Lisa Shea Forums Parakeets General Parakeet Chat omg! clipping wings is not easy- help

it has been a while since i have been here, but i have been all about this summer.
anyhow, my babies are out of control flying and i need to tame them so i decided to clip wings, well puff was fine, but i didn't know how tight i could hold him to trim then kookie bit the hell out of me, i tried the light towel to keep him from harm and less stree but this guy is a xxxxxx. he just won't hold still. any suggestions other than the vets? that is my next plan of action. i got half of the flight feathers cut on one wing, ughh....... the biting i do not react to cause i know they pick up on that so i do not yell or scold etc... i just grin and bear it!
lol
anyhow, i get nervous i am gonna cut a blood feather but i have read everything about the second feather line etc... have flour standing by , just need help on keeping the xxxxxx still.
help!

I would let the vet do it. Cutting a blood feather is serious and I know you don't want to do that.

If you don't want to take them to the vet, I would get someone else to gently restrain your bird so you can trim the feathers.

you are right and so is skip. it is hard to do by yourself. i have done my clipping for a long time and the last time i clipped i cut a little shorter than i should have. yep, i've bled lots! get someone to help you with it.

lol. Me too. I think it all depends on the temperament of the individual bird. I haven't really had much trouble with clipping. I definitely get bit, especially from Lovey. He's smart and knows that clipping his wings means he won't be able to fly as high. I would go to a vet as well if I was having trouble. They are able to handle a blood feather if bleeding occurs. If in doubt consult a professional. Better safe than sorry.

Is this the first time you have tried to do it? It is a little easier if you can get someone to help you. The can hold and you can cut. Look closely before you cut. I do believe you can see a pinkish red in the shaft of a blood feather.

important thing i just remembered... if you are doing it at home, make sure that the scissors you will be using are VERY SHARP. blunt ones leave ragged edges that look bad. then you try to fix that... then you end up cutting too short. sharp scissors leave a nice clean edge and also cut easily through the quill stems instead of causing them to shatter. (dull scissors were what caused reds' blood feather bleed.)instead of a clean cut, the quill shattered up and down the length and caused the bleed, even though the feather had been cut at a proper distance. just a tip.