Bird Grooming
Submitted by Member "Angelik"

It is important to keep your pet bird's nails trimmed to prevent injury and discomfort to your pet bird. There are quality bird nail trimming clippers available to make it really simple to care for your birds nails. Sand perch covers offer a great solution to overgrown nails.

Use a water sprayer to provide your pet bird with a cleansing mist of water, but be sure to label it bird use only. Bird baths are another great way to provide your bird with a way to freshen up and feel clean. Bird baths come in a variety of sizes and methods to hang onto the cage or outside of the cage. Bird baths for parakeets are generally smaller than bird baths for larger birds. The Hagen bird bath with mirror also acts as a toy for your pet bird, providing endless hours of entertainment.

A happy bird is a well-groomed bird. You can tell them when you see them. Feathers are soft and vibrant; the bird looks magnificent when it fluffs up its body and stretches out its wings. The difference can often be quite evident between a bird who is regularly groomed or bathed and one who isn't.

A Refreshing Shower

Most birds love a shower. Some like the water to be misty and warm, some prefer a more vigorous shower with cooler temperatures. If you start experimenting you will soon find what type of bathing sends your bird into ecstasy. It can be a sight to behold when your bird stretches out its wings and relishes the refreshing water coming down on its body.

The first rule of thumb is not to batter your bird with water. If it is too rough, they will try to avoid it. Generally they prefer a misting. This doesn't mean you can't thoroughly soak the bird. If you mist them enough, they can get soaked down to the skin. For most species, it is a good idea to soak them to the skin at least once a week, then you can give them a less thorough misting the rest of the week. Certain species like a daily shower or misting, such as Amazons. This can also help with the strong musky odor amazons have that can bother some people. Bathing is another option. Many birds will hop right into a large bowl of water and soak themselves. Some birds will just dip a toe in and wash the feathers around the head mainly. Sometimes splashing your fingers in the water in the bowl will tempt them to jump in.

Birds like to get wet. It will also encourage normal preening behavior. Because our homes are kept at a constant temperature through central heat and air conditioning, the air in the house is dry compared to the bird's natural environment. Some birds prefer to be misted while others like bathing. A squirt bottle can be set on mist (not spray) and aimed up and over the bird so the water falls onto the bird like mist or rain. For birds that like bathing, a dish with an inch of water in it can be placed in the bottom of the cage. Remove it after the birds have bathed. For birds that prefer showers, place a perch in the shower and supervise it. Keep constant track of the temperature of the water, so the bird does not become too cold or possibly burned if the water temperature suddenly changes.

Some birds like daily wet-downs while others do fine on a weekly basis. Take your bird's lead in the matter. If the bird is not feeling well, skip the bath or misting until he is feeling better to avoid chilling or stressing him.

Some birds enjoy being "blow-dried," while others become fearful of the noise. If your bird likes being dried with a hair dryer, always use the low heat setting, do not let the dryer get too close to the bird, and constantly move the dryer so the heat is not focused on one area of the body for more than a second.

Many exotic pet birds originally lived in tropical climates where rainfall is a daily, or otherwise frequent occurrence. Rainwater provides drinking water and an opportunity for bathing. Birds typically take advantage of this moisture by "showering" during a rainstorm or bathing in puddles formed by the falling rainwater. This keeps their feathers healthy, and restores and maintains a brilliant sheen to the plumage. Caged birds should also be allowed to bathe periodically. Some prefer to bathe in a small container, others tolerate being sprayed or misted with water.

Wings

If your bird is a tame pet that is often out of the cage it is generally safer to trim the flight feathers. There is much disagreement about this. Some people have arranged their homes in such a way that it is safe for their birds to be fully flighted. However, you must take into consideration many factors before keeping your birds this way. They usually need what is called a "bird-safe" room. This room does not have doors or windows that open to the outside. This gives added protection against surprises, such as a startled bird flying past you as you open the door for a delivery or the like. In most homes it is safest to have your birds flight wings trimmed regularly. Don't become complacent, however. A few flight feathers can be enough for your bird to get enough lift to disappear down the street. This is particularly true for smaller birds and those with narrower bodies, such as cockatiels.

Clipping wings is necessary for all of the more social birds that are allowed out of the cage. Birds such as canaries and other finches that stay in the cage do not need their wings clipped. Birds have been known to fly into windows, into pots of boiling water or other food, into ceiling fans, etc. We need to take the responsibility to protect them and this responsibility includes clipping wings.

Watch your veterinarian or bird groomer trim the wings the first time. A proper trim allows the bird to exercise its muscles and to coast to a landing if needed. It should prevent the bird from attaining additional altitude.

One person should restrain the bird wrapped in a towel. The wing should be extended. Using sharp scissors, remove the ends of the outer 6-7 feathers (these are the flight feathers). More of the feather can always be trimmed if needed. If a blood or pin feather is cut, it will bleed. This bleeding usually stops in a short amount of time. If the bird continues to pick at it and it continues to bleed, the feather can be plucked out.

Check the feathers on a monthly basis and trim as necessary. If the outer 2-3 feathers are left unclipped for looks, monitor closely as the bird may be able to fly.

If the bird does manage to escape to the outside world and fly off, immediately put his cage out in the yard with the door open and a big bowl of his favorite food in and on it. Hopefully, within a day or two, your feathered friend will decide the cage is not so bad after all. Let people know you lost your bird. Put up fliers, call veterinary clinics and humane societies, and put an ad in the paper. Do not give up hope. Some birds are found and caught weeks after the escape. Keep up-to-date photos of the bird. Take pictures from both sides, front, and back. Write down the ID information whether it is from a leg band or a microchip. Having this information will help prove ownership if the need arises.

