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I was thinking of keeping a budgie but cant seem to find any good links on them. any one have some info or know some good sites?

also the reason i wanted to keep em is that i saw these realy pretty ones at the pet shop which were tame. the shop keeper said that they had had their wings cliped and couldnt fly far to prevent escape/injury. im wondering is this practice harful/cruel? the birds themselfs seemed quite happy

Dave. keeps birds and will probably chime in with some good sites.

Clipping wings is a common practice that when performed properly doesn't hurt the bird at all.

Clipping their wings doesn't physically hurt the bird, but it's still cruel. People won't agree with me, but they're wrong.

The best thing to do would be to go and buy a book specifically on budgies or small parrots and talk to the petshop owner.

If you can't give the bird constant attention, get two or none.
Provide the biggest cage you can afford.
Give them fresh fruit and vegetables daily.
Give them different toys as often as you can.
Let them fly daily.

I'd give you some links, but I don't have any.

If its a choice between wingclipping and not, it should come down to how you intend to keep the bird.

If there is a high likelyhood it could escape (free-range in a house with kids or careless adults) a clip may be a better option. If not, think about why you need it done.

I had my baby's wing clipped, and he did in some ligaments in a bad fall (balance is affected, so landings are almost always varying degrees of crashings)and now if he flaps too hard or in the wrong way, the wing clicks out and he has to try to work it back in

What colour are the ones you want?





For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

im not sure. i think white (albino)

but like all things with any keeping of a living creature i want all the info and i want to get the best of the best.

its just how i am.

took me months and hours of research to decide on how/ what type of fish to keep.

Just as I wouldnt drill a hole in a tortoises shell for tether, cut off a lizards tail so its fits into a vivarium or trim fish fins for aesthetic reasons , I wouldnt clip a birds pinfeathers. Its really just a foul surgical way of making sure you dont have to buy a big cage, there is no real excuse. People should house their animals properly and take the wiser and more humane path of not keeping an animal they cant house properly.You dont cut someones toes off for walking more than you like them to.The crippling of an animal to fit in with human living is never appropriate, who are we to take away the natural born abilities of an animal whos entire design, psychological makeup and system of thinking, not to mention its wellbeing is set up on the natural perogative to fly? I dont really think its a matter of personal choice. We have a difficult time enough encouraging keepers to have animals in appropriate size housing without giving them cause to reduce the cage sizes because they think they can cripple an animal and go cheap.

Its a shame enough that we keep animals in small enclosures as it is, at least with some animals like fish and reptiles there are behavioural precedents like sedentary or localised territorial behaviours that makes things easier. Most birds have a huge psychological urge to explore vast areas daily,freedom is more of an issue for them than almost any other species.The very least we can do is house them in cages as large as we can afford , and not cripple them for the pleasure they give us.

Educate people, then listen to what they have to say, and if they still dont agree- smack them Animal abuse isnt a democracy.

Smack the stupid


To me animal keeping has always been a priviledge and not a right.I feel it has to be earned, by empathy, knowledge , and the willingness to know not only yourself well enough to know what love towards another species is, but to do it without ego, from an equal "third party" point of view, and the ability to step back, view all possible options, thusly making the best compromise that you can.

I cant see the clipping of pinfeathers as ever being part of that equation.An animal is never a toy, a plaything , or an asset to be exploited. It is something you share your life with, and if youre lucky it may share its life with you.

This attitude has led to amazing experiences in my life, from interaction with wild animals on a more personal and patient level than I could have ever wished for. I have seen behaviours and activity most people never will, and I have understood all the more deeply for bearing witness. I have been lucky to see my animals flourish throughout the years and in a myriad of species, and in some cases to have them love me, and at the very least be friends and companions through the years.Perhaps the trust that is established comes from knowing I would never to anything to hurt them, and that I never work on a superficial enough level of thought to sacrifice their needs for mine, at least certainly not enough to ever cause one injury.

