If you have a pet bird, it is a good idea to keep its toenails trimmed. A bird with long toenails can get caught on the bars of his cage. Your bird could also tear a toe if it gets caught and tries to free itself.
When trimming your bird’s toenails, make sure you use one of the special small bird nail trimmers. It is fairly easy to do for small birds. For medium to larger birds, it is a good idea to have another person hold the bird in a towel and just pull one foot out to trim the nails. This way you can avoid getting bitten by the bird. It is also a good idea to buy some styptic powder, just in case you trim a nail too short and bleeding results. This powder will stop the bleeding instantly.
It’s not a bad idea to also keep the wings trimmed on your bird. A lot of times a bird will have its wings trimmed when you buy it at the pet shop. But if you need to trim them yourself, it’s fairly easy to do. Usually, just the flight feathers get trimmed. Again, it helps to have another person with a towel hold the bird and pull one wing out at a time. Cut the feathers from the underside a half inch to one inch from the inner row of short feathers. Make sure that you don’t cut too short, as you may cut into your bird. Cut the flight feathers in a straight line. Normally this is quick and painless.
If you aren’t sure where to cut, or how to do this, most good pet shops will trim wings for you if you bring your bird in, and they can show you how to do this.
A good reason for trimming your bird’s wings is that if he ever gets loose in the house he won’t be able to fly out the door, into a ceiling fan, or into a window. Birds with trimmed wings are also usually easier to tame and train.
Supplies you will need for clipping your bird’s nails and wings:
Bird Claw Clipper
Blood Stopper Powder
Tags: Birds and Wild Birds
