Beak trim??

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

Our birdie is due for his first claw trim with us, and when I made the appt at the vet (I'm taking him to the vet rather than doing it myself for multiple reasons. Including - I don't want him mad at me, and I have rheumatoid arthritis so my hands are clumsy so I don't want to hurt him, and so on and so forth) and they asked if I want his beak trimmed as well, as most parrot owners do this.
???? Good? bad? Terrible? I know vets do awful things to pets because their owners want it to happen (declawing cats, for one) and I don't want my birdie tortured!!! But they also do good things for good reasons so... Beak trim, what do I do?
Thank you!!!!!!

noodles123 · Aug 11, 2020

If his beak is long, it may need to be trimmed.
It just depends--- It's not about making them less able to bite- it can be a health issue if the beak gets too long, and certain conditions are favorable to beak growth--sometimes lack of chewing, sometimes a liver issue, certain other issues (like scissor beak, which mine has). If your vet is a true avian vet, then you can ask him it looks like he needs it.
Many birds don't need theirs done very often at all, but it sort of depends on the bird and his health/habits etc. Many wear theirs down on their own, but it doesn't always happen.
How much do you trust this vet?
You can try posting a pic and see if members will chime in.

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

OK I'll try to get a profile pic. I don't know the vet well at all, but I've heard from other people that he's good. Vet practice has been there for a million years. I take my other animals to a different vet, but this guy is the only guy for miles around who takes care of birds.

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

newquakermom-albums-puddleglum-picture22673-img-0216.jpg

Here he is - what do you guys think ?

noodles123 · Aug 11, 2020

is he an avian vet or exotics vet? You can post a picture by clicking your name, adding an image to the album (on the right side, maybe under "friends"?) and then copying the code. When you get to the message part, click the mountain icon (the yellow one, with the sun) and paste the code in. There are 2 codes under a posted image and I can never recall which it is, so you may have to try both.

SailBoat · Aug 11, 2020

Great advise provided above.
Beak trimming tends to be far less common than nail trimming. And, I also believe in saving one's dear Parrot from those horrible Vets, than to have one's Parrot dislike you...

At most, you Parrot has a chipped point, which is common and rarely needs trimming as the upper section will simply grow out over it.

noodles123 · Aug 11, 2020

Did the vet know what your bird looked like when staff asked about the trim? It looks okay to me, but maybe other quaker owners will have input. I mean, it's maybe a HAIR (and I mean a hair) longer than some (but that is unlikely a reason to trim), but I'd leave it alone unless the vet says to trim it and only if he/she knows parrots really well. Wait and see what other quaker owners say though..
Doesn't look abnormal to me, but I don't own quakers.

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

noodles123 said:
is he an avian vet or exotics vet? You can post a picture by clicking your name, adding an image to the album (on the right side, maybe under "friends"?) and then copying the code. When you get to the message part, click the mountain icon (the yellow one, with the sun) and paste the code in. There are 2 codes under a posted image and I can never recall which it is, so you may have to try both.

He's just a vet - takes care of small animals including birds. I'm in a very rural area, and it's several hour drive to the nearest specifically avian vet that doesn't do anything else but birds. If it were something internal or tricky, I'd do the drive, or find a way - but for a nail trim, I think I can probably trust him.

Thanks! Got the image uploaded, it's a few posts up.

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

noodles123 said:
Did the vet know what your bird looked like when staff asked about the trim? It looks okay to me, but maybe other quaker owners will have input. I mean, it's maybe a HAIR (and I mean a hair) longer than some, but I'd leave it alone unless the vet says to trim it and only if he/she knows birds really well. Wait and see what other quaker owners say though..
Doesn't look abnormal to me, but I don't own quakers.

No, the appointment desk just asked, saying that beak trim, claw trim, is the usual package people want. Thank you!

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

SailBoat said:
Great advise provided above.
Beak trimming tends to be far less common than nail trimming. And, I also believe in saving one's dear Parrot from those horrible Vets, than to have one's Parrot dislike you...

At most, you Parrot has a chipped point, which is common and rarely needs trimming as the upper section will simply grow out over it.

Thank you, his point is very pointy, lol. I didn't even know beak trimming was a thing.
It's not just that I worry he'll dislike me, it's also that I have rheumatoid arthritis, which makes for clumsy hands. I'd feel pretty bad if I cut off a toe, and I'm just not willing to take the chance. Yes, my hands are that clumsy. This vet seems perfectly nice, I was just saying that some vets will do un=necessary stuff to animals if pet owners don't know better. And I don't know better, so I'm asking. That's all. If I knew this vet was horrible, and was going to hurt my bird, I wouldn't take him there.

noodles123 · Aug 11, 2020

Beak trimming is a thing, but it's not something to do without reason. I have never attempted to trim my birds nails and never will lol. She's pretty big, but still, it's a 2 man job in many cases (toweler+cutter)...and I'd be upset if I messed up. I'm sure there are some angels out there who were raised with their nails being cut at home....but mine was not. She tolerates it at the vet and is nice to them, but it stresses me out more than her lol!

NewQuakerMom · Aug 11, 2020

noodles123 said:
Beak trimming is a thing, but it's not something to do without reason. I have never attempted to trim my birds nails and never will lol. She's pretty big, but still, it's a 2 man job in many cases (toweler+cutter)...and I'd be upset if I messed up. I'm sure there are some angels out there who were raised with their nails being cut at home....but mine was not. She tolerates it at the vet and is nice to them, but it stresses me out more than her lol!

Thank you!!!

Beak trim??

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