Wing Clipping
When clipping a birds wings, you must be very careful because they could get hurt. If you do it right then your bird be fine, slightly angry but fine. When pull the bird's wing out, you should be able to see two layers of feathers. The top layer is called the coverts, they should never be cut and you should be very careful with that area. The lower layer of feathers is the primaries and secondaries, this is what the bird flies with. The primaries are what needs to be cut; the secondaries don't have to be messed with. The longer you leave the primaries, the better they will still be able to fly. Some people say that the primaries can be cut all the way up to the coverts, but I would still be cautious. When you cut the feathers, make sure that the scissors should be sharp enough to make it cleanly through with the scissors. We keep scissors that are specially kept just for the birds. Some people say to take the nail clippers for dogs and cut each feather individually, but many birds won't let people keep their wings out for long enough to do this.
There are many different ways to clip a birds wings. One of the first ways you will probably come across is to clip one wing but leave the other long. this way will make the bird uneven when it tries to fly, it will fall or crash and shouldn't try to much more. The down side of this way is that the bird will have absolutely no control over where they go and have a higher possibility to get hurt.
Another way to clip the wings is to cut both sides evenly. Without both sides of the primaries, the bird will not be able to get any height but will be able to control more of where it goes. With this little bit of control, the bird may be able to land a little bit better instead of crashing. The down side of this way is that, since the bird does have some control, it is more likely to continue to fly.
Another way to clip the wings is to cut both sides evenly. Without both sides of the primaries, the bird will not be able to get any height but will be able to control more of where it goes. With this little bit of control, the bird may be able to land a little bit better instead of crashing. The down side of this way is that, since the bird does have some control, it is more likely to continue to fly.
Another way that you may want to clip a bird's wings is to allow the bird to keep the first two to three primaries and cut the rest; this would be the same on both sides.