claws

Question
I am dog groomer and know about trimming dog and cat claws, but not my fiances parrot's.  I think the long claws are causing him to fall of his perches, once or twice every few days, of a very large cage (5ft by 4ft) This parrot also has a history of biteing althought he likes me and lets me pet him, he is sure to bite. STill, this must be done....How?  

Answer
Hi, Debra.  I'm so sorry...I forgot to include my website addy:  

http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/birdinfo/index.html

Chrys
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Hi, Debra.  Thanks for posting.

Trimming a parrot's toenails is no different than trimming a dog or cat's nails.  Just like a canine or feline, you have to be careful not to hit the vein in the nail, or at least know what to do to stop any bleeding if this happens (a cauterizer helps here).  If you can't see the vein, to be safe, only trim the tip off (the amount depends on how long the nails are).  However, you have to stabilize the parrot first, if s/he won't allow you to clip them while s/he sits on your finger/perch, etc.  Sometimes you can "trick" them when they are perched on you by keeping them interested/focused on something else while using human nail clippers or dog nail clippers (depending on the size of the bird) to clip one by one (this can take a while).  You may have to stop for several hours in between nails and/or clip one nail per day for several days in order to get them all IF you don't know how/can't stabilize the bird.  It's hard to trick some birds though...they see the nail clipper and freak (or at least know what you're up to)!  And if you clip the vein in any nail, the parrot will remember this for the next time (because it hurts for a day or so)!     

My website has a paragraph on nail clipping that explains how to "towel" a bird or how to hold a parrot so that it can't bite when you need to tend to these things.  Toweling/holding may be in a different paragraph than nail clipping, but the info is there!  When toweling a parrot (and after the bird is in the towel), you have to be very careful that you don't snap the bird's neck accidently, and always keep one eye on the parrot's beak!  If the beak gets too close, let the bird out of the towel.  A parrot can become overheated very quickly when toweled or held (our body temperature transfers to the bird's high body temperature), so do what you have to do quickly or let the bird loose when s/he becomes too warm, then resume later  (however, it's best to try to get all the nails clipped in one sitting...you may need 2 or more people to help, depending on the bird).  It takes 5 people to hold one of my amazons when his nails or wings need to be clipped just to ensure he doesn't get hurt in the process (he's strong and hates to have these things done)!  Come back if you have questions.     

Chrys