There are many things to follow if you want to take good care of your cockatiel. First, you need to make sure that you give everything to your cockatiel to make it happy. One of the things to keep in mind when it comes to your cockatiel is whether you would like to clip their wings. Many bird owners will ask, Why Clip Cockatiel Wings? I did some research, and here is what I found out about this.
Why Clip Cockatiel Wings?
Why Clip Cockatiel Wings? You can clip the wings of your cockatiel to make sure they do not fly and prevent them from hurting around your home. This can be a great way to train your cockatiel without your bird flying anywhere, but it is not technically necessary to clip your cockatiel wings. Cockatiels often become depressed or anxious when they can not fly.
Not all cockatiels need to have their wings clipped, but sometimes owners will choose to clip the wings to keep them safe and ensure their cockatiels will not get hurt.
Like all birds, cockatiel will attempt to flee by flying when they feel fear. By making sure your pet’s wings are trimmed, you will keep it from trying to take flight. The good news is you can provide your bird with different levels of flight capability.
If you have a young cockatiel who still doesn’t know how to fly, it’s best to clip its wings over time gradually. Don’t clip the wings of a very young bird in one session. Cockatiels that are allowed to naturally learn to fly, land and employ their bodies to move around turn out to be more confident pets. By removing a bird’s ability to take flight when it’s too young, it can grow up nervous and even neurotic.
Let’s take a closer look at a few reasons you can choose to clip the wings of your cockatiel, and some of the reasons why you can choose not to clip the wings but how to properly clip the wings so as not to hurt your cockatiel.
What Are The Benefits of Clipping Cockatiel Wings?
The main reason to clip the cockatiel wings is to make sure they are not going to fly. Like human hair, cockatiel feathers can shed and then regrow, and they need regular maintenance to stay healthy.
Cockatiels can lose all their feathers in an orderly and productive process, instead of losing them all at once to help them fly when they need to get away from predators.
The feathers your cockatiel needs are known as flight feathers will be ten outermost wing feathers known as primary and then 9-25 innermost wing feathers known as secondary.
All these feathers had an anchor into the bone. So when a new feather grows, it will contain blood inside the shaft, known as blood feathers.
Blood is drawn to the base of the feather as the feather matures, which means that the shaft will begin to look like an empty stray. There will be several nerves near the solid bone in these feathers, but there are no nerves in the feather shaft.
When the wing feathers or cut, the cockatiel will impair its ability to fly. As a result, some owners will cut the primary feathers to help inhibit the flight.
Some people oppose this process, but it would be good to help to protect the cockatiel.
The good news in all this is that trimming the wings is usually temporary, and over time new feathers will appear to replace the old ones that are being cut.
However, it can be painless, helpful, and safe when wing clipping is done for the right reason and correctly.
When Should I Clip My Cockatiels Wings?
Many bird owners will choose to clip the wings of their cockatiel when they train them to get out of the cage. However, if you allow your cockatiel to come out of the cage to prepare, it will be tough to do this if your cockatiel flies around like crazy.
Owners can also choose to do this if they feel that their bird is at risk, such as ceiling fans, open doors, windows, and the like.
Many situations are dangerous for your cockatiel if it can fly around. Clipping the wings can make a big difference and keep the cockatiel safe along the way.
It is best to start wing clipping when the bird is young, as they are not in the habit of flying around. This will help because your bird will not try to take off automatically during training and then land on the floor.
You can do this with older birds, even those already flying, but the sooner, the better, that they may not even realize they can fly.
How Do You Clip The Wings Of A Cockatiel That Is Just Beginning To Fly?
Clip just the two flight feathers located outside each of your pet’s wings. The bird will be slowed down from this, but the minimal clipping will allow it to continue to fly. A week later, follow up the task by clipping the following two feathers. Wait another week, then cut another two feathers.
By following this schedule, your cockatiel will have lost its flying capabilities only when it’s a grounded bird, one that has slowly but indeed learned to control its movements by walking around. This should leave you with a confident bird that knows how to hop around and land, despite not having full flight capabilities.
A good breeder will typically employ this clipping method before sending their cockatiels to their new home.
Cockatiels that have been clipped at a very young age will frequently end up with crash landings. These can break tail feathers or cause further injuries. That’s why it’s never advisable to clip too much at a time when your bird has yet to learn better motor skills.
When you’re doing the trimming task yourself, make an effort to clip the cockatiel’s wing feathers symmetrically. Do this by trimming both wings at an equal rate. This will keep your bird looking good and give it excellent balance. On the other hand, a bad clipping job will make moving more difficult for the cockatiel.
