Grooming

[Jojo]

Grooming
Lisa Keelty
Environmental and Wildlife Technician
AFA Certified Aviculturist

There is not much grooming involved for most pet birds with the exception of weekly bathing and occasionally trimming nails and wings (which is debatable).

Birds that come from humid tropical environments like Macaws, Amazons and some types of Cockatoos can be bathed daily, but species from arid regions such as Budgies and Cockatiels should only be given one bath a week to help avoid encouraging breeding behaviour. Baths can be offered in a variety of ways; smaller birds may profit from a small plastic bath that can attach to a cage door. Larger birds might prefer being misted with a water bottle or even sprayed with a shower head. Bathing helps keep birds feathers clean and preened. For feather pluckers and moulting birds bathing can bring a sense of relief from itchy pin feathers. Never use soaps when bathing your pet bird, plain warm water is best.

Trimming nails is a delicate process and is done for several reasons; to reduce the chance of nails becoming entangled in cage objects, to make sure that the bird's owners can handle them without discomfort and to ensure that nails do not become over grown and uncomfortable for the bird. Either speciality scissors or a dremel can be used to remove a portion of the nail, hopefully without hitting the vein. Always have a coagulant on hand if you do clip the quick by accident.

Nail trimmings need to be done as needed. How often can depend on many factors but on average it is about every 2 to 4 months. For passerines nail trimming can be a stressful experience so try to have proper perches in the cage to help minimize the frequency. Never use sandpaper perches, they do not work and cause more damage on the feet then any good.

Most medium and large parrots can be trained to accept nail trimmings without being restrained. If restraint is necessary do not attempt to clip anything without proper training. In some cases 2 people are needed, one to hold the bird and another to clip. Small birds can be held in one hand in a "banders grip" with the head between the fore and middle finger and the back of the bird against your palm. The other hand can manipulate the feet and toes and clip. This requires a certain degree of practise to be dextrous enough to multitask. Medium and large species of birds are best "towled". The same principle is used to restrain the bird except one person needs 2 hands to do the job. Use one hand to hold the neck (tightly, but not too tight) and the other holds the back of the bird or it can be pressed along the chest of the holder. Never put any pressure on the birds chest as this can result in the inability of the bird to breath. The second person works the feet and toes and clips.

Wing clipping is done to prevent escape, ease training and sometimes to reduce aggression. The choice on whether or not to clip wings is up to the individual owner however it is becoming more and more common to not clip wings. If wing clipping is a must, restraining the bird is similar what is described above. Small birds can be done by one person, larger birds require 2. When pulling the wing out always hold it at the elbow joint to secure it safely. Only the primary feathers should be clipped; the first 10 counting downwards but it is not often needed to clip all 10. Baby birds should never have more then 4 or 5 feathers clipped, and they should never be clipped too short. Adult birds can have up to 6-8 feathers trimmed but each individual bird will call for different lengths.

Beak trimmings should never be done unless absolutely necessary, i.e. the animal is unable to eat. Always have beaks trimmed by professionals. Trimming a break wrong can result in long term growth deformations that can make a beak severely crooked.