My Arms are soooo Sore! :(

[GoDiego]

Forget about an Amazons beak being a threat, it's Diego's claws that I'm becoming afraid of! I clip his nails every 3 weeks but I have to admit I don't trim them to far down just the pointy bit at the end. Only because I'm afraid of cutting too close to the blood supply.

 

However, being a typical Amazon my arms and hands are just play things to Diego and he spends most of his time hung upside down from them. This I don't mind, however, every time he slips himself upside down he leaves a nice cut behind on my arm.

 

Before these cuts can heal they get cut open again, so my arms and hands are constantly covered in open slash marks or scabs. It's got to the stage now where people are noticing and it always seems such a lame excuse to say my Parrot did them. LOL

 

I've gone out and bought a cement perch today and just need some advice on it. I've stuck it in the corner he prefers to sit but was wondering if I should only use it for a week at a time and then remove it again to save his feet getting sore? Also how quickly do this perches start improving their nail length?

Edited September 16, 2010 by GoDiego

[judygram]

I know the feeling well but yes do put the perch where he will use it most and you don't have to take it out so just leave it in and I bet you will find it will help immensely with those long talons of his.

[birdhouse]

I finally figured out that the best results from my cement perches came when they were swings. I think the way the birds move around on them files the claws to a more rounded, less painful, edge. Most of the time, I just end up with welts, now, instead of slashes.

[Ray P]

Cricket has 5 perches in her cage and one is a cement perch that is in there all the time and she will use all of them. She also has a cement swing.

I think she likes the cement perch the best but there are 4 other perches of different sizes and shapes she can use.

We also have a corner mount bird bath with a wood perch to make it easy for her get in.

The bath is inside the cage

[Azzie]

Filing the nails is also an option, if your bird will let you. With Cleo, I have to hide her under my shirt when sitting down, so she is still on my lap. It seems the dark and warmth calms her, which allows me to quickly file the sharp edges off her nails. I use one of those metal "diamond" human files.

 

Good old fashioned iodine on those cuts will clean them, dry them up and heal them in no time by the way.

[Luvparrots]

Ana Grey's cement perch is the highest perch in her cage, she has anyways used it as her sleeping perch.

[GoDiego]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Since putting the perch in yesterday, I have noticed that he is not sitting on it as much as he did when his previous perch was in the same position. However, he is sitting on it every now and again, so I am hoping that it starts doing it's magic on his nails.

 

I was just worried about using the perch as Amazons are known for feet problems as they tend to be perch potatoes. Although Diego at the moment never stays still in his cage apart from bedtime plus he is out for most of the day so I think his feet will be ok. I will just keep an eye on them to make sure they are not getting sore.

 

The worst cuts are the ones are the ones when one of his claws actually punctures the soft part of skin between my thumb and forefinger OUCH! LOL

[Frozenfox]

I have noticed that my grey Jerry will migrate to the highest perch. This must relate to the wild where the most dominate birds sit on the highest branches. I bought one of those cement perches that vary in size and diameter and Jerry loves it. I rotate the perch every three weeks or so and it helps take the edge of his nail while also giving different shapes and sizes for him to grab on to, thus avoiding foot issues.

[Azzie]

Hi Frozen

 

Please check the following article to clear up a common misconception regarding height dominance in parrots = )

 

http://www.parrotchronicles.com/behavior/heightdominance_behavior.htm

[Luvparrots]

Ana Grey goes up high to avoid being returned to her cage. I believe it is a safety or avoidance thing rather than dominance.

[Jayd]

Welcome Frozenfox, Both Azzie and Janet are correct, Spock, now at bed time will fly to a curtain rod that's 4 inch below the ceiling, above a table that we can't reach, he'll freeze and pretend to be hiding...lol

[Azzie]

Cleo will climb as high as she can on her boing to avoid having to step up to go to bed. She is also in a prime position there to nip at my fingers if I try. She quickly learnt though that I can REMOVE the boing from its hanging position. The look on her face when I do that is rather comical.

[GoDiego]

Diego's party trick so I cannot get him is to fly to my head, when I reach up for him he will fly up then back down on my head again. He knows I cannot see what is happening up there and he only ever does this when he knows it's coming up to bedtime or we say the word cage!

 

Update on my arms are that they now look completely normal without a scratch on them! The concrete perch has worked a treat.

[Birdnut]

Yeah, the birds are just like little kids at bedtime ... "I'm not sleepy ... (beak grind) ... I'm not sleepy .... (eyes droop) ... I'm not sleepy .... (one foot tucked up) ... I'm not sle-e-e-e-e....

[birdhouse]

Diego's party trick so I cannot get him is to fly to my head, when I reach up for him he will fly up then back down on my head again.

 

LOL When my guys do that, I stick my head in their cage. They all have big doors. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

 

And I never tell them I'm going to shut the door until I'm on the other side. Why give them a head start?

[JillyBeanz]

Harvey does 10 laps of the house! He'll fly into every room, back to his cage, back to his stand, back upstairs, back into the bedroom - and then has the cheek to bite me once I actually get to him. One day I'll bite him back......!!!