help with rescue indian ringneck

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aliyaamelia
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:09 am

help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by aliyaamelia »

Yesterday i brought this little fella home.
I only ever had budgies before so im new with this bigger birds.
in my opinion the wings have been clipped very badly and the tail feathers has been clipped aswell. I was told he/she is under 6 months old. Looks to me like its molting a little. Will the feathers grow back? And how long will this take? Can anyone tell if its a boy or a girl, how old he/she is and any tips on how to keep him/her healthy and looking good again.

I want to tame my lovly new friend. Any advice?
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AJPeter
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by AJPeter »

Every molt will see regeneration/
Donovan
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by Donovan »

at first glance the bird looks fine...

its flight feathers will grow back.. in the mean time give it plenty of handicapped rails to use to get to where it needs to go.. ladders, ramps, etc.

If it's male you should know in about 8 months. The ring will be faint but visible. However the females can get a faint ring too. So once it starts to appear it should start darkening after another 6 months or so. If it never develops even the slightest sign of a ring within a year and a half then you have a female.

If it gets a slight ring that never gets any darker it's most likely a female.

If it gets a ring that darkens several months later then you have a male.
Donovan
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by Donovan »

Also.. I notice that your bird's wings were clipped the opposite that mine was when I got him.

With your bird the feathers nearest to the body are clipped and the outer flight feathers seem to be intact.

My bird's wings were clipped with the outer feathers gone and the inner feathers intact.

I don't know, (so do your homework beyond accepting my guess work) but I think you might have a good clip. My bird drops like a rock. I'm betting yours can catch enough air to guide himself at least.
MissK
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by MissK »

I believe that is the show clip - supposed to look better.
-MissK
aliyaamelia
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:09 am

Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by aliyaamelia »

Thank you for your help. I know nothing about clipping wings, i never clipped my other birds. Small budgies so i never had to.
Is it prefered to have bigger birds clipped? How often do u have clipp them?
Or will it be fine with all his feathers. Dont want him to hurt himself.
Donovan
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by Donovan »

A bird is less likely to hurt himself if he can control where he's going...

like.. can you avoid an auto accident better with or without brakes?

People say that the birds can fly into windows and hurt themselves... well they can also realize it's a window and -not- fly into it, but if they're clipped they'll only fall to the floor and they have no choice.

a fully flighted bird is mentally healthy, confident, and more fun to have around. If you want to clip your bird's wings then just go get a hamster instead.
MissK
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by MissK »

That clipping interferes with the bird's abilities in the air is only a tiny bit of it, in my opinion. Other consequences may involve decreased confidence and so increased biting, as well as lack of the exercise they need to keep fit. If you do some detailed study of clipping you will find all the arguments for and against. As far as I'm concerned, it's a mistake.
-MissK
aliyaamelia
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by aliyaamelia »

Thank you for your advice. I never clipped any birds i had before and will do the same with this one. Hopefully his feathers will grow back nicely.
its now day 3 with my new friend and he came out of his cage today and does take apple and nuts from my hand :)
Melika
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by Melika »

MissK wrote:That clipping interferes with the bird's abilities in the air is only a tiny bit of it, in my opinion. Other consequences may involve decreased confidence and so increased biting, as well as lack of the exercise they need to keep fit. If you do some detailed study of clipping you will find all the arguments for and against. As far as I'm concerned, it's a mistake.
On the other hand, a bird that can fly might become over-confident and bite to get his way (like my Hane on occasion did in his younger years). Or, far more likely and way too common, accidentally be allowed to fly away. Like MissK said, it's important to understand all the circumstances and a lot of this decision will depend on your relationship with your bird and his/her personality. It also isn't permanent, so Hane has been both clipped and flighted through his life so far depending on our circumstances (like if family members who often didn't take note of the bird being out or doors and windows being opened often, etc.). :)


As far as the clip being done well or not depends on the bird. Some birds are strong and need a more 'severe' clip, whereas others aren't and only need a few feathers clipped. Much depends on the bird. You never want them to fall like a stone though, like Donovan's poor bird. They should be able to glide down to the floor and control it (which also means they had to be fully fledged at some point before clipping so that they learned HOW to fly).
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I've been called 'birdbrained' before, but somehow I don't think this is what they meant. say:hah-nay
InTheAir
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Re: help with rescue indian ringneck

Post by InTheAir »

Besides the numerous benefits to the bird in being flighted, there are some advantages for the trainer:
1) you can quickly learn how to use positive reinforcement very effectively
2) you can quickly learn to be very sensitive to the birds body language, because if you aren't the bird is likely to fly off.
3) it can encourage extra consideration on what your bird wants to make the cage more attractive
4) A flighted bird can be less dependant on you, because it is capable of getting around by itself.
5) it's really awesome watching them fly around! And you can teach them better tricks than clipped birds.

I have 2 young birds (almost 2 years and 1 year) who have always flown. I have trained the younger one exclusively using positive reinforcement (she was raised in an aviary) and they usually do what I ask them to do, because they see it as an opportunity to get something good.

It does take a bit of thought to set up your house so it is bird safe.

Here is a really great piece on clipping written by a proper professional, Greg Glendall. It has interesting stuff about moulting too
http://beautyofbirds.com/wingclipping.html
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