Nail trimming and Wing Clipping

I have to address two issues with Rio. I had taken him for his visit to the vet (not avian) just a general checkup like feather condition , mites etc no bloodwork is done unless the bird is sick. She suggested nail trimming and clipping his wings for his safety.
Nail trimming I agreed coz even Rio walking on our hands leaves us with deep scratches with blood. But then she said she would clip the nails which i was not so comfortable as I thought she would file his nails till they were blunt.
Can I trim his nails at home? How much should trim ?

Next for clipping his wings I refused for the following reasons.
1. Rio is an excellent flier and loves to take laps around the living room.
2. He has never crashed into walls, nets or even window panes. In fact he lands perfectly on the window sill when to watch my daughter leave for school in the morning.
3. I believe flight=exercise .
4. We have no fans in the living room and no cats or dogs. The only person who gets him tail flaring and eye pining is my 6 year old . But Rio prefers to fly off than confront her so if I clip him he might just turn around and attack her if he gets too excited or feels threatened by her.

I hope I am justified in refusing to clip his wings . We love when Rio flies to us when he wants to , it makes us feel loved . I just hope I have taken the right decision.....

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!" applies here. Good decision.

I believe a bird should be allowed to be fully flighted as long as it's safe for the bird and your family situation. I would only do a light to mid clip for safety reasons, if the situation changes and you feel it becomes necessary.

As for clipping nails...I take Zilla to The Bird Hut (an awesome parrot store here where I live) and have the owner do it. I am then the "good Mommy" and rescue her from the "bad man" It's not something I would be comfortable doing at home. I know there are several people on the forum who do clip their birds nails at home and if you feel comfortable doing it then by all means learn how and do it yourself. A good vet would teach you how much to trim and how to hold her while you do it.

I'm not wading into the clip/no clip issue other than to say half mine are flighted; the other half are not for reasons of safety.

However, what I do see as a HUGE concern by entities that do that as a service. . . . Are they completely sterilizing the tools used for that between birds? If not, I see nail clippers, dremel tips, scissors, and the towel used to restrain the bird as vehicles for disease transmission. There are often quicked nails (blood drawn) and feather down left on scissors and on the towel.

I do my own nails and wings here if they need to be done, but years ago, back when I had the local parrot store do it, I took my own towel and tools (I take my parrots' own towels with me to my vet). Yes, I'm a germ-a-phob and I will remain one until they make vaccines to protect parrots like they make to protect dogs.

As for trimming nails, yes, this can be done at home. You just need to be careful to only cut the very tips. Too far up and you'll hit the quick.

Best way to manage this is to get your bird used to you handling his feet and will even allow you to trim his nails. In fact, if you get him comfortable enough you can even file his nails instead of clipping them.

But I no longer do any of that. The right set of pedi-perches, placed well, eliminates the need for trimming or filing altogether.

As regards flying, I definitely think you've made the right decision. He's an excellent flier with no aggressive tendencies toward making attack runs. So why take away an ability he obviously enjoys?

Using the same tools and towels for everyone is also what scares me. Glad to know I am not the only one who carries a towel to the vet.I will try to file his nails at home . He does allow me to handle his feet , he loves it when i rub his feet with my thumb so hopefully ill be able to trim his nails.
In India , birds as pets are not that popular like dogs and cats. In fact at the vet I see a lot of hamsters and even turtles but very very few birds. So pedi perches , big cages , pellets are kind of difficult to get here even in the city. So if am able to post next you all can assume the nail trim was successful and my fingers are intact

Anansi said:

As for trimming nails, yes, this can be done at home. You just need to be careful to only cut the very tips. Too far up and you'll hit the quick.

Best way to manage this is to get your bird used to you handling his feet and will even allow you to trim his nails. In fact, if you get him comfortable enough you can even file his nails instead of clipping them.

But I no longer do any of that. The right set of pedi-perches, placed well, eliminates the need for trimming or filing altogether.

