what can i do about my parrots long nails?

[justlikeme0]

hello.
i have a Jenny Day Parrot named Fruitloop and his nail are getting so LONG and SHARP!!
i know some with some animals, it can be dangerious if you clip their nails.
would it be safe if i cliped or filed his nails?

[Grizabella]

Hey,

Putting a concrete perch in the cage can help file the nails, especially if you put it somewhere where it will get a lot of use, like near the food and water dishes. You can take your bird to the vet to get the nails trimmed, when my partner brings his senegal in, the vet usually charges about $15-$20.

It can be tricky to do it yourself, but you can do it. If you can, locate the nail's blood source (quick). That will bleed if you cut it, so you'll need to be careful to avoid it. In pink nails (I'm sorry, I can't remember if jendays have pink or dark nails) it's pretty easy to see the quick, but it's difficult in dark nails.

Use scissors for dogs or cats, or better yet birds if you can find them. Those clippers are rounded, so you can put just the tip of the nail through and clip. If you have clippers that you use for a dog or cat though, you should use separate ones for your bird.

You also might want to have a good clotting powder before hand, just in case you do accidentally hit the quick and it starts bleeding. You can buy actual clotting powders, or use cornstarch/flour. Get a towel long enough to wrap around the bird's body, but not so long that it will get in the way. One person should towel the bird, and the second person should gently extend one toe at a time for clipping. Don't pull too hard on a toe - they're very delicate, and too much pressure could break a toe. Using your clippers, take off a very small amount of nail.

If you do cut into the blood supply, wet your finger and dip it into the clotting powder/corn starch/flour. Then dot it onto the nail, packing it lightly. The bleeding should stop, but if the blood flow is heavy or doesn't stop, call a vet. Birds can die quickly from blood loss.

[justlikeme0]

thankyou. that had a lot of information in it. it helped me out alot =)