When mom and dad brought be home I was so small I did not fly!  The very next day I learned. I started flying all around the house creating quite a commotion. Since I was just learning my landings were kind of rough. I would miss landings and would try to come around again. Mom and dad thought it was important for me to learn how to fly so they let me practice for a few days. After that they got very frightened I would fly into a glass window, ceiling fan, or a wall and get hurt. They also did not want to take a chance on me flying away and getting lost. After a couple of days of flying they took me to a nice lady who cut a few of the feather from my wings so it would be harder for me to fly. Here is a picture of me in all my glory taking during those first few days when I was flying all over the house.

Mom and dad keep my wings clipped so I don't fly away. They cut five or six of the outermost wing feathers about halfway down the shaft. They keep an eye on my feathers and give them an occasional trim when they grow back. They make sure the feathers gave grown in first before cutting them so they don't bleed. Feathers are like fingernails; it does not hurt to cut them. I can still fly about 15 feet off of dad's shoulder in an emergency with my feathers cut this way. If I fall from a tree I can still gracefully fly towards the ground. No matter how hard I try I can't fly upwards. I have heard about other birds that have had their feathers grow back and have flown away. Most of those lost birds stay pretty close to home until their friends find them. Sometimes they get startled, fly away a little and can't find their way home. I love my people buddies so much, I would not want this to happen to me!

Recently mom and dad had a real scare. The veterinarian started leaving the outermost two or three feathers to grow to full length and only cut the inner feathers. It made me look real pretty with a more natural look. Dad had recently cleaned up some of the inner feathers that were growing back. One day when I was on dads shoulder while he was taking out the trash I got frightened when he opened the lid to the garbage can. I flew off his shoulder, but instead on gently flying to the ground I maintained level flight and headed off towards the house across the street. Dad went running after me calling my name and for mom who also came running. When dad got to the house across the street there was a small dog loose in the front yard and two more big dogs barking in the back yard. He did not see me in the front so he opened the gate and looked in the back. He looked all over calling my name...Clifford...Clifford. When mom called out to me I cried out my moms name ... Lula. I was pretty high in a tree with the dogs barking below me. I tried a couple times to climb down on my own but I was real scared by the dogs. Dad got a broom and held the broom head next to me so I climb on top of it and get down. I was real quiet since I was scared and knew I did a bad thing. I could have got lost and mom and dad might not have been able to hear me call. Dad took me home and cut off those outer feathers so there will be chance for me to get lost.

click on the picture of the wing below to visit a good site which discusses wing trimming.

I really like it when mom and dad clean my feathers. My feathers are encased in wax when they poke through the skin.  In the wild other birds remove the wax casing which I would not be able to reach.  Since mom and dad are in my flock, I rely on them to remove the wax casing on top of my head and around my neck.  They simply scratch the wax off between their fingernails. Sometimes to show them how much I love them I clean their feathers by poking around with my beak in their hair. Click on the picture of the pin feathers below to visit a good site which discusses pin feathers in detail.

Mom and dad also take me to the vet every once and a while to get my toenails and beak clipped.  It does not hurt to get the toenails clipped as long as they are regularly clipped before they get too long.  The toenails have veins in them which can bleed if they are cut too short.  Sometimes dad just takes a nail file and sands my nails down a little at a time.   My beak also gets clipped every once in a while so I don't hurt as much when I bite!

One of my favorite things to do is to take a shower about once or twice a week. It makes my new feathers encased in wax feel better and it keeps the old ones bright and shiny.  I don't like to bathe in a bowl of water like other birds; I only like showers.  I like to perch on top of the stall in the mornings when mom and dad take a shower. When I am lucky they will let me sit on their shoulders with the warm water running slowly.  I like mom or dad to put their hand between water and me so the water mist gets me all wet.  Sometimes if the water is not too fast I will walk right into the water coming out of the shower head.  I also like to be misted with a spray bottle.  Sometimes in the summer when its really warm and dad is watering the yard with the hose, I will come down off his shoulder and stick my head into the slowing running water.  Of course after my shower mom and dad are very careful to dry me off completely so I don't catch a cold.  When cool they use the hair dryer to dry me off completely.  I can't decide which I like better the shower or the dryer.  I usually talk and act like a clown when the dryer is running.  When nice outside I get to dry off in the sun.  Here is a photo of me in the backyard drying off. You can tell how excited I am to get my shower and be outside by my red eyes.