New Bird Owner

[mtbear]

We just brought home a 3.5 month old male eclectus and I have some questions. First do you normally have to take the birds in to have beak and nail trims if they have a concrete perch and 2nd if you cut their feathers (I tried not too, but he kept taking off and crashing beak first into things, hard) how often should it be done? He can still fly, but not very far or high.

[daniland]

"First do you normally have to take the birds in to have beak and nail trims if they have a concrete perch"

first, the perch: a concrete perch should one of many perches, all off diff. materials & sizes (i usually use on natural hard branch (like manzanita), one rop perch, and one pedicure perch). it should be kept low in the cage (so it isn't the one he uses all the time), but could be the perch that he needs to use when he gets to a treat cup or something. concrete perches can be irritating in some birds, and cause abrasions on their feet- so watch him carefully the first few months. some birds cannot use them at all.

you will need to do nail trims eventually. either do it yourself, or if you are squeamish about it, an avian vet can do it. there are lots of online & book resources on how to do this.

second, the beak: beak trims are made not or less necessary by making sure your bird has plenty of things to chew on- hard and soft woods, especially. it will also reduce behavioral problems if you give your bird plenty to chew. make sure that anything you give is bird safe (not toxic, doesn't have small parts that the bird swallows that aren't digestible)

"if you cut their feathers (I tried not too, but he kept taking off and crashing beak first into things, hard) how often should it be done? He can still fly, but not very far or high."

wing clipping is something that responsible bird owners do, so do not feel guilty. it adapts the bird to it's (human) environment, and makes it safe for the bird to be there.
the wing clip that is the best is only of the "primary flights", which allow the bird distance, but not height. it sounds like you did that. some birds are irritated by standard wing clips that leave rough ragged shafts that are itchy. if you find your burd is one of these, try this wing clip: http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html (or do it instead of the standard, it's supposed to be better).

the clipping needs to be done after a bird grows in new feathers (after a molt), but be sure that the feather has stopped growing. feathers that are still growing are called "blood feathers" because they will bleed if you cut them. blood loss is serious in birds, so read up on it before trying it, or have an avian vet show you how the first time.

good luck with you and your new bird! :D

[mtbear]

Thank you for the information. As you can tell this is our first parrot. His cement perch is in the least used place. He has five other wood perches and one cloth perch. I haven't found anything he really likes to chew on yet (except food). I'll keep trying.

[Squawksx3]

Congratulations on your new feather-kid! :D . Do you have a good avian vet near you?. Its very important to get yearly check-ups. Birds dont normally show they're sick or maybe something is wrong until its too late.. so its good to get yearly blood tests done for precaution. We take our guys to the vet for beak, nail and wing trims.. #1 reason is so they dont get mad at us and hold it against us for doing it... some birds are known to hold grudges. #2 reason is if you dont do it right, you could trim too close and they will start to bleed. Also, its a good idea to educate yourself in regards to blood feathers... they can break at anytime and like daniland said.. can be serious. Birds dont have alot of blood to begin with.. we freaked the first time we had a broken blood feather.. now its part of everyday life. We had 2 broken blood feathers just last week. When trimming wings, if there is a blood feather, you should leave the feather next to it in tact, to support the blood feather... just a little tip our vet gave us ;) . Cornstarch and super glue is good to keep on hand and will stop the bleeding immediately if a blood feather breaks... it should be removed as soon as possible. Keep trying with the toys... he'll start chewing everything in time.
Whew.. sorry, didnt mean to make this so long.. was just on a roll LOL. Good luck and congrats again!.

[daniland]

since he's a baby, he's looking to you for modeling. try showing him how to play & chew on things- and what is good food to eat. he'll be a terror in no time!

and yes, a well visit to an avian vet is in order, if you haven't already. find one here: http://www.aav.org/

good luck!

['too crazy]

Hey sis~ Remember when Barney broke his blood feather? I used corn starch too and called Jim at work. He works with a lady who has 5 greys and I had him ask her what she does. She said her breeder told her not to use corn starch because it's a thickener and can mess up their digestive tract if they get it in their system, which they do when they try to clean it off. Have you ever heard of that? Like it wasn't bad enough I was freaking out over the feather I then had to worry about his digestive tract and with that feather hanging there, I was afraid to touch him to get it off. I was going to call you but with our time differences, it was only 5:30 am your time and I didn't think you'd appreciate that! :D

Also, I've heard the sand perches are better for keeping nails and beaks trimmed because concrete hurts their feet. I too have a concrete perch along with wood and manzanita perches as well but I was considering getting a sand one and pitching the concrete one. Any Opinions?

Oh and by the way, congrats on your new baby mtbear. I'm usually not so scatter brained and ditsy but...well, yes I am! :cool: But congrats anyway!

[Squawksx3]

Hmmm.. I dont remember the corn starch issue and I've never heard that it could mess up the digestive tract .. I guess it could be possible since it is a thickener... but thats the whole idea to stop the bleeding and you use such a small amount. So what does the woman with the 5 greys do?. We took Cherokee to the vet just last week for a broken blood feather, the vet still said to use corn starch and I was very surprised when he said we could use super glue. He said super glue was invented to use in surgeries and injuries in the military years ago when they didnt have the means to stitch bodies up and is perfectly harmless... I didnt know that!... of course someone will bring up the issue of what if the bird beak gets glued together LOL... Anyways... I figure he(vet) has the degree's and years of schooling (more than a human doctor) in the animal health and anatomy department... like I said before... vets and breeders seldom see things the same way. But, I'll definately ask him about the digestive tract thing next time I see him!. We ended up taking Cherokee in that day because we were already in the town the vet is in with Cherokee... we figured we take her for a ride to pick up construction supplies with us when we notice the broken feather.. so I called them on my cell and they said to bring her on in :D .
We have concrete, sand and wood perches.. I figure they have an option and if the concrete ones hurts their feet.. they wont get on them LMBO!!!!.. they use the concrete ones all the time... up to you if ya wanna toss it... I wouldn't ever want to tell a scattered brain, ditsy, premenapausal woman to throw concrete hahahahehehehehehohohohoho......................

['too crazy]

Hey, lets not tell everyone I'm premenapausal! :eek: Anyway, the lady with the grey's said to use flour instead. I think it's just one of those things that people will disagree on but neither is right or wrong.

[mtbear]

Thank you everyone for your input. I made an appointment with a vet that was recommended to me, but they are about 45 min to an hour away. I might try to find someone closer later. I'll try to keep everything straight. We have to try to be better, because we are already spoiling him. We had to stop letting him sit on top of his cage, because it was giving him an attitude. Being an eclectus he only sits with us for so long before he wants to be by himself. He likes his cage a little too much. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

[toymaker]

the corn starch and flour are just a quick fix - if a parrot ever breaks a blood feather you should take it to your vet and have it pulled. My breeder showed me how to do it but I'm not comfortable doing it. I keep my birds clipped this way they rarely have a problem. good luck with your new baby