How to Clip a Cockatiel's Wings

Clipping a cockatiel’s wings is necessary for the safety of the bird and the sanity of the bird owner. Fully flighted birds run the risk of injury or even being an “escapee” bird with no way to find home. Flighted birds are sometimes harder to train and control. No one likes playing "chase the birdie," so clipping their wings often makes the most sense. Dominant male birds are often easier to train while they are clipped. Overall, clipping wings makes birds more dependent on their owners and makes chasing them much easier.

Things You'll Need

• Towel
• Sharp scissors

Instructions

1. Gently wrap the cockatiel in a towel. Even if your bird is tame, chances are it will not like this. Most cockatiels fall in to two groups--fighters and screamers. Fighters will kick, squirm and bite to get free. The towel protects your hands, and helps you keep a hand on the bird. It also helps some cockatiels if their heads are covered. If you are clipping non-blood feathers, it shouldn’t hurt, but sometimes just seeing what is happening can be very traumatic for them.

2. Take a look at the wing. Gently pull the wing away from the bird’s body. Closely examine the wings and make sure there are not any blood feathers. If there are blood feathers, you may want to consider waiting to clip until the feather has grown all the way in.

3. Cut the primary flight feathers. Fully extend the wing and cut the first five flight feathers. Cut each feather individually, and make sure all the cuts are even. Do not cut blood feathers. Cutting a blood feather is very dangerous for your bird. If you cannot wait for the feather to grow in, just leave it be. Repeat this on the second wing. Make sure the wings are still symmetrical after the clipping. If you want the bird to still be partially flighted, you can choose to not cut all the feathers. Remember that symmetry is key--make sure both wings match up.

4. Stop the bleeding. If you cut a blood feather, it will cause the bird pain and it will cause a severe amount of bleeding. Cockatiels can bleed out very quickly. Even just a little clip at the end of the feather can be deadly. If this happens, first stop the bleeding. Using kwik stop or flour. Then pull the blood feather out of the wing. You will need to use tweezers to remove the whole feather. If the feather is left in, even a small bump could result in more bleeding.