when I got Sami they had cut off the flight feathers. they looked awful ,but was told that was best.

now its been about 2 months and those feathers are hard and look funny. I have handled Sami to look but he is not allowing me to really have a look see.

I have looked to see if they are blood feathers but dont see anything unusual there just that they are very hard. its almost like the clerk cut them the wrong way. as when they preen its almost like Sami is preening them backwards. it concerns me. really not sure what to do at this point. I am going back to pet store this morning to ask them.
if anyway one has some words of comfort I would appreciate them and I will post what Info I get from the pet store if allowed..

lavender
I found the picture of my 2 babies. thats another question as you can see I am a newbie at all this. Sami has a band on his leg and Joey does not.. no knowledge of how old. I was told Sami was older cause of the white around his eyes. is that true......lolol

anyway I hope I have posted this in the right spot.

and goooood morning to ya all from Canada....

Some pet stores and/or breeders do clip the flight feathers. Whether or not you want to keep them clipped is up to you - there are usually fierce arguments on both sides regarding this issue. As for myself, all 3 of my birds are flighted and we love every minute of it, watching them zip around and be able to choose where they want to be - and actually be birds and use what god has given them. But of course we take all precautions for safety, no one can go in and out through the door while the birds are out, no cooking while the birds are out, etc.

Do you have a picture of Sami's wings? When they are clipped they do look very blunt - the feather shafts of the flight feathers are fairly large and they do appear hard and white. There are right and wrong ways in which to clip the flight feathers - if clipped the wrong way, it is possible that the clipped edges are irritating Sami.

Is Sami able to get around fairly well with the wing clip? With clipped flight feathers they are still supposed to be able to glide safely, just not gain height. But my budgie Jerry was clipped at one point (properly) and he only crashed very hard, I worried for his safety.

The clipped flight feathers will molt out at some point, but it could be a few months before that happens. Budgies usually have 1 or 2 big molts per year and at this time they will lose feathers and new replacement feathers will grow in.

About the white around the eyes - that usually is a sign that your budgie is at least 8 months old or so. What about the bars on the forehead, do they recede far back? Bars are usually a good indication of how young a bird is, baby budgies will have bars that start right next to the cere (nose holes), and as the baby ages the bars will molt out and start further and further back on the head.

Good Morning from Minnesota,
There's a generous amount of information concerning Feather clipping and Feather issues located here on ParrotChatter http://www.parrotchatter.com/f21/

They would appear stiffer than untrimmed flights because it's a bit like cut grass. You've lost any flexible or softer tip. Maybe they can re-trim them so they look & feel better for your bird. However the shorter the trim the more vulnerable the new feathers will be when they appear. They come in in ones & 2s. It's not like our hair - they can't grow longer.

Your Budgie may be upset at the trim & is worrying them. On the other hand my bird preens all day [well it seems like he is always preening!]- they make a raspy sound when they're working the flights & tail. If you're lucky the spring molt is happening. But being out in BC - where spring comes so much earlier - you may have to wait until fall for new flights.

A lot of people trim flights to increase the bonding & training period between themselves & their bird. They also do this for safety issues. Although i am on the side of flighted, if i had small children running from room to room & could not insure the out door was closed, i might change my mind. I have my bird out all day but he is in the back of our apartment & the balcony screen door is being used like never before.

I don't think they'd hurt your bird - it is probably just an ugly trim.

Hope this helps some - let us know what you think.
Jac

I just will say thank you for all info.svolk,brokenwing,and homebird

I did have a reply and in the middle of it all microsoft crashed.
anyway a little.of what I had posted.

i did finally get my pictures on puter. will eventually get them posted. I did get several of his feathers and what they look like. sami has a safe landing not a hard thump. i have watched him. he was a flyer apparantly before I bought him but this place clips the wings when they sell them. so he is used to flying so really have to watch him.
thanks broken wing for the info. I have been reading but must have not gotten to that thread yet.

It is a real shame they clipped him then - if he was a flier. I wish they could ask the preference of the buyer. It seems to be common practice at the pet stores - they can't afford to be running after all their stock.

He'll figure it out soon I hope. Make sure he's flying over the bed or somewhere soft so he can land OK. I think this is how most birds get hurt in the home [hit the walls or miss a turn]- their flying skills are not what they should be.

Our bird will fly really close, so you can feel his wing tips touch your hair - he loves to tease. He also dive-bombs us. Spring is a good time of the year for male Budgies to show off their flying skills.
It also reminds me of our old cat & how she'd jump onto the back of your chair & leap off, just missing touching you - it was a great game.

I am looking forward to your photos. Good luck with the computer.