Clipping Nails

[EmilyHurd]

So... I decide to clip all my finches nails for the second time since I've had finches. Well... it scared me out of doing it ever again!

I turned out all the lights to make catching them easier and one at a time clipped their nails.

I was clipping one of my male society finches nails when all the sudden it started bleeding!!! A lot! I had the quickstop powder that I was told to buy, but I've never had to use it. So I'm standing there, holding my finch in my left hand and picking up the jar of quickstop powder trying to read the directions as my poor finch was gushing blood! It said to apply it with a moist q-tip, will I didn't have that, so I just picked up a bunch of the powder in my nail and stuck his little toe in the quickstop!

It stopped bleeding, but it was so scary! I felt horrible for him! Hopefully he'll be ok and recover and not hate me forever!

Is it toxic if he accidentally gets some quickstop in his mouth??

[Thalia]

I don't think the quikstop is toxic, at least it wouldnt' make sense for it to be. We use it on dogs and cats at the clinic if we clip a quick, which I did on Saturday, actually I hammered the bloody thing and that poor dog bled like crazy, which is why wiggly dogs should be sedated before getting their nails trimmed, especially when they weigh over 100lbs At home I prefer plain flour, since I know that's not toxic

[Crystal]

Styptic powder is a chemical cauterizing agent and therefore an irritant. I am not sure what dose is considered toxic when the powder is eaten, but any amount ingested would be expected to cause at least some irritation and possibly more serious problems to the oral cavity/esophagus/GI tract--especially if larger quantities are eaten, which is why it is only meant for external use (nails). I have not heard of it causing any problems when used appropriately.

[tammieb]

Here is a product you can use in place of Quik Stop...

http://www.squawkstore.com/store/produc ... cts_id=836

Or just use corn starch, which is the main ingredient of the above mentioned product.

[Crystal]

Sometimes I had nail bleeds which flour and corn starch couldn't stop; so now I use heat cautery instead. The bird would probably prefer powder if the bleed can be stopped with that (because it's so gentle), but when it isn't enough, heat has worked for me. Obviously you have to be really careful with using heat; my current method is to light a match, blow it out, and quickly touch the blown-out part to the bleeding nail, being careful not to apply heat to any other part of the bird.

[tammieb]

I used that method with a bunny once. It belonged to my niece and she asked me to help her clip its claws. We made it fine til the very last one and of course I cut it too short. I told her to run and get some wood matches from the kitchen, we had the bleeding stopped in no time.

[Thalia]

When you've really nailed the quick, to stop it with the powder, or sticks you have to actually get the stuff up in the hollow to clot it, just rubbing it won't stop a real bleeder like it will if you've only nicked it. I bet the heat method works great, too bad owners would be mortified if we tried that at the clinic.

[Crystal]

With birds, a lot of vet clinics here use a dremel and sometimes even a loop cautery (works via heating up) for nail trims. The dremel is also good for beak trims. Using a dremel safely usually requires someone else to hold the bird for you, though. They are both convenient because they get the job done while preventing bleeding.

[Anneka]

Using a Q tip to apply the scyptic powder is not really a must.
Just put some between your index finger and thumb and then firmly hold the bleeding nail. That is what we were doing in our pet store.