Nails trimmed too short :(

[FlyBirdiesFly]

Today I took Ducky, Kermit, and Bluebell to get their nails trimmed at my local pet store. They’ve always done a good job and we’ve never had any problems before. Well, I just got back and realized Ducky’s nails are way too short! The other birds are fine, but poor Ducky is holding her foot up and you can see that they cut into the quicks of several of her nails

Here is a photo of Ducky’s nails:

I just feel terrible for my poor little baby she isn’t mad at me at all, in fact all she wants is to be scratched...

 

[ChristaNL]

Autch... the good thing is: it will grow back,
but I get pain in my own feet just looking at this picture.


I can immagine one missclip, but more? Bad (day?) person in that shop!
Such an easy bird to clip, you can actually see the living tissue so well.


(great picture btw!!)

 

[EllenD]

Unfortunately it's all about who is actually doing the trimming. So if the pet shop has a new person doing it, then this can happen easily, or as already mentioned, just an employee having a bad day or rushing and in a hurry...either way that sucks for your bird...

Just keep his feet clean so they don't get infected, and they should callus-over in a couple of days and they will no longer hurt...I'd suggest you stop taking your birds to a pet shop for toenail trimming, and certainly not for wing-clipping or God forbid beak filing...Try to find a Certified Avian Vet or an Avian Specialist to do them from now on...

 

[Laurasea]

That is short! You can see they put quick stop on it too,! Do you have any really wide wood perches or cement perches? I've only rarely very rarely had to trim nails.

 

[LaManuka]

Poor darling Ducky! Hopefully she will be feeling better soon!

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

Unfortunately it's all about who is actually doing the trimming. So if the pet shop has a new person doing it, then this can happen easily, or as already mentioned, just an employee having a bad day or rushing and in a hurry...either way that sucks for your bird...

Just keep his feet clean so they don't get infected, and they should callus-over in a couple of days and they will no longer hurt...I'd suggest you stop taking your birds to a pet shop for toenail trimming, and certainly not for wing-clipping or God forbid beak filing...Try to find a Certified Avian Vet or an Avian Specialist to do them from now on...

Ducky is not holding her foot up anymore, which is good. I know I should take them to the avian vet for nail trimming... but it’s cheaper at the pet store and much closer (vet is 30 minutes away). I don’t clip wings and their beaks have never needed filing, so I thought it would be okay to take them to the pet store just for a nail trim. I will start taking my birds to the vet from now on! I was actually doing it myself for a while but I think it was one of the reasons Kermit became fearful of hands.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

That is short! You can see they put quick stop on it too,! Do you have any really wide wood perches or cement perches? I've only rarely very rarely had to trim nails.

I use a variety of natural wood perches of different shapes, sizes, and textures as well as rope perches but no cement perches. I didn’t want to take any chances irritating their feet with the rough surface.

 

[Laurasea]

Is one of the perches so wide the foot is almost flat? I just ask because my neighbor who has a sweet cockatiel always had to take her in for a nail trim. One day he asked me who I take my Parrots to and I said I don't. So I showed him my perches abd we went and got three wide ones to add to his cage and he hasn't had to take her in for a trim since. One was one if those chewable fake wood ones at the pet stores. I know you take good care of your birdies, I just didn't know if you had tried one of those extra wide perches. I love Duckies name too

 

[EllenD]

Unfortunately it's all about who is actually doing the trimming. So if the pet shop has a new person doing it, then this can happen easily, or as already mentioned, just an employee having a bad day or rushing and in a hurry...either way that sucks for your bird...

Just keep his feet clean so they don't get infected, and they should callus-over in a couple of days and they will no longer hurt...I'd suggest you stop taking your birds to a pet shop for toenail trimming, and certainly not for wing-clipping or God forbid beak filing...Try to find a Certified Avian Vet or an Avian Specialist to do them from now on...

Ducky is not holding her foot up anymore, which is good. I know I should take them to the avian vet for nail trimming... but it’s cheaper at the pet store and much closer (vet is 30 minutes away). I don’t clip wings and their beaks have never needed filing, so I thought it would be okay to take them to the pet store just for a nail trim. I will start taking my birds to the vet from now on! I was actually doing it myself for a while but I think it was one of the reasons Kermit became fearful of hands.

I totally understand about the cost being much more at the CAV/Avian Specialist Vet, however as you found out, you get what you pay for, and when it comes to your bird's well-being, or any pet's well-being, you can't take these chances...Just as an aside, my Green Cheek, Bowie, got a horrible infection in his foot/leg this past year and he almost died from it, and it was due to me trimming one toenail too short until it bled, and bacteria just happened to get inside it. It cost me a whole lot more than the cost of a nail-trimming at my CAV to save his life, with exams, x-rays, and meds.

 

[ChristaNL]

Why not try a cement-perch anyway?
(after is has all healed etc. of course)
You have a few that do not have an abrasive side where the fleshy part of the foot rests (or just take a file and smooth it out yourself).

 

[charmedbyekkie]

I know the one Gail uses has a non-abrasive side where actual food rests.

