how to stop a muscovy flying?

[spish]

for weeks now ive been trying to capture my pure white muscovy so i can clip her wings but last week the inevitable happened and she found out she could fly! since then its been impossible to get near her...until today! she made the mistake of wandering into my kitchen so i slammed the door shut and grabbed her. shes now sat in a cage awaiting 'clipping'. again.
i did it a few months back, but dont know if i did it well enough..or if she molted and i missed it, but she can sure as heck fly well.


anyhow my question is........whats the best way to clip wing feathers? i know im only supposed to do one wing...but how many feathers? i did 5 last time but evidently that wasnt enough? think i had better look if it was a molt or bad clipping...


edit - she must have molted all the feathers are intact!





ah and now while im asking on wings and things i have another question. can a wing be amputated? i have a drake who came to me with a broken wing which was never set and healed crooked (it was too far healed by the time he came here or i would have done something for the poor thing)
he has recently molted, and since the molt his wing drags constantly on the floor (weight of new healthy feathers maybe?) i tried taping it up in place to keep him from tripping on it but he just pulls the vet tape off. i dont want to dispatch him just because of a dodgy wing.......any ideas??

 

[goosedragon]

Quote:
A complete wing ampution is very severe. Half of the breast will waste away because they are basically wing muscles. Wing tips are often cut to keep a bird flightless but that is usually done to ducklings while it is a minor matter. Anything more than that I would not attempt myself and consult a vet. If you want a do it yourself answer why not try clipping some of those heavy feathers away? he will just wear them out dragging and tripping on them. It sounds like he was alright before the new feathers grew in, rid him of the feathers and he will be as before. Clip do not pull, if you pull them he will start replacing them right away. Your bird your choice.

 

[spish]

many thanks for your quick reply

amputation is definatly something id consult a vet over (and never try myself!) i just wondered what affect it would have on the duck itself. i'll give the 'clipping the heavy feathers' away a try first and then see how it goes. once again many thanks