If a bird is clipped, the age at which it is clipped, the amount of time it is kept clipped for, and the type of clip will all determine how it is affected.  Clipping a bird before it fledges (learns to fly as a baby) can negatively impact the development of its brain, vision, motor skills, bones, behaviour, and flight ability later in life.  A baby bird, clipped or confined to a small cage at the age it should be flying, exploring, and problem-solving, is receiving unnecessarily low levels of exercise and enrichment. Worse yet, it can be very difficult for a bird to learn to fly once this sensitive period of development has passed.  A growing number of avian veterinarians and reputable breeders, even ones who may approve of clipping in other circumstances, do not recommend that people clip baby birds before they learn to fly. Unfortunately, this is standard practice at many establishments which sell birds. As someone who has seen the effects of this practice firsthand, I strongly advise that you do not support establishments which clip birds before or during fledging.

This type of enclosure, though very common at many bird stores, is not appropriate for birds this age. These birds are past the age they would have learned how to fly in the wild. They should be receiving a high degree of mental and physical stimulation in order to encourage optimal development, but they have had their wings clipped and are confined to a cubicle with at least two opaque walls. Customers who have been told that the birds are “hand-raised and tame” reach in to interact with them, but they flee. Not only are these birds afraid of humans, they are physically disabled so that they can be held by their new owners despite their fear.  Credit: Anonymous contribution.

Birds who remain flightless for extended periods of time (whether through clipping or confinement), will have atrophied muscles and can be at an increased risk for obesity, heart disease, and liver disease due to lack of exercise.  A bird who is flight-restricted usually has very little choice or control in its life; this can lead to stress and psychological issues.  For some birds, clipped wings can act as a gateway to plucking behaviour, whether due to irritation from the sharp ends of the cut feathers, frustration due to restricted mobility, or a combination of both.  Fortunately, most birds in this situation can learn to fly, but they need to be rehabilitated, much like a person who has not walked for an extended period of time.

This sun conure needs help with learning how to fly. His owner is using a target and two perches which can be incrementally separated. As you can see, for a previously flight-restricted bird, even making a small hop proves challenging. If a bird does not learn to fly at the natural age and misses that developmental milestone, they must be taught, not unlike a feral child who walks on all fours must later be taught how to walk on two legs. Likewise, if a bird’s muscles are atrophied from disuse, they must be gradually strengthened.  Credit: Anne Mahler on Youtube.

Although it is still a very common sight, a clip to all or most of a bird’s primary feathers, which intends to completely prevent flight, is being discouraged more and more by veterinarians.  Birds clipped in this manner crash to the ground when they try to fly, sometimes injuring themselves.  Doing this to a bird teaches it not to fly through the pain and frustration it experiences when it falls, and it forces it to become totally dependent upon a human to move it from place to place.  A bird who can’t fly to get away from things that make it uncomfortable or frightened may learn that biting is the only way it can respond to those things.  Sadly, this type of clip is still widely performed by some pet stores, breeders, and even veterinarians.

This bird was adopted with clipped wings. She repeatedly split her keel open over the course of several months by attempting to fly with such a severe physical handicap. After the pain and frustration she experienced doing this, she stopped attempting to fly. The exact cause of her plucking behaviour is unknown, but denying an animal its normal movement is certainly no help in resolving psychological issues.  Credit: Chelsie S.

Another type of clip, which is more humane and more often recommended by veterinarians when compared to the full clip, is a partial clip which allows short distance flight.  The problem with such a clip is that it does not allow a bird to reach optimal flight skill and fitness, but it does allow them to fly into harm’s way due to minimal control or out of the house if someone is careless.  This “half clipped” state makes for a bird who can fly a bit in the house but is immediately disadvantaged once outside. Additionally, clipped and partially-clipped birds display an unnatural posture when in flight. Whether this posture may, over the course of years, affect their spine and cause discomfort has not been studied, but it is certainly something to consider. What if we were always carrying a heavy burden on our backs and walked stooped over as a result? Yes, we might be “working harder”, but the burden would force us into an unnatural posture.

Speaking of posture: flight restriction can have lasting effects on the way a bird flies. This amazon was confined to a dog kennel. She was not clipped, but she could not fly. After a year with her new owners, flight is still difficult, she still leans to one side, coordinating landings is still a challenge, and she is still not confident enough to attempt flight on her own. In some ways, particularly where physical fitness is concerned, clipping a bird is similar to keeping it in a cage. Credit: Kim Martin.

So why clip at all? The reason most commonly provided is “safety”. But birds can learn how to fly safely indoors, and the ability to fly also means the ability to anticipate certain threats and avoid them.  A few changes might need to be made to the home environment in order for a bird to fly safely, but they are not too many or too difficult.  (No, it is NOT common for windows and mirrors to need to be permanently covered when owning flighted birds!) Regardless of what pets we keep, we will always need to modify our homes to some extent in order to keep those pets happy and healthy.  Birds are no different.  Cats and dogs can slip out of the house if we don’t pay attention, but we wouldn’t think of taking their mobility from them.  We simply take preventative measures and train them so that they will be safer in the event of an accidental escape.

These birds are trained to come when called.  While flying through a hoop is a fancy addition to the behaviour, recall is actually very easy for a parrot to learn. Credit: Monika and Richard of Parrot Harness and Free Flight UK.

Furthermore, the false sense of security people feel when their birds are clipped can lead to those same birds being lost.  Even totally clipped birds can achieve some flight when they are frightened and survival instincts take hold. With the help of the wind, they can be carried even further afield. On the 911 Parrot Alert Facebook group for lost birds, you can read posts by sorrowful owners who thought that their birds would not be able to fly far, or at all, due to their clipped wings, and lost them as a result.  A clipped bird, depending upon the severity of the clip, is often stuck where it lands once the initial fright is over.  Because of its compromised flight ability, it is an easier target for predators, and it is less capable and confident with descending from on high to reach its owner.  In the home, clipped birds can still startle and crash or fall into harm’s way; they retain very little control over their flight speed or trajectory. In short, safety precautions and training are far more reliable than a wing clip in keeping most birds safe.