Clipping your bird’s wings is not an easy job. If you are not attentive enough, hurting the animal is quite possible. Before you even think of trying to trim your bird’s wings, you’re supposed to know which feathers to clip, how many is enough, and what you need for the process. Light-hearted people who are afraid to do this on their own rather make an attempt at hiring someone. Here are some of the most common places where you can get your bird’s wings clipped.
Going to the avian vet
Going to an avian veterinarian, a doctor who specializes in treating birds is the safest place where you can get bird’s wings clipped. Try looking for the best local veterinarian on the Internet. Browse some official websites concerning this topic. They will probably provide you with a list of the best doctors among which you can see who’s the one closest to your area.
Each state, or sometimes even regions of a country, has multiple avian vet associations whom you can look up on the Web, find their phone number or e-mail and ask if they could provide you with the information about the best doctors in your vicinity. Sites such as aav.org offer you the option to search for your veterinarian by his/her name.
You even have the option to select the country and particular association that he/she is a member of. This is especially useful when you hear of some doctor but want to find information on the person and check his/her credibility.
The ‘’free-lancers’’
The second most secure option is to find a well-known local groomer. These people have to have a lot of experience in doing this, probably from early childhood if they lived on farms Make sure you check with the neighborhood about his/her reputation.
If possible, observe him/her during the work, or take a look at the birds that have been treated by that person. You can also ask a veterinarian to recommend you, someone. These ‘’free-lance’’ bird groomers don’t necessarily have to be any cheaper or more expensive than your local vet, but may be more flexible with their schedule and even come directly to your home and save you much time.
Pet shops
Pet shops are supposed to hire people who are highly-qualified in animal care so as to be able to provide you with accurate information and suggestions on everything you’re buying for your pet, be it food, medicines or toys. Not so rarely, pet shops provide some services concerning grooming including wing clipping.
If you don’t have much trust in them, we advise you not to have the pet shop workers do the work. They might lure you with discounts, especially if you’ve purchased the bird from them, but giving a few more bucks for a certified vet to ensure the safety of your bird won’t leave you penniless.
This doesn’t mean you should reject the idea immediately. If the pet-shop is renowned and received good comments for its services, you’re free to let them do the work and your bird will be in safe hands.
‘’Knowledgeable’’ friends
Having a friend who would do this job free of charge for you is definitely convenient but not smart. It is not unusual that in these cases, your friend does more harm than good. Although he/she might seem to know how to do this in theory, ‘’the practice’’ is so much more perplexed than any other ‘’how-to’’ video the person has seen.
It often happens that after a friend has ‘’operated’’ on your bird’s wing, the owner has to get the animal to the doctor’s in a very bad state. It is almost always because the blood vein was damaged or the wings have been clipped unevenly. Therefore, unless your friend has significant experience doing this, you’d better invest some of your money into the well-being of your pet.
Doing this at home
This is probably the most cost-effective way of going about wing clipping. The familiar atmosphere of your home will be helpful in calming the bird and providing it with a pleasurable atmosphere. However, doing this by yourself in the comfort of your home is a double-edged sword.
Unless you’ve been trained by a professional in this, you shouldn’t dare to clip your bird’s wings, especially if you’re a first-timer. There is so much that can go wrong: you can hurt your bird by cutting the blood feathers, stress it out if you don’t know how to communicate with it or hurt its wings while trying to seize it.
The cost of wing clipping
When choosing where to get your bird’s wings clipped, the price will probably play a major role. Doing this at home is, of course, the most economical. All you will need are some scissors, corn starch for eventual injuries of a blood vein and a co-worker who’ll give a helping hand by holding the bird for you.
If you’re willing to pay a professional so you can avoid the nerve-wracking experience, prepare up to 20 dollars. The price will surely vary from vet to vet, and it will depend on a lot of factors. The more high-tech technology a doctor uses, the more famous he/she is, the service fee will probably be a bit on the expensive side. The same refers to the free-lancers. The only difference is that some of them may charge you for coming to your home
