Post by siobhan on Mar 20, 2018 15:58:24 GMT -5
Yesterday, I read an extensive piece on how to take care of a parrot that included avoiding candles and scents and Teflon and all the things we know about, and there was a giant section on how you should never, ever trim your bird's beak yourself. EVER.
Ever since Jade bit Benjy in the face a couple of years ago, his beak overgrows. He doesn't have any problems eating or preening, but about every six weeks, I have to trim his little beak. It gets too long and it curves toward his chest and I always snip some off before it gets long enough to make it difficult to eat or poke him in the chest. He hates this, but not because I hurt him -- I'm very, very careful -- but because he so hates being wrapped in a washcloth. LOL It's the only way I can control him and hold him still to snip the excess. I use nail clippers and it's very obvious where the quick is, and I never get close to it. It's no worse than clipping your fingernails. I would agree that clipping most birds' beaks is best left to the vet, but with a tiny budgie whose beak takes one quick snip of nail clippers, I feel confident enough to do it myself. I also rubbed a couple of pinfeathers loose while I had him wrapped up. He won't let me do that otherwise, either. You'd think by now he'd be used to having his beak done every so often, but oh, he gets mad. I do it just before bedtime and by morning he's forgotten he's mad. Clyde gets mad at me, too, but I think it's because I've departed the room with Benjy (we do this in the bathroom both because the light's best there and to keep Clyde from getting in the way).
Thank goodness, Benjy is the only one I have to worry about doing this to. I don't have to trim nails for the most part, either, except Ringo Starling has one back toe that needs it occasionally, and I have a method for that, too. Wait until she's sitting on top of her cage and then sneak up and snip off the very end. Last time I did it, she didn't even squawk until I snipped off a tiny second piece, and even then it was indignity and not pain. Rocky actually enjoys having his nails filed, as long as his daddy does it. That's the one thing I'm not allowed to do to him. I can work on pinfeathers and I can examine his wings and I can wipe his beak when he eats something messy but I cannot file his toes.
Ever since Jade bit Benjy in the face a couple of years ago, his beak overgrows. He doesn't have any problems eating or preening, but about every six weeks, I have to trim his little beak. It gets too long and it curves toward his chest and I always snip some off before it gets long enough to make it difficult to eat or poke him in the chest. He hates this, but not because I hurt him -- I'm very, very careful -- but because he so hates being wrapped in a washcloth. LOL It's the only way I can control him and hold him still to snip the excess. I use nail clippers and it's very obvious where the quick is, and I never get close to it. It's no worse than clipping your fingernails. I would agree that clipping most birds' beaks is best left to the vet, but with a tiny budgie whose beak takes one quick snip of nail clippers, I feel confident enough to do it myself. I also rubbed a couple of pinfeathers loose while I had him wrapped up. He won't let me do that otherwise, either. You'd think by now he'd be used to having his beak done every so often, but oh, he gets mad. I do it just before bedtime and by morning he's forgotten he's mad. Clyde gets mad at me, too, but I think it's because I've departed the room with Benjy (we do this in the bathroom both because the light's best there and to keep Clyde from getting in the way).
Thank goodness, Benjy is the only one I have to worry about doing this to. I don't have to trim nails for the most part, either, except Ringo Starling has one back toe that needs it occasionally, and I have a method for that, too. Wait until she's sitting on top of her cage and then sneak up and snip off the very end. Last time I did it, she didn't even squawk until I snipped off a tiny second piece, and even then it was indignity and not pain. Rocky actually enjoys having his nails filed, as long as his daddy does it. That's the one thing I'm not allowed to do to him. I can work on pinfeathers and I can examine his wings and I can wipe his beak when he eats something messy but I cannot file his toes.
