About wing clipping

Mijn definitieve mening over het kortwieken van papegaaien.
Ik heb mijn vorige stukje uitgebreid en aangepast, en heb
er alles in gezet wat ik belangrijk vond bij mijn beslissing.

Coni wordt dus niet gewiekt.

(In het Engels omdat ik het origineel ooit op deviantart plaatste.)





When I was planning on getting my amazon parrot, I had sworn to never ever clip it's wings. For emotional reasons just as much as rational ones. Birds are built to fly, that's what they're supposed to do. It's healthy for their bodies and stimulating for their minds. With properly developed flight muscles and a fit body, they will less likely catch a disease. And knowing that their wings will always bring them to safety when necessary, they will take on challenges with more confidence. Gifted with a great desire to fly, young parrots learn to manoeuvre around objects and become very skilled in doing so, they have to in order to survive in the wild. Captive birds can be just as skilled and capable of avoiding objects like windows in their flight. My budgies fly around the house and never hit anything. My amazon always lands safely on the window-sill. Clipped birds obviously wouldn't fly against windows either, but they could easily hurt themselves by falling from a perch or playstand. Without any predators around in the living room they won't need their wings to escape, but they might need them to have any choice in where to go.

However, I also came to realize that parrots living in peoples homes often have more freedom when they're clipped. And from what I've seen they're far from miserable about it in most cases. They get to leave their cages and are brought to lots of exciting places by their owners. Perched on live garden tree branches, they soak up the sun and breathe fresh air. They won't get lost as long as their wings are regularly checked for newly grown flight feathers. Although I believe that behavioral problems might occur due to clipping, there are always other factors involved such as people mistreating the bird or just misreading it's body language when it wants to be left alone.

So I've been reading and assessing all pros and cons and it turned out there is no perfect solution. With each choice something is sacrificed for the gain of something else. Health for freedom, one danger for another. One thing is clear, I would never cripple my bird for my own convenience. I would never force my bird to be with me by making it impossible for him to fly away from me. I would only consider clipping his wings in order to expand his world if there were no other options left. He should be able to come with me when I do the groceries, when I go to the park, when I visit family and friends, etcetera. My bird needs company, fresh air and interesting surroundings to investigate. That's why I tried getting him used to a bird harness. And when that didn't work out the way I planned, I took him outside in a carrier. And as soon as I have the opportunity to build him an aviary, he'll be outside enjoying his wings every day. Because in the end I just want him to be a bird, and isn't flying fundamental to a bird's existence?