Keep a firm but gentle grip on your bird while clipping its wings to avoid injuries.
Budgies are perhaps the most frequently owned pet bird in North America. They are intelligent and fun, but also fragile little creatures. Cutting a budgie's wings is challenging for anyone who's never done it. Never cut your budgie's wings without first watching a veterinarian do so, as you can seriously injure your budgie otherwise. Calm your bird before clipping its wings and always trim a little and check to avoid cutting too much. To avoid nasty bites, only clip your bird's wings if it trusts you.
Instructions
1. Wrap one hand around your budgie's body, placing four fingers under its belly and the thumb around its neck area. Hold the bird gently but tightly enough so it can't wriggle out of your hand.
2. Gently pull one wing away from the bird's body with your free hand. Use the thumb and index finger of the hand already holding the bird to hold the wing in place. Ask an experienced friend or partner to help you with this if you are having difficulty. Never press down hard. If you can't keep your budgie from wriggling too much, let a professional trim its wings instead to avoid serious injuries to the bird.
3. A bird's flight feathers are the outermost feathers that point away from its head.
Clip the tips of the flight feathers carefully. These feathers point toward you and away from the edge of the bird's wing and head. Only clip the very edge of these feathers, about one-third of an inch or so. Never clip the entire length of the flight feathers. A small amount of trimming goes a very long way and you can always repeat the process after testing your budgie's ability to fly.
4. Cut the bird's other wing feathers by switching it over to the hand you previously used to clip the wing. Use the other hand to gently pull your budgie's second wing away from its body. Clip the flight feathers on this wing to mirror the length of those on the first wing.
5. Allow your bird to fly around an enclosed room. Always keep the flight feathers long enough to give the budgie some flying ability so it can slowly fly to the ground rather than falling and hurting itself.
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