After putting a lot of thought and research into it I have made an appointment with the local Avian vet for Thursday 5.30pm to have Charley's wings clipped. I cant believe how nervous I am about it!!! It feels like I'll be taking a child to his first day at kindy!! He will be attended to by nurse "Amy" and she will give him a full health check as well.

 

I look at him on his perch, stretching his wings and think to myself .. I wonder if after his "trim" will he sit there looking at his short feathers and think "crikey!! I look like a DORK!!" the way we do when we have a far too short haircut!!!

 

I hope he doesnt get too upset having it done. I wonder how "different" he will feel when he gets home and settles back down. I hope he understands it's all for his own safety.. and not JUST my peace of mind!

Charley is so striking looking. He always stands out to me in your signature. I am sure he will be fine. He might feel a bit strange at first but they get used to things pretty quickly!

H'll possibly preen his wings a lot for the first day or two until he gets used to it but he'll be fine

After his wing clip he will be different at first, he will probably sulk in his cage but when you get home just continue with your normal routine he will fall right back into it. Let the avian vet to all the work and handling so your hands are not involved sometimes it takes a couple days to warm back to hands from the experience. . Good luck.

Thanks. Ely thats just what I was fearing. That the "negative handling" would turn him off being handled by me. and I was afraid they might ask me to hold him while they trim. But I guess an Avian vet would be much wiser to this. .. perhaps moreso than a non avian vet.

 

I've started "holding" him more in my hand this week to get him a little more used to having a hand actually hold him. Up to now I've only really held him with "covered" hand when I've had to pick him up from somewhere to put him back after a (gentle) crash landing. He will of course step up onto my finger but if out of the cage he then takes off again so I sometimeshave to grab him with my hand. He doesnt like it of course but doesnt bite or argue too much. I've started just putting my hand around him in the cage and talking gently to him while giving him a little scratch in his neck (which he loves). He never bites so no worry there (he only nibbles in a very gentle way, almost "lovingly"). he sometimes struggles a little to get loose but I think surely that would be a natural reaction. I then make sure I put him gently back on his perch, still always talking to him with his familiar phrases, the ones he says to me. I feel that lets him see that being handled is not stressful. I am just hoping that the clipping experience wont completely turn him off being handled. I guess I will just have to then keep going with the gentle way I've been doing it lately to gain back his trust.

Edited October 27, 200816 yr by thk