> Anonymous
>>149381
Budgies are different from parakeets. They look the same, but budgies (or budgerigars) are larger.
>> Anonymous
I clip my cockatiel's wing by wrapping her in a towel with one of her wings exposed while my roommate clips the feathers.

Its not that hard, just have to be careful so they don't flap around everywhere or apply to much pressure.
>> Anonymous
OP is a Quaker parrot/Monk Parakeet. In UNITINU we refer to parakeets and budgies interchangeably, although parakeets are technically the larger birds.

For clipping wings, if you can get a 2nd person to help its much easier. Have the 2nd person fully spread the wing and then clip about 1/3 the length of the longest wing feather in a straight line. This is only a partial clip though, the bird can sometimes get minimal lift, but usually only while falling. If you need something more drastic, clip further up, but no further than 1/2 the longest feather straight, or you will hurt the bird.
>> Anonymous
To the OP: I'd like to suggest against clipping the flight feathers, but... if it'll help you work out the behaviour problems with your birds, then perhaps it's not so bad. The feathers will grow back eventually after all. Just... please don't get into the habit of clipping them regularly, or as a form of punishment; parrots have "the 'tude" and will resent you mightily for it.

Anyway, having a vet do it would be a good idea. Ask if you can observe it being done, so you'll have some kind of a clue that isn't based solely on pics seen on the internet if you need to repeat it yourself.

>>149320
No, man. De-winging would be equivalent to chopping off the cat's legs entirely. ... which is why you had to invent a word for it, since it's totally not done ever anywhere period. Not the least because the chances of a bird surviving a procedure like that are like less than the chances of a human living through having both legs cut off at the hip. Plenty of big blood vessels go to the wings, obviously.
>> Anonymous
>>149389
Yeah, one should be careful not to wrap or hold too tightly. Birds' breathing apparatuses are quite a bit different from mammals', e.g. that they store air in a sort of... cavity to get air into the air sacs (lung equivalents) both when the bird breathes in and when it breathes out. Which is why a bird can choke to death even if handled in such a way that wouldn't choke, say, a hamster.
>> Anonymous
I suspect the reason your birds are being 'assholes' to you has less to do with the fact they can fly, and more to do with the fact you have more than one.

It sounds like they were probably parent reared, and they've formed a flock. You're not in it. Ergo you're a potential threat and invader of their territory.

Quakers can be mean little fuckers all of their own accord, too, though I still miss mine who recently died.
>> Anonymous
>>149440
OP again, I plan on getting it done by a vet a few days from now.

They were nice to me up until this point, they were eating out of my hand a week ago without any problem(before their first flying experience). How exactly do I get in their "flock"?

I mean, i'm the only food/water/toy provider and the little terds still don't think i'm worthy of their time? Ungrateful bastards :[
>> Anonymous
>>149452

Constant socalisation, pretty much. It sounds like you were on the right track. How much time do you spend with them a day?
>> Anonymous
Could just be that they're going all WOOT I CAN HAS WINGS WOOT WOOT, and they'll settle right back down in a week or so once the novelty passes.
>> Anonymous
What kind of retard has their birds' wings clipped? My birds only use their cage as a bed and I never close it. They just fly around whenever they want. They don't do anything disturbing, they shit inside their cage, nowhere else.
>> Anonymous
.
>> Anonymous
>>149473
..Right. Enjoy finding an inch of birdshit ontop of your fridge one day.
>> Anonymous
>>149473
bullshit anon is bullllllllshiiiiiiiiiiit
>> Anonymous
>>149473
Because everyone only owns parakeets and not any other animals that may cause harm to the bird.
>> Anonymous
Clipping parakeet wings? :O I have read about it but never actually concidered doing it. :S

My 1 year old male cockatiel is out of cage always when someone is home, except nights. There is birdshit everywhere though and while it doesn't really matter to me, I guess that if I had 5 birds or so, the amounts would matter...

I couldn't even imagine Fiada not being able to fly as he wishes, flying to the "roofs" of closets, etc. and chirping happily, only coming back down and pressing his head against my fingers when he wants me to scratch his neck...

I guess I could understand it for some special reason though, like having to do it for bird's safety though. :/
>> Anonymous
>>149625ike having to do it for bird's safety though.

Yeah, we did it because we have sliding glass doors, and we'd rather not have our birds break their necks slamming into them.
>> Anonymous
>>149625
You can limit the locations of where you find birdshit by setting up perches and putting cleaning rags or something beneath them. Parrots like to grab things with their feet, and thus will often prefer to sit on a perch rather than a flat surface or the top of a vertical surface.

>>149636
There's ways to make sliding glass doors birdsafe though. Not foolproof ways, and they'll detract from the point of having glass doors in the first place... i.e. they make the "boundary" apparent to a bird, who hopefully is smart enough not to break their neck on them.

Oddly enough, our budgies have never flown into a window more than once each. And they lived afterward, of course, being robust for such small birds. I guess they've learned to mind the location of the houseplants on window sills and to check their flight accordingly...
>> Anonymous
even if they're parent reared, you can break keets in by spending enough time with them. At the very least they'll pick up on your words and noises if you do it long enough.
>> Anonymous
I had two parakeets, a boy Skeeter and a girl Aleena.

One day I opened the door to go outside and immediately Skeeter took off, never to be seen again. Had Aleena's clipped the next day
>> Anonymous
I had a pair of parakeets that successfully breeded once. They were complete assholes. I fucking hated them.
>> Anonymous
Goddamn some of the people in this thread must have disgusting houses.

Who lets their animals crap all over the house? That's sick.
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>150197
http://diaperfreebaby.org/
>> Anonymous
>>150197
We do, it's a nobrainer really because budgie crap is relatively dry, nearly odourless nuggets. The species being from australia, they waste very little water in excretion.
>> Anonymous
>>150245
Nuggets? My bird's crap comes out as a greenish plop with a white center. I've never knelt down and took a whiff of it, so i'm not sure what it smells like.

Budgies may have less watery shit, but they shit a lot.