How To Safely Clip Your Pet Birds Nails
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Nail clipping is a delicate procedure and can be dangerous. Before you make your first attempt, ask a veterinarian or an experienced birdkeeper to show you how to carry out the procedure correctly. Once you have caught your bird, it is a good idea to have someone else hold it as you clip the toenails. If you examine each nail before clipping it, you can usually see how far the blood supply runs down the inside of the nail towards the tip. Where the blood supply is not visible, perhaps because the nail is dark, this is when common sense and experience are vital. Carefully clip one nail at a time, removing just the very last portion and leaving a margin of one or two millimetres from the cut edge to the blood vessel inside. It is always better to remove too little than too much.
If a bird has very long claws that have obviously not been cut for a year or more, you may need to cut the nails several times over the course of a year before they reach the required length. You cannot transform an excessively long claw into a very short claw with one cutting session, because you are likely to cut through the blood vessel and cause considerable bleeding. Once the tip of the nail has been removed, the blood vessel inside will shrink and you will be able to remove more of the nail after about six weeks.
If you cut through the blood supply, the bleeding can prove to be extremely difficult to stop. You can stop a small amount of bleeding by placing a little cotton wool over the end of the claw for a few minutes. If the bleeding stops, release the bird back into the aviary but do not remain close to it; this can stress the bird and thus raise its heartbeat and blood pressure so that the bleeding starts again. If there is excessive bleeding and you have failed to stop it, it is vital that you contact your veterinarian. Just to be on the safe side, however, even if you are experienced at clipping nails, it is advisable to have a coagulant, such as a styptic pencil, close at hand.
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Tags: Aviary, Birdkeeper, Blood Pressure, Blood Supply, Blood Vessel, Common Sense, Contact, Cotton Wool, Delicate Procedure, Few Minutes, Heartbeat, Millimetres, Nail Clipping, Nails, pet birds, Safe Side, Several Times, Six Weeks, Toenails, Veterinarian