Can you put nail polish on a parrot's nails?

SuperOreoMan

New member
May 30, 2011
3
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Parrots
Elliot—green cheeked conure
Is it safe to paint a parrot's nails?
I painted one claw (of our Blue Crowned Conure) without really thinking about it... X( I held him for a while and made sure it was dry before leaving the room, and I've checked on him and he doesn't seem to be picking at it. And I did it quickly in a well-ventilated room, holding the bottle away from him, so he shouldn't have inhaled anything.
So I just wanted to know what you think. I painted my green cheek's nail a couple years ago because we had just adopted him and his brother, and couldn't tell them apart. That polish had a particularly strong smell, so I took it away and didn't try again, but he was fine and we never had a problem.
SO ANYWAY, nail polish: safe, or not safe? (the way I put it on)
 

antoinette

Supporting Member
Jul 6, 2009
13,114
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Sunny South Africa !!!
Parrots
African "Grey"
"Mishka"
Male
7 Years old
NEVER EVER

There are chemicals in the polish that could harm your bird

A bird will feel it & chew it off & eat it, you would be it will be poisoning and killing your bird.
 

Mayden

New member
Apr 22, 2010
2,540
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UK.
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Merlin & Charlie (Senegals)
Not safe. They're filled with so much crap that is unsafe for our fids. Ventilated room or not, it's right under their nose when you're applying it.

I wont paint MY nails in the same room as my fids unless it's well ventilated and I'm well away from them because they've got such tiny little lungs and they're so sensitive to everything.

Better safe than sorry, don't do it again, there's really no reason to.
 

josiesmom

New member
Jun 13, 2012
147
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Pennsylvania
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Josie - blue and gold macaw
I think Josie would bite my face off if I tried. My kids would disown me for doing that to her.
 

MollyGreenCheeks

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Jan 16, 2012
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Arizona, USA
Parrots
Molly - GCC, Cody - GCC, Gracie - Congo African Grey
Birds are not for decoration, they are for companionship! Everything everyone else has said is absolutely correct and in addition, even though you were "holding the bottle away from him, so he shouldn't have inhaled anything" I guarantee your bird was inhaling damaging chemicals. Their respiratory system is much more delicate than that of a persons. Please refrain from this type of thing and always ask before doing anything in question.
 

brianlinkles

New member
Aug 17, 2011
740
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Oakwood, Ohio
Parrots
i am the mom of three parrots:
Dorothy- African grey (cag)
Bowie- blue and gold macaw
Nellie- hyacinth macaw
Reggie- hyacinth macaw
Marnie- white bellied caique
One word- "why"?
 

crimson

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Oct 8, 2012
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Senegal-Martini,1 pineapple conure~ Kahlua,1 GCC~ Flare, spl/b, 4 Lovebirds Halo,Tye-Die,Luna,Violet,8 Cockatiels,Num Num&Tundra,8-Ball&Angus,Magnet&Sunkist,Pearl, Blush, 1 gouldian finch, 7 canaries
my question is: since you have done one nail, are you planning on removing the nail polish?
your going to be subjecting your bird to nail polish remover, which is deadly to a bird, or are you going to wait for him to chew it off, in 'hopes' he won't digest any of it?
sorry if this seems harsh, but I just can't wrap my brain around this
 

FreddyCheeks

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May 8, 2013
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Pineapple Green Cheek Conure-Fred-Hatch date 3/5/13 --- Bourke parakeet- Pinky - home date 11/27/17---CAG-Chicken Lily-home date 12/1/17
If I were you at this point try to lightly file it off with a nail file. That or if you didn't put a clear coat on it maybe you could scratch most of it off with your nail. Good luck.
 

Mayden

New member
Apr 22, 2010
2,540
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UK.
Parrots
Merlin & Charlie (Senegals)
I'd recommend picking at it yourself - if he lets you. Filing, if experienced, might result in a quick nick causing a lot more drama than needed!

No nail varnish remover, no more polish.

I'd maybe recommend using these to 'scrape' the varnish off if you've got no nails (and have these type of clippers!)
small-animal-nail-clippers-rust-proof-steel-blade-puppies-kittens-cats-rabbits-birds-1962-p.jpg
 

patch

Member
May 14, 2012
146
4
Parrots
Nanday mutation
Putting nail polish on a bird's nails is comparable to painting my nails with, I don't know, arsenic or something equally deadly. Hopefully this is a lesson learned.
 

ruffledfeathers

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Aug 23, 2012
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Gilbert Oliver, Blue Crown Conure; Georgie, Sun Conure (2/8/01-8/8/12) RIP little girl; Percy, budgie 1993-1999. RIP Pepito-spanish timbrado canary
I always have my own nails polished and even that is supposedly not great even for us as humans. A certain amount of the chemical is being absorbed. So, i wouldn't even use a pet nail polish on a bird. I never used it on my dog either, but with a bird, i would be 100 times more careful.
 

Triplemoon

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May 21, 2013
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mid tn usa
Parrots
Goldie- hen Gold/Yellow cheek Cockatiel ( almost 20 yr old) and a newly weaned Lutino parakeet named Boo 2 GCC's Milo-Turquoise and Jada-Pineapple.
I think the person stated they had done it before thinking about it. I am sure They can now see it was an error and we can help figure a way to remove it without hurting the bird. I am sure I would of thought of doing it on a larger bird just to be cute. Like we use a special polish on our female dog on groom days to make her look a bit more girlie. But yes I would of asked about it prior to doing it.

I would suggest filing it off or soaking it with warm water and trying to flake it off so the Fid doesn't chew it off.
 

WannaBeAParrot

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Jul 5, 2012
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SE Florida and Sullivan County, NY
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Cody-Blu, female Blue-Crowned Conure, Hatched - (approx) June 1, 2014, in a South Florida tree.

Pritti (Cherry-Head Conure) -- Fly in Peace my beautiful boy. Forever I'll love you.
Actually, not even good for humans, so definitely not fids due to absorption and possibility of them eating it.
 

MagegrayWolf

New member
May 3, 2013
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Parrots
Sun Conure (Dunkin)
grey cockatiel (Nalo)
I wouldn't even open a bottle around a bird. The fumes alone could be incredibly harmful or even fatal to them.
 

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