FINCHforum

Dear god.... clipping nails for the first time has got to be one of the most stressful things I have ever done. Picked up 2 stars and 2 GBs last weekend and they had ridiculously overgrown toe nails. So i set out on my mission to cut them. Had qwik stop and a pair of old nail clippers that got disinfected and got my little fish net to catch them....

So managed to get through all of them, EVEN the little GBs. They were way harder to handle than my stars. And, unfortunately, the qwiks in their feet were too long into their nails to get everything to appropriate levels so i will have to do this again in another months time after the qwiks recede. Also, i didnt cut a single qwik.. thank god.

What an adventure though, I was sweating up a storm and i swear my heart rate was well over 150! Now the birds were definitly stressed, but i argue i deserve the beer... as I have rewarded myself with one and am drinking and typing now.

Anyways, if you can muster up the courage, i recommend cutting your birds nails, its one of the few times i physically interact with these birds and you really get an appreciation for how fragile and amazing these little buggers are.

Ah good for you Chris - and even better for the birds to have had their nails clipped... finally!

It gets easier every time, honest. I hope you held their feet / claws up to a bright light? It really helps to see where the quick ends. That's terrific that you didn't clip too short. The quicks should receed within a couple of weeks.

You deserve the beer!

I'd been wanting to clip my finches nails. But oh boy. I'm kinda scary I might hurt them. I remember I cut too deep last time I tied. and the poor thing was breeding. awww scary.

Chris
You might look into those cement perchs they are short i put one by there water or food it helps to keep them a little shorter

Yes, i have cement perches and crushed shell perches and natural perches as the only source of perching in all my cages.

The nails are still so long that it needs to be trimmed up front, i hope to not have to deal with trimming after the first nail clipping

Same here. When I got my GBs they were quite long nails. I got someone else to trim them for me though. She came back about a couple of months later to get the quicks down to where they needed to be. Now we're hoping that the sand/cement perches will keep the nails short enough.

Good for you Chris.!!!

Thankfully I have never had to clip a nail on my birds. I hope I don't....

My miniature daschund makes up for it. I have to clip her's about every two weeks.

dfcauley wrote:Good for you Chris.!!!

Thankfully I have never had to clip a nail on my birds. I hope I don't....

My miniature daschund makes up for it. I have to clip her's about every two weeks.

OFF TOPIC: Donna - Maybe you can give me hints on how I can trim my Shih Tzu and Yorkie's nails. I'm worried to take too much off as they are black in colour and the dogs will NOT hold still. How do you do it? I have the clippers and would love to be able to do it myself.

Sorry Chris.... do not mean to hijack your post (as Liz as pointed out)

But I have found that those little dog nail clippers aren't worth the money I paid for them.

I just use a pair of regular nail clippers. They are easier to use and cut better. I just take a tiny, tiny bit off at a time unti lI get the desired length.

I haven't cut too much..... yet......

B CAMP wrote:Chris
You might look into those cement perchs they are short i put one by there water or food it helps to keep them a little shorter

I got one of those type perches (graduated diameters too) and put a spray of millette above it to encourage them to get on it. Works so far and I am scared to death to clip their nails! I have a hard time doing my beagle's nails. Is there a real health probelm if you don't trim them?

I don't think it is safe for them to have too long of nails. They could get them caught up in something. It is also more difficult for them to perch.

I was wondering if JavaMama was referring to her birds or her Beagle when she ask if the nails could be left without trimming. I'd love to see a Beagle perch... even with clipped nails!

L in Ontario wrote:I was wondering if JavaMama was referring to her birds or her Beagle when she ask if the nails could be left without trimming. I'd love to see a Beagle perch... even with clipped nails!

okay Liz..... only you would think of that.

JavaMama wrote:

B CAMP wrote:Chris
You might look into those cement perchs they are short i put one by there water or food it helps to keep them a little shorter

I got one of those type perches (graduated diameters too) and put a spray of millette above it to encourage them to get on it. Works so far and I am scared to death to clip their nails! I have a hard time doing my beagle's nails. Is there a real health probelm if you don't trim them?

With the Beagle, much as with horses, if the nail/hoof is left to grow too long, the can't always set their foot down flat the way they should. Depends on the dog, but sometimes overgrown nails make them sit back on the "heel" of the paw so that is not good. Hard on their joints. Really it's mostly a problem with small dogs who don't wear them down doing a lot of sidewalk walking. Shih Tzu's are really bad for overgrown nails.

I just clipped Strawberry nails yesterday, and they were waaay too long. I have found that even with my glasses on, it is hard to see what I am doing when clipping or banding, so I bought one of those magnifying glass things that hang around your neck--you can usually find them where needlework items are in craft stores. With that and a good strong light, I was shocked to realize that I have not been clipping the nails short enough. Before, I couldn't see the quick on some of the birds, so I would just take off a little each time, but really never enough. Now it is much easier for me.