flock-talk:

Keeping nails an appropriate length is essential for good foot health, believe it or not there are quite a few side effects of letting nails get too long!

• Severely overgrown nails can turn in on themselves and puncture the foot or damage the root of the nail
• Overgrown nails can deform the foot as the bird is forced to sit with sideways toes
• They can lead to scale deformities or irregularities
• The quick can overgrow resulting in a higher risk of bleeding during nail trims
• Increases the odds of developing bumblefoot, arthritis, and other common foot problems
• Long nails are prone to getting caught in materials which often result in broken or dislocated toes or legs

So how do we know if a nail is getting too long?

The most common answer is to look at the quick, there’s a small vein which runs through your bird’s toes to the nail. The quick can be easily seen in most white-nailed species, holding them up in front of a light will usually expose the vein, a decently sized nail should only be a few millimetres longer than the quick.

But what about in species where you can’t see the quick?

If you can’t see your bird’s quick the best way to tell is to have them stand on a flat surface and look at the pads of their feet,

a nail which is too long will cause the pads of the feet to raise off the ground,

An appropriately sized nail will have the pads flat on the ground, maybe just a little bit lifted

During this process the bird should be completely relaxed, a bird who clenches their feet on the surface will give the illusion of an overgrown nail so try to observe them when they’re calm and comfortable on a flat surface.  

It’s really crucial that black-nailed species have their nails maintained otherwise the quick will grow past it’s normal region making it easier for you to cut in to it.

Being able to see these veins puts you at an advantage, these veins are quite thick and can pump out quite a bit of blood, cutting in to it can result in a lot of blood loss and stress.  In the instance you do cut in to this vein it’s important to have some flour or corn starch on hand to clot the blood, you can also use quick-stop varieties but do be cautious as some brands can actually sting!

To help maintain nails you can use:

• Varied perch diameters
• Different perching angles
• Perch textures
• Appropriate pedi-perches
• Running on a hard surface (table top)
• Fine-grained foam nail files
• Cat nail clippers

It’s best not to use human nail clippers as the flat surface can splinter the nail resulting in infections or other foot problems down the road, if you choose to file your bird’s nails it’s best to use fine-grained files as to reduce stress on the toes as you file.

If your bird is not trained to allow nail trims you’ll need to restrain them with a bander’s grip and/or a towel, using the most convenient fingers to hold the foot still while the other hand trims the nails.

If you at all feel uncomfortable about any aspect of nail trimming it’s best to go to your veterinarian or reputable location to have them show you how to trim the nails so you can become more comfortable doing it.  It’s very easy for the bird to kick or for you to cut too far up the nail resulting in injury, better to get it done properly the first few times than risk harming them!

thehotgirlproject:

yallmindifiscream:

honpun:

I guess I should make a Nice List too because while birds are 90% pain inthe ass they are Nice 10% of the time (being generous here). BUT they are always 100% perfect.

– Birdloaves, B’orbs

– SOFT PEEPING SOUNDS

-Ball tongues

-When the eyes move inwards to focus then outwards to look like a spaced-out doof

-fluffenchops with the head tilt

-beak grinding

– using words and sentences in context/ making new sentences out of words they already know

– birdy kisses

-warm dusty bird smell

• The Googley eyes
• Bird pants and bird cleavage
• When they walk on you and you feel their weight and their little feets
• When they stop what they are doing to kiss and preen you
• The pre-sleep chirp session
• The way they watch you when they are up some place high up
• When they get soaking wet from a REALLY through bath/shower
• When they admit the food is good after attacking it
• When the fearful or standoffish ones get close on their terms for the first time

– wet bird smell

– when they fall asleep on you

– asking for scritches

– the “i’m happy you’re home” chirp