FINCHforum

The breeder clipped my soon to be 7 week old Bourke . I want him fully flighted. Now what? How long before he gets his feathers back and will it be harder for him to learn to fly. I had no idea she was going to clip. He is hand fed so I'm sure she was doing this to keep tame. Advice please. Thank you

I think the breeder had the best intentions. I understand your want to have your new bourke fully flighted. All my hookbills are free flighted. I don't keep them in a cage at all. However, you will want to bond with your bourke before allowing him to free fly. The clipping of the wings will allow you to bond on a more intimate level with your new bird. The feathers will of course grow back. I would say in about 3-6 months, the feathers should start growing enough for decent flight. Good luck.

I agree with Bugaboo. I don't think that is a bad thing at this point. May prove to be very beneficial. When your babies fly to the ground and you "rescue" them by scooping them up you will gain their trust and respect. =)

Ok, I feel better. I will also be getting a baby scarlet chested so he won't be alone, he will not be trimmed. Will that be a problem for my Bourkes. Like being intimidated? Thanks again for your knowledge.

I dont know if Bourkes are similar to budiges,
but when budgies are learning how to fly
they can fly into things and hurt themselves,
even die.
So clipping their wings is better.
It does not affect their abilities to fly later on.
I once let my male budgie teach his chicks how to fly outside the cage;
not to crash into the walls and learn how to land etc..
It worked very well!

I have 2 fully flighted Bourkes and they came to me clipped - but they were older juveniles and could fly a little. Anyway, I did tame them and they now fly just fine. Don't worry about yours - he will learn to fly in time. Just handle him a lot and by the time he gets his "wings" back, he will be very bonded to you.

My Bourke Parakeet named "Twitter" - shown here fully flighted.


I also have a Scarlet Chested. Mine was not really hand-raised sufficiently (only for a few days) and came to me upclipped. I never clipped him but unfortunately, he never got very tame. He flies around my house OK and will occasionally land on my arm or the back of my chair, but he is afraid to perch on my finger. I think Scarlet Chesteds are harder to tame than Bourkes so you might want to clip your new baby and also let his wing feathers grow out too, like your Bourkes.

My current Scarlet Chested "Elvin" - he was never clipped but also never became really tame.


Previously, I had another Scarlet Chested that was clipped and I was able to tame him. By the time his feathers grew in and he could fly, he was tame and would fly to me. So one initial clip isn't necessarily a bad thing - especially for a Scarlet Chested.

My first Scarlet Chested - "Peeper". He was a great pet but unfortunately got Proventricular Dilation Disease which was fatal.


I will say this, however. While an initial clip can help with taming, birds that are never clipped fly better and have fewer accidents. My current "never clipped" Scarlet Chested flies beautifully and skillfully. My earlier Scarlet Chested (that was initially clipped) had a lot of crashes while his wing feathers were growing back. He did ultimately learn to fly OK but I definitely think never-clipped birds have fewer accidents. Both my Bourkes now fly very well now.

Although I am not pro-clipping and prefer fully flighted birds, I think you might want to have your Scarlet Chested clipped once when you get him so he will be easier to tame and be in the same boat as your Bourkes. By the time their wing feathers grow in and they can fly, they will be fully tame. Just be careful, while they are learning to fly.

Both my Bourkes and Scarlet Chested like me to lay on the floor with them. I put a millet spray in front of me and they fly down to eat it.

I agree that clipped wings will help with taming but I was under the impression that grasskeets were not as able to climb like parrots. How do they do without being able to fly?

It is true they don't climb as well as parrots or budgies - so you have to superwise them when they are out of their cages - they also like to walk on the floor so you have to be careful. But they can get around OK in their cages - they are not totally unable to climb.

Just make sure things are calm, especially when they start to get their wing feathers back, so you don't startle them and they start crashing into things.

Like I said, I really don't like clipping. But if I had to do it over again, I would have clipped my current Scarlet Chested when I got him from the breeder, so he would have become tamer. I think Scarlet Chesteds are jumpier and less domesticated than Bourkes. But once they get tame, they are just as fun.

One of the reasons a breeder may clip a baby bourkes wings is that often during handfeeding a bourke can take off and even though they are strong flyers as adults as young they are clumsy flyers. It is to keep them from taking off and injuring themselves. The wings will grow out. The breeder I get my bourkes from does this routinely and it is more for the bird's protection.

I am also getting two pairs of scarlet chested keets, hand raise the young as I will with the bourkes...I may also clip wings on both species when young. I raised both species years ago and will be getting back into them.

How many feathers do I clip on my baby scarlet? The breeder clipped the first 5, but boy can this baby fly. My baby Bourke had all of his clipped and he is / was doing well until the scarlet is flying all over the aviary which makes it very hard to work with him. Will it screw up the scarlets confidence if I clip more feathers? Thanks. They are sweet birds.

You should never clip more than 5. They can still get air borne but not as high or far. If you work with the bourke try doing so with other bird restricted to their cage, that will cut down on distractions.

I know it's been brought up several times already, but add me to the list of those who agree with the breeder clipping the wings before giving you the baby bird. Back in the day when I used to hand feed baby lovebirds, I would always clip them one time before giving them away. Not only so they wouldn't accidently fly off into things when frightened, but it would also tend to keep them initially hanging closer to their cages. This is a good thing until they get used to their new home and new cage. By the time the wing feathers grew back, they would be fully used to their surroundings and the chances for an accident were very minimal. Good luck with your new birds. Bob