Birds are usually a type of pet that fits in an indoor environment for some safety reasons. For some reason, sometimes, you might want to clip your bird’s wings to stop it from flying outside your home. But there are a lot of discussions about the clipping of a bird’s wings because it might strip birds to fly. Also, it increases the risk of accidents, and it can lead to developmental issues.
Consult a Professional
The best thing for you to do is to speak first with a professional veterinarian before doing it. If you want to clip the wings of your bird by yourself, it is essential to advised first by the vet to get some helpful tips or guidance. Because with just one mistake, it could result in serious injury in your pet if you try to clip its wings without any professional advice.
Before you begin to clip its wings, you may first recognize the correct wings for you to clip. You may clip the other wing at the same time while you are holding back your pet. In addition, keep in mind precautionary and safety measures to make sure that your pet bird is safe while you’re clipping its feathers.
Step-by-step Guide Before You Start the Clipping Procedure
1. Talk to a Veterinarian
This step is essential if you never had experience clipping a bird’s wings before. The vet should give you some advice before doing the procedure. Usually, the bird’s first-ever wing clipping should always be done by a veterinarian.
You may bring your pet to an avian vet and let them present the right clipping procedures. Later, after the first clipping procedure, then you can confidently clip its wings by yourself. But, if you feel nervous at ease, then have a vet clip your pet wings again. Don’t discount any possibility that you might injure your pet.
2. Select the Right Place to Do the Wing Clipping
When clipping your pet’s feathers, it is important to see what you are doing. It is required for you to be in a quiet room to remain your pet peacefully calm. Look for a room inside your house that has a well-lit area as well as a quiet place for you and your pet to stay in. This factor is important for your pet’s safety and comfort. You may also pick a room wherein you can close all windows or doors. There might be a possible instance that your pet might fly away and gt out while you do the clipping procedure.
3. Collect All the Things Needed Before Doing the Procedure
It’s important to first prepare all the things that you need before you begin the clipping. The procedure can somehow be stressful for your pet, and as the pet owner, you don’t want to extend it by not being properly prepared with all the things that you need.
In clipping your pet’s wings, you will need the following materials:
- A thick and plain white towel
- Small scissors
- Perhaps call for help to assist you with these procedures.
4. Hold Back Your Pet Bird
Usually, your pet may struggle while you are having its nail clipped. You should wrap your pet in a white clean towel to keep it from moving while you’re doing the clipping procedure. Like capturing the baseball, use the towel to grab your pet. Do not set a force on the chest of your pet.
Generally, all birds do not have a diaphragm, so any force to its chest can make it stop breathing. If you have a companion while doing the process, have that person use its one hand to hold your pet’s body, while the other hand should be used to hold the head of the bird in the middle of its thumb and forefinger. By doing so, you’ll avoid your pet bird from biting.
5. Recognize the Essential Feathers Used by the Birds to Fly
It is vital to know which feather of your pet are you going to clip. While you are clipping your pet’s feathers, you should only clip the main feathers that the birds are using to fly. Mildly layout the birds wing apart and try to look for these primary feathers.
Your pet must have two pairs of overlapping feathers on their wings. You should not cut the smaller feathers that overlap the large feathers of your pet. The feathers that usually known as the flight feathers are those larger that come from the smaller feathers. You are going to trim those six main flight feathers. Just verify that you do not cut them so short, just let it cut into a shorter size to overlap the feathers.
Ways in Clipping the Wings of Your Pet Bird Safely
- Begin to clip the wingtip. You may start cutting, the first thing you do is to have a slit in the feather that is closest to the tip of the bird’s wings. You will be working towards as you cutting its feathers.
- Trim at least one feather directly, going towards your pet’s body, cut the first main flight feathers. Avoid cutting the overlapping short feathers; this might can injure your pet. When it comes to clipping your bird’s wings, there can take a lot of attentiveness as well as an accuracy, so when you try to clip the feathers at ease, these might end up harming your pet and may cause it to have an injury.
- Observe for some feathers that have blood. Those bloody feathers are considered to freshly produce feathers. So if you accidentally cut it, they will surely bleed. There is a visible blood vessel that runs through the bird’s feather; it looks like a waxy and a pinkish in aspects. Deeply observe each of your pet’s feathers to ensure that there are no bloody feathers before having a clipping process.
- Make sure to cut the same number of the bird’s feathers from each of their wings. If you cut their feather, your bird should not be able to fly, but it still knows how to drift and even sit in its perch. If you trim the bird’s feathers unequally, it may avoid balance.
- If your pet has blood in its feather, it is essential to remove it if you accidentally cut it. Usually, blood feathers do not stop hemorrhaging by it. So if your pet bleeds constantly, there are possibilities that your pet may die. You should take your pet quickly into the vet to have this action done if you accidentally clip a blooded feather of your pet bird.
Conclusion
Have your friend assist you with this procedure. It is not advisable to do it on your own. However, if you insist on doing this alone, it can be very difficult for you to do so. All of us are aware that our pet is usually hard to handle. For the safety of your pet, try to ask for help or ask a companion to assist you in holding your pet. Once you have clipped the winds of your pet bird, make sure to try to regain trust by giving food, a new toy, or a new activity to your pet.
