Pet Bird Care - Grooming
Grooming is an indispensable part of pet bird care. How important is grooming to your pet bird? To maintain a healthy and wonderful looking pet bird, its toenails have to be clipped regularly, its wings trimmed, and once in a while sprayed with mist.
Nail trimming is the most common avian grooming procedure. Ask your veterinarian for help if you are unsure of the procedure. Your pet bird's toenails should be trimmed to avoid accidents.
Once you are set on clipping your bird's toenails, you will need somebody to assist you. Also have a towel, a pair of animal nail clippers, and styptic powder.
As your helper sets on clipping the nails, talk to your bird so as to soothe it. This is surely not an enjoyable experience for your pet bird. Take extra care so as to prevent harm to your pet bird.
Use the styptic powder if bleeding occurs. This is a clotting agent. If styptic powder is unavailable, you can use ordinary flour. Gently put the bird back in its cage. Give it time to recover from the harrowing experience. An angry bird can bite you!
Concussions often occur when birds fly into windows or mirrors. Many beloved birds fly out open windows or doors and are never seen again. To avoid such mishaps, the bird's wings have to be trimmed. This is again another aspect of proper pet bird care.
Next on the pet bird care agenda is wing clipping. You will need a towel to hold back the bird and control its movements. Gently take one wing and extend it. The wings of a bird are made of two parts. The first row, which are longer are its flight feathers. The next shorter ones are found in the next row. You will only need to cut the flight feathers.
Will you give your bird a severe or moderate wing clip? The former will involve cutting all ten of the flight feathers; while a moderate clip will involve leaving the first two feathers as is and cutting only the next eight ones. A moderate clip will still allow your bird to glide.
Never cut a blood feather, that is, a new feather still in its sheath. It has a prominent blood supply and will bleed if cut or broken. Use styptic powder once this occurs. Then go on and cut the other wing.
Pet bird care also involves misting. This involves spraying the bird with water to keep its wings tidy and shiny. Birds love this. Be sure that the water in your spray is clean and free from harmful chemicals. Misting is done during the day to allow for the feathers to dry.