Where I live, there weren't a lot of options - I had to travel an hour to find a cement perch his size, so there was only the type that was completely abrasive. So we took another approach: Alternate the cement perch at first - first alternate days, then alternate weeks, then perhaps leave permanently (just regularly check their feet).

Now, I leave Cairo's in his cage. He has his rope 'sleep' perch (he doesn't chew his perches in his cage at all) and a cement 'eating' perch. (The reason he has so few perches in his cage is because he only goes in there to sleep and eat, and he does separate which areas are for sleeping and which are for eating).

It doesn't mean we don't have to file his nails, but at least it helps slow the process down and makes it slightly less sharp. Before we got into the habit of filing every other week and having a cement perch, he would leave scratches up and down our arms (it looked like a cat was attacking us daily). Now, everyone's happy and unhurt

 

[LeslieA]

Why not try a cement-perch anyway?
(after is has all healed etc. of course)
You have a few that do not have an abrasive side where the fleshy part of the foot rests (or just take a file and smooth it out yourself).

I've never heard of that. Interesting. Where do you get it?

Do you have any wooden platforms for sleeping?

My local vet charged me more than my AV for a nail trim and then did a lousy job. I bought a Dremmel and use the file.

 

[FlyBirdiesFly]

Is this the perch you’re talking about?
http://a.co/d/9zIRBpM

I do have natural wooden perches that are wide so the feet are flat. Ducky’s nails still get very sharp though.

Here’s an example of a wide/flat perch in Ducky’s cage:

 

[LeslieA]

I totally understand about the cost being much more at the CAV/Avian Specialist Vet, however as you found out, you get what you pay for, and when it comes to your bird's well-being, or any pet's well-being, you can't take these chances...Just as an aside, my Green Cheek, Bowie, got a horrible infection in his foot/leg this past year and he almost died from it, and it was due to me trimming one toenail too short until it bled, and bacteria just happened to get inside it. It cost me a whole lot more than the cost of a nail-trimming at my CAV to save his life, with exams, x-rays, and meds.

That's something I like about KwikStop, it has a mild antibiotic that usually stops infections before they start.

I'm glad Bowie survived it. That story shows that nail trims are an important part of healthcare and too often get overlooked.

 

[GaleriaGila]

A LONG-TERM solution...


My usual narrative...
I really recommend getting those nail-trimming perches... they can eliminate nail-trimming, which was always so stressful for me and the Rb. It took a few years, but I eventually established a pattern/rotation that keeps him trimmed. I haven't had to do his nails in 20-plus years. I keep a dowel as the main "highway" down the middle of the cage, but the special cement/trimmer/textured perches are all over.
A few brands... but there are many: Polly's Sand Walk... Pumice Perch... Trimmer Perch...
Be sure to introduce them gradually: they're abrasive to their tender feet at first. I LOVE them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These are smooth on top and abrasive underneath. Very easy to install/clean, oo.
Sweet Feet and Beaks Pedicure Perch xsmall for parrots, Feather Fantasy
May take a while to get the right combinations/locations, but was worth it for me and the Rb.

 

[ChristaNL]

Thanks Gail, that is the one!


(I just modify when needed)

 

[EllenD]

I totally understand about the cost being much more at the CAV/Avian Specialist Vet, however as you found out, you get what you pay for, and when it comes to your bird's well-being, or any pet's well-being, you can't take these chances...Just as an aside, my Green Cheek, Bowie, got a horrible infection in his foot/leg this past year and he almost died from it, and it was due to me trimming one toenail too short until it bled, and bacteria just happened to get inside it. It cost me a whole lot more than the cost of a nail-trimming at my CAV to save his life, with exams, x-rays, and meds.

That's something I like about KwikStop, it has a mild antibiotic that usually stops infections before they start.

I'm glad Bowie survived it. That story shows that nail trims are an important part of healthcare and too often get overlooked.

Yes, we unfortunately just don't think about such simple things, and they can become horrible tragedies...I have probably trimmed, no exaggeration, over 500 birdie toenails in my lifetime (caring for my mom's breeders when I was growing-up, and then my own), or at least filed them because they typically don't get that long due to using the Cement-Perches that Gail and Christa are talking about, so they only need the point at the end filed-down every few months. I usually don't cut them too short, I know how to look for the vein, though I keep powdered QwikStop on-hand at all times while I'm doing it...And I've not ever once had a bird get any type of infection or after-care issues before. Not once. With Bowie I simply clipped one of the nails on his foot a bit too short, it bled a bit, I immediately put QwikStop on it, and he didn't even seem bothered by it at all, he didn't make a peep when I clipped it, nor did he care when I put the QwikStop on it, he went about his business as soon as I let him go...And then 2 days later I noticed that this particular toe with the nail I trimmed just a bit too short has swelled-up quite a bit. He wasn't favoring it and he was walking on it, no open wounds or bleeding, so I soaked the entire foot in a mix of Hibiclens and warm water for about 5 minutes, patted it dry with sterile gauze, and then applied Neosporin to the tip of the nail, as that was the only "open" area anywhere on his foot. The next day his actual foot was swollen, and off to the CAV we went.

