clipping nails

[aslterp59]

HI, my new AG Sammy is doing wonderfully! He seems to want to come out, and I've had him out for a bit, but his nails are so sharp I can't stand it! What's a good way to clip his nails? We've clipped small and medium birds' wings, but are so afraid of freaking Sammy out... Any ideas? I simply cannot hold him - it feels like needles poking into my skin!

Denise in NC

[Hannah_Rae]

Denise,

I know how you feel. The first week Juji cut up my hands so badly that they were bleeding and my group home kids accused me of cutting.

 

I just put lots of vitamin E lotion on my hands and made sure Juji spent plenty of time on her new climbing tree. She also has a perch that wears her nails down.

 

As for clipping, what I noticed is that our clippers were not sharp enough and the pressure freaked her out...so I had to stop...if you are going to clip them make sure that your clippers are plenty sharp.

 

Hope all goes well

 

Hannah

[Talon]

You shouldn't need to clip his nails. They can wear them down. There are plenty of perches that will keep their nails filed down. If you really need to do something, use an emery board to file them down.

[LisaM]

I had the same problem with one of my birds - they got so sharp it was like needles.

 

I bought some of the safety pumice perches from drsfostersmith.com. It has a smooth top where their feet rest and their nails are the only parts that touch the pumice. It helped within a matter of a few days!

 

Lisa

[judygram]

Thanks Lisa for mentioning that, I am going to check them out, Josey needs something like that, karma your way:P

[dblhelix]

Go with perches that dull out the nails. Dont clip unless absolutely necessary (usually not) as it can cause them to lose grip on things, fall and then become phobic. Dont do anything drastic in the first few months with a new bird if you can avoid it as this will only make the bonding more challenging. If they associate negative things with new owners this will be a set back.

[aslterp59]

I meant to say we've clipped small and medium birds' NAILS, not wings (tho we've done that, too).... I was in a hurry when I typed that. Anyway, I do appreciate the advice! The perch he has now is completely smooth - I use natural branches in my aviary and will try to find something for him. too. I also like the idea of the pumice safety perch! I'm going to check that out! I sure don't want to put him through the horrors of nail-clipping. He's adjusting so well. He's sitting behind me talking his head off... he's said several new phrases today -- I started a list but can't keep up!

 

Enjoying our new baby....

Denise in NC

[LisaM]

Thanks Judy!!!

 

The Safety Pumice Perch is super easy to clean also...which is an obvious bonus!

 

I just lowered the perch they used to sleep on and put this one in its place to get them used to it. Now I have both at the same height but on different sides of the cage and they use this one quite often. I haven't had to trim nails at all ever since.

 

Lisa

[BMustee]

I wanted to add that just because you have a pumice/cement perch does not mean that they never need their nails clipped...it just makes it less frequintly needed. I trim nails and wings at my pet store job every day and I got to tell you it's sad how many people bring their birds in with nails that are so over grown it’s appalling and their reason for not bringing them in is "His nails were never sharp till now." and the reason for them getting sharp is because the nails are so long they don't rub the perch anymore. I posted this in another thread, but what you should do is look at the toes when they are on a table, if the tips of the toes are raised off the table then the nails are too long. I have had Elmo sense he was 6 weeks and I have only had to have all his nails done once and he is now 11 months...I had to trim one nail a few months back because it was begining to grow abnormally and wanted to correct it before it was permanent.