[blakeclark777]

Hello,

I have 3 cockatiels and 2 parakeets that have never had their nails trimmed for the 10-years that I have had them.

I noticed recently that their nails have become REALLY long. Upon closer inspection, I also noticed that they cannot put their feet "flat" on the ground because of the long nails.

My concern is that their long nails may be causing them pain, but they seem happy and comfortable so I'm not sure. I've been told that such long nails can cause arthritis in birds. Is that true? Should the long nails be trimmed?

I did research on the internet, however, couldn't find a solid answer. It seems that most people get the nails trimmed in order to avoid being scratched or avoid getting the nails caught in clothing, however, this has never been an issue for me.

Is it necessary to trim a bird's nails for their health? Or is it a personal choice?

I will try to upload photos later.


Thank you,

 

[ptrcmcc6]

DO NOT trim your tiels nails unless you actually know what you're doing. My friend found out the hard way and her beautiful bird had passed away at the young age of 2 years old...... :'(. It was so heartbreaking!! She thought she could just take a tiny bit of nail off her bird's nails but she did not know tiels actually have veins in the nails. Well, needless to say, she could not stop the bleeding and the poor bird died in her hands. It wasn't until after this tragedy, we found out you should never cut a tiel's nails on your own unless you are experienced and you should always have "Quickstop" on hand when you do trim them. I think your best bet would be to take you birds to someone who is experienced with trimming their nails.