# Should i clip my pigeon's wings?



## jordan.royal (Sep 7, 2010)

Hi, i live in an apartment complex and my bird stays outside at the back door. I let my pigeon out to fly daily and she comes back every 30 minutes or so to eat..the neighbors have all gotten attached to her and she will often land at their houses too and they will feed her..so she is kinda like the neighborhood pet. But one day i let her out to fly and she didn't come back so i went out t find her and she was walking around the pool and these kids were chasing her!!! so long story short...they shot her with a bb gun under the wing so she couldnt fly away and they were trying to catch her. (obviously they were new neighbors because everyone else loves her)..so she still tries to fly but i can tell it hurts her. I want to clip her wings until she is completely healed..
Would you guys recommedthat i don't let her fly daily for a while? i dont want her to get hurt again...Also she is a pure white pigeon so she is an easy target for hawks..so would it be a good idea to clip her wings?


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## sky tx (Mar 1, 2005)

Don't clip the wings---put liquid soap on them--About the 7-8-9-10 flights or more if you like..It will not be able to fly. when you are ready for it to fly--just give it a good washing


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## NYBOY (Sep 15, 2009)

Like you said ,she is a easy target for hawks. If you want her to have a long life span keep her inside!! many people on here have inside birds that are very happy. Welcome this is a great place to learn about pigeons.


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## spirit wings (Mar 29, 2008)

NYBOY said:


> Like you said ,she is a easy target for hawks. If you want her to have a long life span keep her inside!! many people on here have inside birds that are very happy. Welcome this is a great place to learn about pigeons.


could not of said it better... so why handicap her so the hawk has an easier meal.... the only reason to clip IMO is if she was strictly indoors and you did not want her to do a flyer out the door.. otherwise she needs her wings to escape harm.. but sounds like that did not even work... keep her safe...indoors as she is a lone pigeon and will be singled out by man and beast...


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## Teh_Man875 (Jan 15, 2010)

I wouldn't clip it's wings. If I were you I would go over to the new neighbors house and tell them that you are upset about what their kids did. I would also inform them that is your bird and tell them not to shoot it again.


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## PigeonQueen (Aug 13, 2006)

Please keep your pigeon inside and protect it's life from predators such as Hawks and your neighbours brats. You can buy pigeon diapers so it could happily fly free without pooping everywhere.Once your pigeon gets used to it's surroundings it will fly safetly around your apartment.You would then have peace of mind. Please do not clip its wings.


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## chayi (May 1, 2010)

keep it safe for some time


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

I really dont see the point in clipping its wings.
As others have said, if it cannot fly, it is going to be easy prey to other predators.
Also, most pigeons tend to like to perch high and look down. Even with clipped wings, in an appartment its amazing how resourceful a bird will be to get up to a perch it has spotted.
I am currently looking after a bird that had clipped primaries, and with small jumps, flutters to various objects, it WILL still get to higher vantage points. I've watched it even plan its route, it knows how far it can go & takes a route accordingly 
The danger comes when it needs to comes down. The force of gravity means it cant control downward motion to land on smaller objects so easily, and could very well injure itself, or do more damage to an already incurred injury.
Much better to just confine it indoors till it has recovered, and be extra careful not to leave window or door open so it can get out.


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