Some Ideas on Keeping claws trim

[Guest phisherman519]

A quick question.

Mac really does not like having his claws trimmed, and I must admit I am not comfortable doing them. Is there a reccomended style of perch that can accomplish the same thing? I am reluctant to try the sand paper type covers as I don't like the thought of him chewing on them.

[Guest cyberknock]

Hello Molly and everyone,

 

Hope I am not starting a new controversy! I use a Polly perch, but not as the highest perch in the cage.

 

I used the Polly perch as the top perch for a while. However, ECHO tended to scrape and clean his beak too frequently on it and ended up with thinner spots on the sides of his beak. I supplemented ( on avian vet advice) with liquid cal/mag/zn/D3 for a month, and removed the perch for 6 months.

 

The point is that now I use the Polly perch again but not as the top or 'favourite' perch, so that limits the time he spends on it. The downside is that we do need to touch up his claws occasionally, but I do so as part of our play sessions, only one claw per any session!... I use a ceramic file from Henckels, which has a groove on one side, where the claw fits very nicely! Twice a year, during well bird visits, the vet uses a Dremel tool to trim his beak and nails IF required.

 

We use a battery operated Dremel ( quieter than electric) at home on the dog and she actually enjoys it, giving one paw at a time to be 'pawnicured' ! But I would not want to stress Echo as I would not feel comfortable doing it myself to him! Echo didn't like it at first at the vet, but now that he knows what to expect, he does not complain.

 

I guess I COULD try the Polly perch as the top perch again, since Echo spends the night in his night roost, but I prefer to continue as I am doing now: it works for me. One thing to remember is to make sure that the Polly perch is of the correct diameter: You must observe your bird on the perch to ensure that his claws are positioned such that the tip sits on the perch and that the 'sole' (skin) of the talon does not rub and become irritated on the rough surface of the perch. In general, if in doubt, larger diameter is better than smaller. With smaller diameters, there is a risk that the tip will not grind down but the skin with suffer too much friction. Hope I managed to explain this clearly enough to be visualized!

[Guest phishbook]

Pollys pastels twister. Placed as the highest perch in the cage. I don't clip any nails because I use pollys pastels.

[Guest phishbook]

roosting perch. If you still have to file nails you have wasted your money.

I use pollys pastels for every one of my 90 odd birds and have had not beak scraping or any other problems with them. I never have to file nails either.

To be constantly scraping a beak on the perch, to the point that it actually wears the beak, would indicate that something is seriously amiss and some sort of irritation in or around the beak is going on.

I suggest you hold your dremel against your own nail and feel how hot and unpleasant it feels.

[Guest phisherman519]

There are hobby dremel's that are not bad at all Molly. My mom has very thick toe nails, and the dremel is great on them! heheheh hardly any heat, but then again we are not using the heavy duty type, but the smaller dremel for hobbies and crafts.

I was in the city today trying to find these perches you mentioned...but nothing by that name....what are they made of and perhaps I can find the equivelent.

[Guest bennyguy]

I've heard that Polly Pastel makes a good cement perch, I use it for my

Cockatoo and Quaker...and they seem to keep them trimmed.