I clipped Roy's wings tonight

He kept flying into the kitchen instead of his stand, and he's been knocking over dishes.. this time he landed in the sink with a pot of soapy water. Clearly not healthy

One of his favorite games is when he rolls on his back and I grab his wing tips and tug them up over his head, he squeals and kicks his legs. Now he's just grouchy at me, not that I blame him

I wish I could tell him that it's to keep him safe, I keep thinking.. what if we had a knife sitting in the kitchen??? We do try to keep the house bird-friendly at all times, but it's better to be safe all around than sorry I think

I'm sorry buddy!

please don't feel bad... He will get over his grumpyness and find a way to have as much fun. He really will figure it out. Beakie, our Goffins does this VERY odd thing with her wings, it looks like she bends in half, when we travel to bird clubs to talk, we clip her... she gets pissed for about 3 days, then figures out another way to do the same thing. Trust me, it IS for his own safety even if he won't totally understand it... I won't tell you some of the horror stories we have heard over the years of flighted birds and kitchens-- you wouldn't even allow a clipped bird IN a kitchen if you heard them.

He is MUCH safer this way...

doreen

That's what I figure. He's been clipped before, when we moved, but that's nearing on a year ago so I'm not sure he cares to recall it

Of course I still feel bad, but I know I'd feel worse if anything really awful happened to him if I didn't clip him, since it's such an easy preventive thing to do

Ahhh well, life will truck on! Thanks!

I felt bad when I clipped mine but I had to. One night I was boiling a big pot of water for pasta, I turned around to see Alex flying right at me and I caught him like football right over the pot. Occy started flying maneuvers around walls and went right into a full view glass storm door. I had to clip them for their own good, but I still feel bad.

Ollie is always caged when I'm cooking. It's a simple solution to what could definitely be a deadly accident! Thankfully I'm very anal about kitchen cleanliness and can't leave dirty dishes sitting in the sink for any amount of time. Knives and other sharp objects bypass the drying rack and are towel dried and put away to avoid accidents. It's amazing all the things we bird owners have to keep in mind!

I'm sure Roy will forgive you!

I agree that he'll forgive you. I do as Camille does - the birds are always caged when we're cooking.

Alex was in his room, 40 ft away when he flew at the pot. Now they are caged when Im cooking.

Roy will forgive, we have a kitchen bird ban also. My inside birds are clipped. Peanut is currently living in the aviary.

More accurate to say "and find a way to have some fun" vs. "as much fun".

I don't think Roy will forgive you. He shouldn't. Would a human child forgive a parent that forced him/her to be restricted to sitting in a wheelchair so they would be easier to watch and so they would get into less trouble or have less chance of getting hurt. He may appear however to get used to being handicapped, what else can they do. JMO.

You are not a jerk! You love Roy and he loves you. You were doing what is best for him. Ruby says "step-up!"