It is rather hard to describe exactly how and where they amputate the flight feathers without having an anatomical drawing to show you, but bone and cartilege is removed. This is why the procedure is usually conducted at 1-3 days of age so that it is not has hard on the swan and the bone has not been fully developed.

Once a swan ages, the procedure must be completed under anesthesia which can be extremely harmful depending on the individual swan's reaction to the anesthesia. We have had older swans survive the surgery under anesthesia with no problem and have had other swans die on the table or immediately following the procedure as they were withdrawn from the anesthesia. We would recommend that you take the swan to a waterfowl/swan veterinarian extremely knowledgeable and experienced in pinioning and anesthesia in birds/swans. The swan needs to be examined for health and other issues prior to this surgery to determine if it is healthy enough to endure the surgery. Even then, there are no guarantees that it may or may not survive.

If the surgery is not recommended, we would recommend that the swan be captured and the feathers clipped every 4-6 months so that the swan cannot get lift to fly. Usually, only one side of the wings are pinioned or clipped as swans can learn to adjust their weight and fly if both wings are pinioned or clipped.

If you do not know an experienced waterfowl/swan vet in your area, please contact Bob Knox, Knox Swans in the Chicago area and he may be able to provide you with some contacts.

We hope this information is of benefit. The Regal Swan