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.

Choosing and Locating Perches

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It is absolutely essential to obtain the correct size of perch and fix it in the correct position. You can determine the correct size of perch by looking at the bird’s feet. When it is sitting on the perch, its toenails should reach all the way round and almost touch each other. Nail the perch very firmly to the side of the aviary framework, preferably fixing it in two or three places. If the perch is fixed on the wire and is not secure, it will gradually drag the wire down and leave a hole. You can also attach perches to a post in the centre of the aviary or to the roof. If the aviary is long and narrow, place the perches at either end to encourage the birds to exercise by flying between them.

Smaller birds and some species of softbills appreciate a few springy perches on which to jump about, instead of sitting on a solid foundation. It is quite safe to provide perches with a degree of springiness, but consider their shape carefully. Avoid using sharply V-shaped branches as perches; it has been known for stressed birds to fly straight into the ‘V’ and be caught by the neck. Do not attach a perch on a piece of wire hanging down from the aviary roof; if a bird suddenly panics, it is quite likely to break its wing by flying into the wire. Also avoid placing perches over food or water dishes, as you run the hazardous risk that droppings will fall into the food or water.

Many types of perches are available for cages and aviaries. Plastic and wooden types are both suitable in most cases, but it is very important not to give plastic perches to large parrots that can chew them; the birds may break off pieces of plastic and swallow them, which can be dangerous, if not fatal. Large wooden perches are best for parrots, but since they are usually destroyed so quickly, it can he cheaper to cut natural perches from trees.

Sandpaper perch covers are useful in several ways. They are easy to replace to keep the perches clean; they give the birds an excellent grip on the perch; and they help to keep the birds’ toenails short as they are rubbed against the abrasive surface.