As regards flying, I definitely think you've made the right decision. He's an excellent flier with no aggressive tendencies toward making attack runs. So why take away an ability he obviously enjoys?

Click to expand...

How many Pedi-Perches do you keep in the cage / play area. So far I have just put one in. Oh and I do have a concrete on not sure if that is considered a pedi perch.

Christinenc2000 said:

How many Pedi-Perches do you keep in the cage / play area. So far I have just put one in. Oh and I do have a concrete on not sure if that is considered a pedi perch.

Click to expand...

I keep 2 of them in each bird's cage. One at the highest point and one by the food dish. Indubitably the highest traffic areas.

Yeah, there are a few concrete perches that serve the purpose well. The ones I've found most effective are the pedi-perches that are smooth on top and rough on the sides, and the twisty ones. I keep the twisty ones by the food dishes, and the smooth tops as the highest perches.

I have yet to clip Jolly's nails, and I've had him since around May, and I haven't clipped Maya's in a little over a year. So they definitely work.

I'll chime in here- if your bird is flighted and your having no issues/no reason to clip, DON'T. It is good exercise and natural, you just have to be extra careful with flighted birds about doors, windows, cooking and other hazards. I am not biased against clipping and in fact keep Kiwi clipped, but I will echo peppo on the 'if it hint broke, don't fix it' theory (that's actually why we keep Kiwi clipped, he has been his whole life, knows no different and when we tried to "fix" it and flight him, it was traumatizing experience for him). As for nail clipping, healthy active birds shouldn't need it very often as their nails shouldn't become overgrown. The ONLY time we clip Kiwi's nails is when they develop a sharp tip to the point holding him is leaving little puncture wounds lol. We clip at home and I only clip the offending tips. He has a pedicure perch and usually only needs one or 2 sharp nails taken care of maybe twice a year. We clip wings and nails at home. It is a 2 person job, my husband restrains him and I clip him since I have a steadier hand for it. I typically take about 2-3mm off the nails, to get rid of the point. I have only hit the quick once in about 5 years of DIY-ing it. By comparison, my mom takes her amazons to the vet for nail clipping and at least once a year each of them gets a bloodied toenail because vets seem to like to take off way more than really necessary. I have never found a need for a dremel, we just use a special bird nail clippers and let them wear down naturally. We used to take him to a bird store for a while, but we were afraid he would stroke out or get injured he was so fearful of a stranger restraining him and he fought so hard. He is not pleased when we do it (he sees the restraining towel and RUNS lol), but it is FAR less traumatic for him because he knows we won't hurt him and is in a familiar place. He verbally expresses his displeasure but he doesn't fight us. We also are able to immediately give him a treat afterwards and a bath at home.

I will also add one more point (just my own paranoia here)- I don't take Kiwi to the vet unless absolutely necessary. I just don't like the idea of exposing my perfectly healthy bird to sick birds for no good reason.

Just a little update. I tried to file Rio's nails at home . He stood still for like a second then bit me hard on my finger , I dropped the file. He flew with it in his beak. I spent the next 15 minutes trying to pry the file out of his beak just praying he should not hurt himself. So I will have to go to the vet. Should I carry my own nail clipper?

If you want your bird to accept nail trimming without going to the vet, then you need to teach them to accept nail trimming. The first thing isn't to clip the nail, it's to get the bird accustomed to having their nails touched. Then get them used to the trimmers (clippers or nail filer). Then get them used to the trimmers near their feet. Then touching their feet. Then slightly moving against their nails. All this before you actually trim their nails.


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kic-ij38Xaw"]How to Trim Your Bird's Claws / Toenails Safely - YouTube[/ame]


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OCF-u23mRw"]Volountary nail trim with Echo the TAG - YouTube[/ame]



It's not a behavior that most parrots readily accept, so it's a learned behavior that they need to learn is ok and not harmful.

Its great that you want your bird flighted lots of people clip their birds for wrong reasons but some people have their reasons like if its medical.I think birds should be flighted because its natural its a bird thats what a bird does.