How to Clip a Small Bird's Wings
The thought of clipping a bird's wings may sound cruel and unusual at first, but it's no different than cutting your own hair. Clip a bird's wings to keep it safe, to train it easier or to modify its behavior. Clipping the wings of a small bird has its pros and cons. The small bird is a delicate being requiring a little extra care.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Challenging
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Towels
- Scissors
- Styptic powder or sticks
- Bird treat and water
- Needle-nose pliers or hemostats
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1
Prepare a towel, sharp scissors, styptic powder and a treat and water in a secure room. Also have needle-nose pliers or hemostats handy in case you cut a blood feather and need to remove it near its base.
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2
Make sure there are no blood feathers on the wing. The quill appears dark instead of translucent when the bird has new feathers coming in.
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3
Pick up your bird gently as shown in the diagram listed in Resources below. If your bird is a biter when held like this, hold a small towel in your hand to cover your fingers near the bird's beak.
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4
Cover the eyes loosely with another towel. This is sometimes necessary to keep your bird from getting stressed. Birds calm down and struggle less when their eyes are covered.
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5
Stretch out the bird's wing and hold it between your pinkie and ring finger or your thumb and forefinger, depending on which side you're clipping. This technique becomes easier the more times you repeat it.
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6
Clip about 10 of the primary flight feathers from the outside in, cutting below the dorsal major primary coverts. This is the layer of feathers above the primary flight feathers.
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7
Repeat on other side and then give the bird a treat and water. If the bird was nicked, apply styptic powder to stop the bleeding.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Kwik Stop or cornstarch can be used in place of styptic powder or sticks.
Have a friend help if you have trouble holding a bird, maneuvering an outstretched wing and cutting feathers.
Keep an eye out for the next moult when you need to look for the feathers to grow back.
The smaller the bird, the more the beak pinches your skin. You might want to have a band-aid and antiseptic ointment ready just in case.
