PetSmart clipped new birds wings & pretty sure wrong spot

[chikybo]

I bought my beloved Yoda a boyfriend today & when I got home I realized the horror PetSmart did to this new guy.
He can't fly more than a few inches & his back left feather at the end is missing.
Will this grow back or is he going to be gimpy forever?

[tweetiepiesmom]

Poor little guy!!! Looks like someone didn't know what they were doing. Others who are experts will weigh in but the feathers should grow back after a molt. It might take 6 months to a year.

[Hezz]

Maybe or maybe not; depends whether they have been cut too short or not. If cut too short sometimes the feather follicles are damaged and those feathers will never regrow. PetSmart should be hung, drawn and quartered for doing such a horrific thing to a bird without the new owner's permission. It will take 12 months for all cut feathers to drop, but may be not quite that long until he is able to fly ... that is, if the poor boy ever gets to develop the muscle mass needed to get himself into the air.

[tweetiepiesmom]

Here's hoping there was no permanent damage and the feathers grow back properly.

[bud9]

He is a nice looking little guy and i hope his feathers grow and yes anyone should be shot for doing such a barbaric thing. 

[maryann]

When their flight feathers are cut, they can’t gain altitude but should be able to glide downwards. Depending on how badly they botched the job, the longer it will take to grow back! The first five feathers only should have been trimmed right along the line of the next set of feathers. Take him to someone who knows how to properly trim them only to find out what was done wrong.
This is a good example of what can go wrong! Complain to the store and make a lot of noise when the place is crowded!!!
I’m so sorry this happened! 😢

[chikybo]

Thanks for the all the replies.
I will take some new detailed pictures of his wing in a few days & post them here.
Only his left side is clipped & it's clipped pretty short.  I'll inspect it well; sadly much easier because when she flies out he tries to follow & ends up on the floor.  I've seen him glide down 8ft tops.

I feel so bad for him, such a barbaric thing to do to a budgie.
He falls often in the cage, so I had to move some stuff around so he can get off the walls easier.

He even looses balance often when doing to dog scratch.

After experiencing this horror, anyone who wants to clip their wings; DON'T.  The bird struggles a lot from it.  He moves much slower, struggles with balance, has to use his mouth for almost everything & falls often.

[Hezz]

Mar 2, 2020 8:57:50 GMT chikybo said:

Thanks for the all the replies.
I will take some new detailed pictures of his wing in a few days & post them here.
Only his left side is clipped & it's clipped pretty short.  I'll inspect it well; sadly much easier because when she flies out he tries to follow & ends up on the floor.  I've seen him glide down 8ft tops.

I feel so bad for him, such a barbaric thing to do to a budgie.
He falls often in the cage, so I had to move some stuff around so he can get off the walls easier.

He even looses balance often when doing to dog scratch.

After experiencing this horror, anyone who wants to clip their wings; DON'T.  The bird struggles a lot from it.  He moves much slower, struggles with balance, has to use his mouth for almost everything & falls often.

Not to mention that he will have trouble flying when the feathers do moult out due to not building up the necessary muscles naturally. You can help him with this though - as feathers do moult out and new ones come through you can help and encourage him exercise his wings by gently moving him on your finger up and down, enough so that he feels he has to flap to keep his balance. Also encouraging him to fly and glide down over something soft like a bed so that he doesn't injure himself will exercise the necessary muscles as well. Normally you will see a young chick flapping and exercising before they are actually able to fly, doing exactly that.