My CAV told me that he sees this quite often with both toenail trims and beak trim where the person uses a power rotary tool and accidentally exposes the blood supply in the beak or the toenail. It just happens. He took an x-ray, did blood-work, and did microscopy on a sample of his blood, and he was fine at that point, just a local infection in his toe. So he gave him an injection of Cephz and put him on oral Cephz as well, and I kept soaking his foot in the Hibiclens daily...3 days after that Bowie was acting very sick all of a sudden, lethargic, not eating, and looking at me like something was really wrong and he wanted me to help him... We had to go to the 24-hour Emergency Animal Hospital because it was on a weekend at that point, they did more blood-work and told me he was septic....My CAV kept him overnight on antibiotic injections and tube-feedings for one night, and somehow Bowie survived. But just a simple thing like a toenail trimming almost killed him...

***I have a Cement-Perch in each one of my guy's cages, I bought them all at Petco I believe, they are about a foot or so long, and have a round, plastic attachment at the end that you turn to tighten them to the cage bars. They are all different colors as far as the cement goes, I'm looking at Kane's right now as he sits on it, lol, the cement part of his is light green and the round, plastic part that tightens to the cage bars is dark green. He's had the same one since I brought him home 2 years ago now, and it's still got a lot of life left. Kane sits on it constantly, I put it inside the front of his cage, towards the top, and it's his favorite place to sit and walk back and forth on...He also uses it daily to rub/file his beak on. I forget how much they cost me each, but it wasn't much, and they're great. Work very well for both their beaks and their toenails...

***Pro-Tip: Unlike Kane and Bowie, who love their Cement Perchs, I could not get Lita, my Quaker, to sit on hers for anything. I tried moving it all over different areas of her cage, I switched it out with the Manzanita Perch she sits on the most, I even switch colors from light-pink cement to light-blue cement, lol. Nothing. She avoided it like the plague...Then I decided to kind of "force" her to have to use it by arranging both her food bowl and the little water bowl that she uses to dunk her pellets in so she'd have to sit on the Cement Perch in order to eat...She didn't fight it at all then, she hopped right on it and we've never had a problem since...And as a bonus, since it's what she stands on to eat, it's also what she uses to wipe her beak off on while she's eating!

So yeah, I too highly recommend hitting the pet store and buying a Cement-Perch to anyone who is having to clip their bird's toenails, and especially to anyone who has a bird who's beak grows long enough that it has to be filed-down/Dremmeled to reduce it's length...I'm not talking about filing the point off the end of their beak, or using a file to clean-up any uneven edges on the bottom mandible, etc., I'm talking about birds who have beaks who actually grow long enough IN LENGTH that they have to have the end actually taken-off/shortened. Because I've not once noticed any of my guy's beaks growing in length at all, and they all wipe their beaks off on the Cement-Perches, and I've seen Kane actually using it to literally "file" the tip of his beak on while he wasn't eating, he just goes to the Cement-Perch and spends a minute filing his beak on it...

 

[EllenD]

Just so people can see what we're talking about, here are some links to the different types of "Cement-Perches" available. These are the ones that I've purchased before and that have worked well, I'm sure there are others too...

This one is the "Pedi-Perch", and I have 2 of these inside of the indoor Aviary that my Budgies live in. Works great. https://www.amazon.com/Living-World...ocphy=9006503&hvtargid=pla-351355281035&psc=1

This is the cheaper one that I said I bought at Petco and that even though they're pretty cheap, they work great and they last forever. This is the one that my Senegal, Kane, just loves and is sitting on right now as I type this (if I recall correctly these cost around $10-$12 at Petco, so much better deal online obviously):https://www.chewy.com/jw-pet-insigh...bY-EYn1FIzSQX5G8OCFpXdW-G-0CcGw4aAr82EALw_wcB

This is probably the best one in-terms of ergonomics for your bird's feet. I also have one of these in the Budgie's Aviary, as well as one of these attached to the OUTSIDE of my Senegal's cage, my Green Cheek's cage, and my Quaker's cage, up near the top front of their cages, where I also have a crock attached which I use for treats/fruit/veggies. So they have to stand on one of these in order to eat the treats from the crocks. This is the one that has both a rough bottom for the bird's toenails and then a flat, smooth area on top of their feet. Works great. https://www.mysafebirdstore.com/PED...VflIa8_lKYeaNxp0H_NQVx152rRN25eEaAikwEALw_wcB

I'm sure that there are others that work great, but these 3 are pretty much what all of them are similar to. I suggest either Amazon.com or Chewy.com for ordering them, as they both have them much less expensive than any of the pet stores do, and free shipping as well...

****Just an FYI, the one thing that I DON'T RECOMMEND at all are those Sandpaper Covers that slide over regular dowel perches. Not only do they not work at all, but they tear and fall off within the first day of putting them on. And you shouldn't be using the cheap, perfectly round wooden or plastic "dowel" perches anyway, as they are terrible for your bird's feet.