Nails overgrown

[allie]

Hi all,

My second-hand bird was kept caged always, and had a concrete perch. Don't know if she was ever towelled for nail trims, but when I got her in August I took her right away to the vet school for a check up and wrote a message to the vet to trim nails. Well, when I got her back, I realized that he didn't do it! I've kept a concrete perch for her that she uses occasionally throughout the day, but her nails are to the point where when she walks, they lift her toes up in the air, and i think they are causing her to fall some off her perches.

Here's my dilemma: She's a previously neglected and unsocialized bird that is just beginning to trust me, but still won't allow me to touch her. She just steps up on good days. I'm disabled, can't drive, and the only bird vet is the vet school an hour away. Phew....

What to do? I hate the idea of her having to go through the stress of the long drive and the vet just for nails, but she obviously needs some help here. I know she'll never trust me again if I do it since she's so sensitive and was towelled horribly by her previous owner, but every time she's perched on my hand I think, "Hmmm...what if I just got some clippers and got the worst ones real quick?" Dumb idea I know.

There's a vet who's not avian boarded who is 35 minutes away, but he's the guy that said he does see birds and do wing clips but only clips one wing so I don't trust him for anything after he said that!

Is there any way to wear them down with perches once they reach this stage? help please.

Allie

[Maggie-]

I would not trust the vet that clips only ONE wing. That causes birds to be totally off balance. But you do need to get her clipped. Her nails sound far too long.

Is there a vet or.....someone in your community who is a known bird lover that could come into your home to help you clip her? Try the bird store, a local bird club, any bird friends you may know and so on. You could pay someone to come in and help you do it.

You need to figure how to have a system for doing this every 6 weeks or so.

My Merlin's feet and nails are tender. So, I only allow people to file her nails. They tend to bleed 24 hours later when clipped. Weird!

When clipping nails, PLEASE make sure they are not clipped TOO short. This also causes clumsiness.

GREY'T Blessings,
Maggie-

[allie]

Thanks Maggie, I'll look into finding some good bird people in the area. that would be a good contact to have in the future anyway. I live in such a rural area that most people consider birds as food, but I'll see what I can do via my local large animal vet. He may have contacts with someone somehow. Thanks for the tips; we don't need more problems arising from a bad toe nail clip!

Allie

[Maggie]

Let me know what you find!
Mag-