Does my birds wings need to get clipped and how do I make it talk?

Question
Hi Jess,
I emailed you earlier about my birds but I didn't tell you what type they are, they are budgerigars.
Most of the people I know said there birds wings are clipped and it isn't cruel because they grow back.


Answer
Well most budgies can still fly with their wings clipped so there's not really that much point. Also it can irritate them and make them pluck their feathers out. This is a really hard thing to stop so I would ask anyone who clips their birds wings to consider this. It can also make the feather shafts unstable where they have been clipped and if the bird got a slight injury then the shafts could bleed and blood loss can be fatal for birds. You can't MAKE birds talk. Most budgies do not talk at all and if they do they may say one word and that could be all. Usually hand reared budgies have a better chance of learning to talk. You don't really need to teach birds to talk, they should pick it up from you when you talk to them. Just keep in mind it may never happen as a lot of budgies never talk. Just spend time with them and enjoy them.