Wing clipping
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wing clipping is the process of trimming a bird's primary flight feathers (or primaries) so that he or she is no longer fully-flighted.
As the clip only trims feathers and not the wings themselves, it does not cause the bird major physical harm.
Since the feathers do not have nerve endings, the bird does not feel pain. Therefore, wing clipping is similar to a person having their nails clipped or their hair cut.
An appropriate wing clip will allow a bird to glide across the room without gaining altitude. If too few primaries are taken, the bird will be able to gain altitude; if too many primaries are taken, the bird will plummet like a rock. Those experienced with wing clipping will only take one or two feathers from each side at a time and see how well the bird can fly before taking more feathers, to avoid causing the bird to plummet and potentially be injured in doing so.
Many people who keep birds as pets prefer to clip their wings so that their birds will not crash into mirrors, walls, or windows, all of which are serious hazards to flighted birds: A hard crash can result in instant death.
Other people clip their birds' wings to minimize the chances of them flying away if they accidentally get outdoors. However, in the right conditions -- particularly windy days -- birds whose wings are clipped can still gain altitude and fly out of their owner's reach.
Another reason for clipping wings is to keep pet birds that are social in nature (such as parrots) more tame. When birds are unclipped, they typically have a greater sense of independence and can be less likely to socialize with their owners.
When a bird's wings are clipped, an equal number of feathers are taken from each wing. In ducks and chickens often just one wing is clipped (i.e. 10 primary feathers of one wing), they are not good fliers and to clip one wing is enough to unbalance their flight and keep them grounded. To keep a bird from being fully-flighted, wing clipping must be done after every moult, but it is important to only clip the wings when the feathers have finished growing and there is no blood in them. If the shaft resembles the ink tube of a ball point pen clipping can result in the death of the bird. Many people clip their birds' wings themselves, although it is a good idea to have an avian veterinarian, pet store employee, or breeder demonstrate the process first.
There is a growing movement against wing clipping and many bird owners do not practice it at all. The people who do not wing clip believe that wing clipping only really benefits the bird owner and not the bird. In clipping a bird's wings you make the bird disabled and take away it's primary form of transport. Birds enjoy flying. They were born to fly. Many people believe it is cruel to take away this basic instinct.
Bird's who have never been clipped, on the whole, never crash. If they do crash it is a lot less frequently then their clipped counterparts as birds with clipped wings never really learn how to fly while those allowed to fly become very good at it.
Some people clip a bird's wings to help with the taming process. Those against wing clipping find that it is more rewarding to know a bird is tame and friendly towards you because it wants to be and it trusts you, not because it is fully reliant on you to get around. Wing clipping has also been shown, in some cases, to lead to less friendly birds because they feel vulnerable and endangered.
It has been observed that birds with clipped wings are less active, and so less happy, healthy and friendly. Birds need a lot of exercise and ones with clipped wings are less likely to get this exercise. They are also less likely to be adventurous and lively and more likely to become obese because they will just sit in their cage and eat.
A growing number of people now feel that taking a little extra care (covering windows and mirrors with a lace curtain, always closing the toilet lid, making sure doors and windows are closed, not letting a bird fly in the kitchen etc) is worth the trouble as it leads to a happy, healthy, flighted bird.
