Letter
What are your views on wing clipping my budgie? Also should I take him to a vet to be checked out I am not sure she has ever had a check-up, but at this point I am afraid of setting back the progress I have made and traumatizing her?
Reply
My opinion is that all pet birds be clipped. Not only does this help with the taming process (flight makes birds virtually impossible to tame) but it will keep them out of danger. The only birds I allow unclipped are those in my outdoor aviaries.
Birds can deal with a surprising amount of stressful experiences. I've seen a lot of people do more harm than good because they are afraid of stressing out their birds, from not taking them to the vet and not clipping their wings to never handling them at all. New experiences now and then are a good thing because they will get your bird used to change. A bird used to change is less likely to become stressed when an unpreventable event occurs than one that has been shielded from stressful events its whole life. A vet visit is well worth it. Make sure you find an avian veterinarian. I've heard that the Association of Avian Veterinarians has a list of members on their site. Ask the vet to show you how to clip the wings and trim the nails. It's not that difficult and something every bird owner should know.
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