Directions to Trim the Feathers on a Sun Conure

While some people consider it going against nature to trim a conure's wings, the fact is that it is probably one of the best things you can do to keep your conure safe. When a conure is fully able to fly, there are any number of items in the home that can cause it to injure itself. In addition, if someone accidentally leaves a door open, there is a good chance the conure will fly into the outdoors, where it can either become lost or be killed by another animal.

Things You'll Need

  • Styptic powder
  • Scissors
  • Thin towel
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Instructions

    • 1

      Wrap the sun conure's head in a thin towel. Even if the bird is extremely tame, there's a chance that it will instinctively try to bite when the wings are getting trimmed. By toweling the head, it will prevent the bird from biting you, and it will prevent the bird from seeing you trimming its wings.

    • 2

      Place the sun conure on its back, while holding the head firmly within the towel. Do this by cradling the bird in one arm. You need to apply enough pressure to keep the head motionless, but not so much pressure that you'll wind up injuring the bird. Using the minimum amount of force will keep the bird more relaxed than if you use too firm a grip.

    • 3

      Count out five primary flight feathers on one wing, beginning with the outermost feather. Using the scissors, trim the feathers back to just under the major coverts. The major coverts are the second layer of feathers on a bird's wings. When you trim to just under the major coverts, this will allow the coverts to keep the bird's trimmed feathers from causing irritation to the skin.

    • 4

      Turn the bird around and repeat on the opposite wing.

    • 5

      Take the towel off the bird's head and gently toss the bird downwards. It should be able to fly to the ground without having enough lift to become airborne. In the event that it can still manage to get lift, take off two more flight feathers on each wing.