To be safe, all caged birds should have their wing feathers trimmed. The decision to deny a caged bird free, unrestricted flight (as in the wild) is subconsciously made by each bird owner at the time the bird is made a captive pet in the home. Wing trimming merely makes this confinement safer for the bird. Flight feathers of both wings should be trimmed. If the bird takes flight for any reason, its descent to the floor is balanced and relatively controlled. Trimming the feathers on only one wing results in a precarious and unbalanced descent to the floor, often injuring the bird. Another disadvantage is that many birds with only one wing trimmed can fly as soon as 1-2 flight feathers have grown out on the trimmed side. Some bird owners prefer not to trim the wings of their smaller caged birds (parakeets, cockatiels) because their flying brings the owner great enjoyment. These small caged birds have a smaller turning radius in flight than the larger ones.

Consequently, the smaller birds can usually safely fly about most homes and apartments. One other advantage of not trimming the wings of these small birds is that it allows them to escape when in danger and threatened by any pet in the home. However, generally it is best to keep your pet bird's wings trimmed at all times, except for the specific circumstances detailed above. Trimming the wings is like trimming your fingernails. If performed properly, the bird will experience no bleeding or discomfort. Trimming the wings makes taming the bird easier and usually shortens the time for taming.

Toenails

Overgrown nails will make perching difficult for a bird as well as increase the chance of catching a nail on carpet or sweaters. A good rule of thumb is that the nails are too long if the toe is elevated off the ground when the feet are placed on a flat surface. Even short nails may need to be blunted to remove sharp points.

There are two techniques for trimming nails. The first uses human nail clippers or dog nail clippers depending on the bird's size. Having a supply of styptic powder on hand will be helpful in case a nail is clipped too close and bleeds. With the bird restrained, trim the tip off the nail. More can always be removed, so start with small amounts with each clip. Some owners will trim only 1-2 nails a day and take a week to trim them all. This works well, as you are done before the bird realizes you trimmed his nails.

The second technique uses a rotary grinding device like a Dremel tool to grind the tip off the nail. It cauterizes as it shortens. A second person is needed to provide the restraint.

Having the nails trimmed by a veterinarian or bird groomer will give you an idea how short the nails should be kept. After the initial trim, you can continue to keep them that short with an every-other-week or every-month trim.

Trimming Beaks

Birds beaks normally wear down evenly. If the beak is not wearing evenly, an avian veterinarian should be contacted to examine the bird and determine the reason. The uneven beak should be trimmed to prevent problems with eating or preening.

Choosing a Groomer

Don't just take your prized parrot to any local pet store and ask them to trim your bird's wings and toenails. You should always inspect the store first and watch them do a few trimmings before choosing them as your bird's groomer. Also consider having your avian veterinarian do the regular trimmings. This helps you establish a relationship with your vet so they know your bird well should an emergency ever arise.

Ask yourself a number of questions before deciding on using a particular person to groom your bird:

1. Do they use a different towel to hold each bird? Are they clearly putting the towel they just used into a laundry pile? Or are they folding it up to use on the next bird that comes in the store? This is an extremely important point. You don't want your bird wrapped up in a towel that was just wrapped around a bird with an infectious disease. Even a very healthy appearing bird can carry disease, and you should never risk using the same towel on birds from different homes. You could also bring your own small towel and ask them to use that to hold the bird. Make sure it is an appropriate size and thickness for such a job.

2. Do they clean their grooming equipment between birds? If they are trimming toenails, they are occasionally going to cut too high and get a little blood on the clippers. If they are not cleaning the utensils between birds, this can be another vector for spreading disease. As most of you probably already know, blood is considered a hazardous biological substance. In human medicine it would be unthinkable to use such a contaminated item on another patient. Grooming utensils should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol.

3. Do they work in a team, one holding the bird securely while the other trims and deals with any bleeding or other issues? Does the team work well together? Obviously, some birds will put up quite a fuss during a trimming. How they are handled can lessen their stress. One groomer would send my senegal into an utter state of terror. The sounds he made were horrible. The current groomer never elicits this response from him. He clearly hates being wrapped in the towel, but he doesn't sound as if he thinks he's being tortured the way he did with the previous groomer. You know your bird. If the sound is something you don't usually hear and it sends a chill down your spine, you might want to try another groomer.

4. Does your bird tend to panic and react in an extreme manner to the stress of grooming? If this is the case it is highly advisable that you take your bird to an avian veterinarian for its grooming. This way they can deal with any medical emergency that might arise during grooming. A bird that has a problem with panic or extreme stress reactions can get into trouble on occasion. Seizures or heart attack are rare, but should they occur you will want your bird to be in the hands of a vet and not a groomer at a pet store.

You should always have styptic powder on hand at home should a toenail that is cut too short start bleeding again. While this is rare, it is a good idea to have a blood-stopping agent in the home just in case. A good home remedy for any type of uncontrolled bleeding is common household flour. It will stop up a bleeding toenail or blood feather in most cases. Of course, if you do have a broken blood feather, the best solution is to pull the feather out from its base to stop the bleeding. This can be done with a pair of tweezers. For most large birds, you will need someone to hold the bird still while you do it. There are some articles on this available on the Net.

The next time you see a bird that looks exceptionally vibrant and healthy, ask the owner a few questions. How often do they shower them? What diet do they feed? This can be a great way to learn how to improve your own bird's health and appearance. There is nothing quite as breath-taking as a beautifully groomed and well cared for bird!

General Grooming for Dogs
Submitted by Member, "Sandy L."