I know that a fish or a reptile may never have the bonds of emotion that mammals and birds may share with their owners,quite simply they are too different, and communication almost impossible, but if they do not fear me, I will be content with that.Sometimes certain specimens will surprise you even then.Animals generally are great at assessing moods and emotional states though, from the pheromones we exude, to hearing the rythm of our hearbeats and the electricity of our nerves, to our slightest movement. More often than not they are aware of us in ways that would surprise most people, and when it comes to animal lovers, animal keepers and ENLIGHTENED animal lovers and keepers- sometimes I really feel they can tell the difference.This is why, to me at least, being an animal keeper will always remain a priviledge, if not to us then certainly to the animals themselves, and that will make a difference to their lives. When they trust us, many great things are possible.

Why would you want it any other way?

Dominion is responsibility, and sometimes that responsibilty is not to enforce that dominion and see what a creature wants for itself and to provide it to them.

ESPECIALLY if that includes leaving it the hell alone.






Last edited by longhairedgit at 16-Oct-2005 16:27

I work part time at a local pet store in TN. in about 5 months, 3 people have brought in budgies they found outside, to weak to excape them. All 3 were in very bad shape. I am relatively certain that they would not have excaped if their wings were clipped.

Birds are very intelligent creatures, and people should interact with their pet birds as much as possible. If there is a lot of traffic in the house (kids, visistors) this provides a golden opportunity for a winged animal to escape, and once outside, the domesticated bird is at the mercy of nature, and that is a terrible thing.

For most of our customers,(most seem to have children) I think clipped wings are a better option.

There are two sides to this argument.

I agree that the biggest cage you can get is the best, even with clipped wings.

Good luck, If you put the appropriate time into it, it will be a very rewarding experience.

so any Websites i can visit?

As for git's reply, I would agree except, we are talking about feather clipping, not pinioning. Clipping wing feathers, if done correctly, is no more painful than a haircut. Now people take their dogs in to get groomed so they don't overheat in the summer months, how much difference is there between that and making sure a bird can't run itself into our out windows?

For sites, here are some I've found for you:
home keeping a budgie
a links page
more on budgie care


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Dogs don't use fur to walk.
Clipping them doesn't restrict their mobility.

Its hardly a haircut, you getting your hair cut doesnt affect the way you walk.Escapes happen because people are pathetically rubbish at containing animals on an individual basis, it means the housing is inadequete or the keeper sloppy. I dont see that as a defense. Besides budgies under those circumstances may escape anyway, but because theyd find flying , difficult, tiring and impossible to maintain theyd probably be killed anyway.Such is the fate of a grounded bird.

As for not letting it near windows, thats a no-brainer. It should never find itself in that situation.

Besides which clipped wings doesnt stop them flying as such, it makes manouvering almost impossible and removes the fine control. In many situations that might actually lead to the bird injuring itself, as it doesnt know it cant fly well, and ALWAYS has the instinct to fly. It just turns a once capable creature into a flailing flying bomb. Its pitiful to watch.

Birds fly. If you want a creature that doesnt fly DONT GET A BIRD.

Maybe get a frog, or a tortoise or something. Better yet get a stuffed toy or a tamagochi or something until you learn some respect for animals. Nintendo do nice virtual animals for empathy-free would-be pet owners.



Last edited by longhairedgit at 31-Oct-2005 19:14

Every fish I have would have thousands of individual gallons of water to swim through in the wild. We enclose them in very finite spaces. Sure they can still swim, but only 4 feet or so, which is by no means natural.

If the budgie argument offered previously were similarly applied, we should not have fish if we could not offer a lake\ river\stream\ocean.

People have a long, long history of domestication animals. People poll cattle to make them a bit more safe. We break horses to be ridden. We herd sheep and goats for wool(and protect them from predation). No one can offer everything nature can to ANY animal. Does that mean we should not have close relations?

Have your budgie, love it and treat it as good as you possibly can, it will be a great experience. No one can live up to the lofty animal keeping previously mentioned. Edgit can't offer his birds the whole blue sky to fly in.

Like talking to a wall..

Fish can still swim in their glass boxes.