Live Life Team
A pet bird’s beak and nails will grow continuously thorough its life. Eventually, your pet bird is going to have to get the beak and nails trimmed. If you are a beginner at bird keeping, then it’s best to have your vet teach you how to perform these vital grooming functions.
Supplies Needed
You don’t need a lot of special supplies to trim your bird’s beak or nails. All you really need are:
a towel
styptic powder in case of bleeding)
gloves (if necessary)
pet nail trimmers
Don’t use scissors, as they don’t do the job very well.
The Procedure
Get all of your supplies to your bird. Wrap the bird in the towel so the beak or feet are showing. Quickly nip off the very tips of the nails or the beak.
If you can get a helper to do the clipping or to hold the bird, this may help speed things up.
When to Trim
You may never need to trim your bird’s beak if they do a lot of playing with toys or chew on a cuttlebone. But many pet birds’ beaks can get too long. You’ll know because the beak won’t be able to close or the bird will not be able to eat or groom normally.
When a bird’s nails are too long, they curl right under the bird’s feet and make it difficult for him to perch. Birds also use their nails to scratch and they can’t get a good scratch with overly long nails.
