Long Nails

[Louise]

Hi guys. My Grey has really long nails..I was going to take him to the vet but I can't get him in a travel cage or box and was wondering if there is anything I could do at home as the vet charges too much for a house visit.

Ive seen the perch covers..do they work? Thanks

[GoDiego]

Do you have a grate at the bottom of your cage? When I trim Diego's nails I put his favourite treat in the bottom of the cage so he's standing on the grate and his claws are pointing downwards out of the grill. I take the tray out and coming up from under the cage trim just 1mm of the ends to take the sharp point off. This works really well for Diego as he really is not worried about what I am doing as he is busy tucking into his favourite treat and really does not notice me giving him a quick manicure from underneath. I also spread out the trimming over a couple of days so that each time is short and sweet, so he does not have any time to investigate why I am tickling his feet LOL. I've also done some clicker training with Diego so that he is comfortable with me playing with his feet. We call it the tickle and treat game , each time he lets me play or touch his feet without him moving away he gets a treat.

 

If you do decide to try clipping the nails yourself make sure you don't cut too far as just like our nails the wick contains blood and nerves and can be very painful to the bird. Also by letting their nails grow too long or by cutting them too short can make balancing on perches difficult.

 

Another great way of maintaining his nails is to put a natural perch in his cage that is slightly like an emery board that they can scratch on. In the wild they never have to worry about long nails due to their natural surroundings and perches which naturally keep their talons neat

[judygram]

Hi Louise, get some of those cement perches and put them where he will have to use them to get to his food and water and they do help to keep the nails trimmed.

I see this is you first post, why not introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us more about you and your grey like what is his name?

[DrTak]

I have heard that the cement perches irritate their feet and can cause foot problems.

 

BTW, I emery boarded a toweled Lulu's nails yesterday. Afterwards, I got an ugly stare and a beak, though all was soon well.

 

Again, I am a meticulous guy who has done spinal taps on premature babies, but clipping her nails, I missed and hit Lulu's vein.

[Cheshire Cat]

I agree with Judy. I've got a special perch for my bird which helps keep their nails trimmed.

[Xtreme575]

I use a cement perch as well. I have it on the outside of the cage which he uses as a bridge to get to his hanging playgym. It really helps, and I haven't noticed any foot irritation at all. Paco likes to hold my finger with a foot when he feels a bit insecure, his feet are in great shape, but they get fairly regular rubdowns with aloe gel... I could be so lucky!

[Luvparrots]

Ana Grey has several different perches in her cage and the one she prefers to sit on and to sleep on is her cement perch.

[DrTak]

Aloe foot massage? What does this do? Anyone else do this? (For their FID, I mean ;-)

[Xtreme575]

Dave007 has mentioned this for birds who have scaly feet, mine does not, but I bought the aloe gel by mistake one and needed to use it up. My vet wanted me to keep touching Paco's feet so that he would allow it during a vet visit, so I figured it couldn't hurt and the massages started, killing two birds with one stone. I guess that saying isn't really appropriate on here is it.