How Frequently Should You Clip Your Cockatiels Feathers?
When choosing how many feathers to clip off and how often, you have to factor in your pet’s environment.
Does your bird stay in an aviary that comes furnished with its safety area? If yes, allowing your pet to fly is fine, and the flight capabilities will helo the cockatiel gets plenty of necessary exercises.
If you plan to have, your cockatiels join exhibitions, keep in mind that the judges will consider the total bird’s look. Most pet owners who like to show their cockatiels exhibitions leave the wings unclipped.
Does your bird share a home with dogs or cats? The added danger the presence of other pets provides will mean you have to allow your cockatiel a chance to escape. Only clip enough feathers that leave some degree of flying capability.
If you’re one of those owners who allow pet birds to fly inside the house, you leave more wings unclipped. In this situation, the goal is to let your bird fly just slowly enough so it doesn’t hurt itself from flying too rapidly indoors.
If your bird has opportunities to go outside or could get through an opening left ajar, it’s a wise move to provide a more severe clip. The last thing you need is a missing cockatiel that flew away.
Clipping Wings at Male Cockatiel
Clipping may also help tame and calm down a territorial or bossy alpha male cockatiel. Giving him a pretty severe wing clipping can humble him down several notches. When you are starting to bond with a new adult cockatiel, it’s also a smart move to give it a severe clipping.
A severely clipped wing will make it easier to bond with a fully grown cockatiel since the lack of flight capabilities will make the bird more dependent on you, especially when your pet needs help moving around. Also, in cases where you need to chase the bird, it won’t have the chance to go far off and hurt itself.
When Should I Avoid Clipping the Wings on My Cockatiel?
Although wing clipping can often be good for your cockatiel, this is not a process that works well for every bird.
For example, if you have an overweight cockatiel and it needs to slim down, you need to keep its wings intact so that it can fly around.
If there are other pets in the house, such as dogs or cats, then you may want to keep the wings in place to help your cockatiel fly.
Sometimes cockatiels want to fly around and be independent. If it is safe enough, it is okay to keep the wings alone and allow the bird to have some time.
It would be best if you had specific safeguards to ensure they are safe and not hurt in the process.
Which Feathers Should You Clip?
Never clip beyond the ten primary feathers found on your cockatiel’s wings. If you would prefer to leave your pet with some flight abilities, cut fewer feathers. It is possible to clip the “secondary” feathers farther down, thereby shortening them instead, though I don’t recommend it.
It’s essential for cockatiels to receive wing exercises, especially if you decide to clip their feathers. Dedicate some time each day holding your pet’s feet to get it to flap its wings. This way, you’re providing the cockatiel the opportunity to develop strong muscles in its chest since it’s using whatever wing feathers are available.
Keep in mind it’s never possible to fully ground cockatiels. These birds can get around well enough, even if you cut off their wings. However, even for birds whose ten primary feathers are cut off from each wing, it is not a wise move to take them outside if they climb on your shoulder. Anything can trigger fear in birds. It can be the sound of a fast vehicle driving by your street or the noises of a wild animal outdoors.
If the cockatiel feels any fear, it may suddenly fly away and even risk injury. So if you insist on bringing your pet bird outside to get some sun or for whatever reason, bring your cockatiel out in a pet-carrying cage.
When clipping your cockatiel’s wing feathers, do so one at a time. Always decide how many feathers to clip beforehand. It would help if you also determined the level of flight capabilities that matches your bird’s environment.
Consequences of Trimming
Before trimming each wing feather, look at it closely. First, you will need to figure out whether it’s a blood feather or not. Never clip blood feathers since clipping these will cause bleeding to occur. A blood feather has a feathered out tip, but its base contains blood vessels and nerves.
These blood feathers siphon blood, and clipping at this level will cause injury and pain to your cockatiel.
If you accidentally clip a blood feather and bleeding ensues, sometimes the only way to stop the blood flow is to pull out the shaft. You can ask a vet to do this task. In pulling the shaft of the injured blood feather, you need to place a firm grasp on the shaft and remove it quickly while supporting the bird’s wing bones. Seek professional assistance whenever possible.
As you’re clipping feathers, never leave long stray feathers. The feathers of cockatiels are naturally meant to grow together. Each feather supports another as it grows in. Leaving a long feather right at the top of the wing allows your bird to catch or tangle its feathers. There is a higher chance of accidents or injuries by not clipping long stray feathers in the bird’s wings.
