Just sharing - Gouldian toes stuck on chicken wire :(

[Jasmin]

I just want to share what happened to me last night.

I've recently built my Gouldians a large cage, and I made the sides of chichen wire/fencing wire from Home Depot. It's not sharp and seems perfect for finches.

WELL one of my Gouldians was up for a nail trim big time, but with this new cage, it's harder for me to catch them and take them out, so I've been putting off trimming his nails for a while now.

Last night they all got spooked a little when I was cleaning up and like they do often, this little guy flew to the side of the cage and clung to it. BUT because his nails were so long, they actually wrapped around each other and the wire, and he was stuck. He was trying to fly away with all his might and he just wasn't going anywhere.
I thought for sure he was going to break a leg trying to get way from the wire. It was quite dramatic. It didn't help that he freaked out his cage mates who were flying around like crazy, couple with me yelping and trying to get him loose.


I eventually stuck my hand in the cage to get him off the wire and took him out for a nail trim.
Which resulted in him wriggling out of my hands and 10 minutes of me chasing him around the house

He did hit the wall once really hard, but he seems ok, thank god.

So the moral of the story....keep nails short, I guess.
learn from experience..
I can't wait to go home and make sure again that he's ok

[debbie276]

Wow, that sure was an adventure!
Note to self ... trim nails
Hope all is well today, thanks for sharing and reminding us all the importance of trimmed nails.

[Sally]

I agree, keep the nails trimmed (though I don't always keep up with it myself). I have also found that birds with too-long nails can get hung up in the plastic plants in their cages. They don't seem to open their toes enough to free themselves, and so they are trapped, and they can injure themselves in the effort to get free.

[Martie]

Also agree. It's an excellent reminder I think most of us need to hear periodically. I know I do nail-checks as I think of it, but it's really a job that really deserves more attention in my bird room and to be scheduled as other things are. Both my birds and I thank you for this!

I'm glad your bird is OK.

[Flight Tail]

Ty for the reminder.