Can i clip my cockatiels feet?

Question

i have just rescued a cockatiel from a bird park its had a stroke but its still eating and drinking very well it gets about and is happy but its nails are very long i want to know how to clip its nails myself any help would be great many thanks

Answer 1

You are allowed, but make sure you don't cut them too short or you may hit the vein.

Answer 2

I was always too scared that I would hurt my lovebird if I clipped its wings and nails so I would take him to the local pet shop and they always did an excellent job.  They used to file his beak too!  Maybe you should try to take him to a pet shop, it's worth paying if you don't know what your doing rather then hurting him.

Answer 3

The first thing to do is get rid of the sandpaper perch covers. These are not only ineffective at filing your birds nails but could result in giving him very sore feet. If your bird is easy to handle, you could try to trim his nails yourself. Hold him in a towel so that he is comfortable, leaving his feet free to be dealt with (best if two people do this together) and then just trim the very tips of his claws, as there is a vein which runs through the claw that will cause bleeding if cut. If this seems a bit too difficult, a visit to your local avian vet will get the job done for you.

As a preventative measure for the future, use natural branches instead of doweling for his perches. Bottlebrush or grevillea are suitable. These give the bird a natural way to keep the claws from getting too sharp by wearing them down as he climbs the branch. The best sort of branches to use are those that vary a bit in size throughout their length, so that the feet get exercised by not always holding the same sized perch.

Answer 4

You can clip nails by holding them up to the light to see the pink quick(blood Vessel) running down the middle of the nail when you are sure that you can see the quick use nail clippers to carefully cut the nail to a suitable length without cutting in to the quick.

If you are unsure ask your local vet for some advice.

Answer 5

get a tea towel and hold him in it so he isnt a fliping and a flaping you can cut his toe nails but be carefull of the wick or it will bleed, like if you cut you own nail to short it will hurt, the wick is were you see colour change in the nail unlike the clear shrp pokey nail it is closer to the tipy toe and is usually a pinky colour

have fun :)

Answer 6

you must get a vet to do it, if you cut them too short they bleed really bad, they have a quick and if you cut that then it bleeds for hours, a guy did my bird from the pet shop and he cut them too short and it took ages to stop it bleeding.

Answer 7

Hi,

A Tiels nails can be cut just like a Cat or a small dog.. If you cut them to close, they will bleed, true enough. But don't panic. I keep a small amount of flour around and just apply some flour on the toe with a little bite of pursure for a few minutes and he will be fine..

Like some of the people said above. This is a job for two., use a towel and clip little bites at a time until you feel comfertable...

Good luck

Answer 8

Go to a large pet store (the store not the pet). They sell rough stone perches for your bird. This is the natural way for the bird to keep it's nails short. There's no risk, as with trimming, and he/she will enjoy the perch and use it for beak cleaning too.

Answer 9

what I do when I clip my cockatiels nails is....... wrap her securely in a towel and get someone else to hold her if possible but if not I usually hold her between my legs so only her feet are poking out then I hold her foot and slowly and very carefully clip off the end of each nail (MAKE SURE NOT TO CLIP WHERE IT IS PINK BECAUSE IT WILL BLEED)!!!!!!!......... It is really easy but if you dont no what your doing or your not confident then take your little bird to a vet and they will do it for you :-) xx

Answer 10

my cockatiel doesn't mind gettin his nails cut....i usually use regular nail clippers.