Continued from page 1An alternative to toweling is to train your birds to be groomed while perched. Now, many birds will not hear of this and it has to be done properly so as not to damage your birds' trust for you but, once accomplished, will make grooming a stress-free experience (for both of you). After two years of work, not only will my Moluccan cockatoo eat or play with a toy and pay absolutely no attention to the fact that I am clipping his wings, but when I approach and show him the nail clippers, he will lift his foot and hold it out to be manicured. After one is done, he puts it down and lifts the other.
Now, so as not to seem as if I am ringing my own bell, let me say that I did not teach him this. Yes, I worked with him to gradually become comfortable with the scissors and clippers. And, yes, I clipped tiny little bits of feathers and toenails before ever clipping any significant amounts without toweling. And, yes, there was a lot of time and patience involved in making the entire process very safe for him. But the lifting the foot thing was his contribution. In fact, the first time he did it I was so surprised that I called my wife into the room to show her. Of course, he didn't do it for her, so I wrote it off as a fluke. But. lo and behold, he did it the next time he was due for a clipping and has done it every time since. Turns out he didn't do it for my wife because he knew that he just been clipped, so why bother. Cockatoos are very clear that they are not placed on this earth for OUR entertainment. They'll be cute when they damn well please.
Once toweled (or trained otherwise), the general rule is that the outermost eight (#10 through #3) primary flight feathers of both wings should be clipped to the line of the coverts. As usual, there is a reason behind the rule and it is that reason, and not the letter of the rule, that must be followed. The reason for this formula is that this basic clip results in most birds being limited to flight at a 45 degree angle downward. Overclipping is a problem because, as we know, our companions are occasionally prone to spontaneous attempts at flight and we do not want them to land too hard or to be entirely unable to maneuver around hazards. We all know the hazards of underclipping.
The point is that every bird's flight abilities are different and the clip should be adjusted accordingly. African Greys are a great example. Chris Davis refers to them as "...one of God's early models." As a pilot, I can tell you that they have all the aerodynamics of a sofa. This, combined with their relatively small feet (= lousy balance), makes for many unscheduled flights. So, with Greys, it is advisable to leave about an inch of primary outside of the line of the coverts. Alternatively, you can only clip the outermost 6 primaries. To a certain extent, there will be a trial period with all mature birds before you determine what is the right clip for them.
Cockatiels and Budgies are another exception. I like to see all 10 primaries clipped and kept clipped. While a couple inches growth of one feather won't much affect the abilities of a macaw, it will with a Cockatiel. Believe me, when I first heard this I thought it was pure fertilizer, but them I almost lost a bird that I had clipped 4 days prior. I have a particularly light and strong male that can maintain level flight even with all 10 primaries clipped. I suppose that the lesson of this is that clipped does not allow complacency. It does bring up a good point in that clipping, even in large birds, should not be done just every few months. Under the right circumstances (directly following the molt of several flight feathers), even a large bird can develop plenty of lift in 30 days.
But the main reason to clip frequently is to protect the bird from injury. Normally, growing feathers are surrounded by mature feathers. So, if a flapping wing strikes something, the blow is not merely absorbed by the immature feather. That feather is supported by it's neighbors. On a clipped wing, a growing feather is very vulnerable and will become damaged quite easily. It is advisable to clip even growing feathers once they protrude about an inch from the line of the clip. Believe me, a quick clip every week or two is a lot less traumatic than a broken blood feather and a trip to the vet. This is especially true if you can get your bird to willingly accept these quickie trims from you.
As for the actual act of cutting, there a few things to remember:
1. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO GROOM YOUR BIRD UNTIL INSTRUCTED BY A QUALIFIED AVIAN PROFESSIONAL. Although most vets and groomers towel birds improperly, it is still important to learn how to hold the bird in the towel and to be shown, on your bird, which feathers are which, what a blood feather looks like, etc.2. Always direct the points of the scissors away from the body of the bird. Clip the number 3 primary first, outward to the number 10. This way, if the bird struggles, he won't get stabbed.
3. Try to find scissors with very sharp blades and dull points. Same reason as above.
4. One very safe method of clipping is to use nail scissors which are sharpened only in the small circle where the nail is placed. This cuts the shaft only and leaves the end of the feather looking like the letter "V", which is fine.
5. Until your bird is trained to not mind clipping, it will not be his favorite activity. Don't dawdle.
6. never hold your bird's wing by the very tip while clipping. If he should happen to flap suddenly, his wing could easily break. The wing should be held by fanning out the feathers and holding it in position with the bird's wrist between the heel of your hand and your fingers. (Wing anatomy: Where the wing attaches to the body is the shoulder. A short bone leads down to the elbow, with a longer bone leading up to the wrist, which most people mistakenly call the shoulder because of how it looks when the wing is folded next to the body.)
7. Learn how to treat damaged blood feathers. Accidents happen, even to the best of us.
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