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Stressful nail cutting

Ocean

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So we took Maui to her nails cut, was it stressful? very. We got there and she got her nails cut for the first time, biting and all, of course they had other birds there which were loud as ever, and I bought her a new toy. After I got home, I tried to put her back into her cage, but of course the dog was going crazy and Maui flew, she ran and hid behind a couch, I had to move 2 couches and a table to get her, poor thing has dust on her,which I wiped most away before setting her back into her cage. What an awful day for her :( :crycry: :sad6:
 

sunnysmom

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Sorry. It will get better. The first time we had Sunny's nails clipped it was awful too. Of course, part of the problem was the vet we took him to- we've since switched. But Sunny was so traumatized he wouldn't come of his cage for three days. Seriously. I think I cried every day too because I thought I had seriously set back the trust I had built, etc. He got over it. And now, although I wouldn't say he likes nail clipping, it's not a big deal to him anymore.

:hug8:
 

Ocean

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Aw, thank you for some reassurence, I'm really worried, but her nails were so long, I was sure with in the next week or two they would have gone through her foot when she would curl her foot into a ball or climb on the bars of her cage. We just got her July 13th, and we have made some progress, I just hope its not all ruined now.
 

sunnysmom

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Treats. Give lots of treats. ;) :)
 

Ocean

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Hehe, I will, she loves millet and carrots and watermelon
 

MyAussieFriends

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I've only ever been bitten once, and that was at a nail clipping session at the vets. It gets better.
 

Ocean

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She doesn't normally bite, only this time because she was stressed, and I hope so! She took some carrot from me, so maybe I'm partially forgiven, as long as I keep the carrot and watermelon coming ;)
 

Stormcloud

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What sort of perches are you using??? If you use natural hardwood perches of the correct approximate diameter they will be able to keep their claws trimmed naturally. This means more money for toys. ;)
 

Ocean

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She had two plastic ones, they are kind of split in the middle, with the upper and lower connected by plastic, then she has a pedi perch and two cylinder wood ones XD Do you know what diameter should be used for Linnies out of curiosity? XD I just thought having different kinds of perches would help with her nails, and prevent feet problems
 

Stormcloud

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Many of our vendors carry natural hardwood perches. If you ask @Dotty4 (Danita) from T4W or Kathy from MSBS (there are others as well) they will be able to sell you some. Natural hardwood will vary in diameter which will help to exercise their feet as well as keep their claws in check. The hardwoods available in North America are different to what we use in Australia. Diameter should be a maximum of an inch and a minimum of a little more than 1/2 of an inch.
 

Yoshi&Reza

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Grapewood perches are amazing! I have a couple in my parrotlets cage and those are his favorite. He has rope perches, grapewood, cajeput, a swing perch, and one dowel which he never really uses. But the grapewood is great because on one perch there is so much variation which is great for their feet. Yoshi is 2 years old and I have never cut his nails.
 

Monica

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Overgrown nails can sometimes be a sign of a health problem. Some birds however just have long nails!


If you really wanted to, you could train her to accept nail trimmings without restraint. :)




 

Ocean

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She's just a baby, and the breeder I got her from on July 13 told me to get them done soon, they weren't that bad when I got her :) Thanks for the videos though!

Yoshi, thank you XD I'll look around and see if I can find some grapewood.

Gerard, I'll also check around and try and find the right Diameter for her.
 

melissasparrots

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Lineolated nails are just different than other birds. The lineolated I used to have didn't require nail trimming too often but when she did, it was a hassle. The nails curl more than other species and then they clench their little foot and toes that causes everything to curl more. If you aren't careful with lineolated nails, they can get to that certain point of looking neglected faster than other species. I'm not entirely certain they contact the perch at the right points consistently for a pedi perch to help that much. Probably just depends on the bird. Lineolated nails are a pain in the butt, but have to be done every few months. The upside is that they are kind of like amazon nails in that you can trim a lot off before getting to blood in most cases.
 

Joelle

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I brought my two linnies for a nail trimming at the vet recently and it went well. The only problem is that the vet requires a check up every time before trimming and it costs $50 per bird, plus $10 trims each. It's not sown thing I can afford since linnies need trims every few months. So I need to learn to do them myself. My guys are not hand tame but I could towel them- thoughts?
 

wyrinth

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Linnies use their nails to climb. Both my linnies have a very weak grip with their legs, but they love to hang and walk upside down and they do so with their long nails. The only time I clip them is when they start to snag while climbing on the cage, but otherwise I leave them alone, even though they look long compared to what I find acceptable in a dog or another bird.
 

jmfleish

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I'm currently in the process of doing our nine Linnies. None of our guys are hand tame either and I have to do them as I can catch them. We've had them for about two years now and they're getting used to having their nails done and don't clench their feet as much. We stick them in a towel and just clip them with a finger nail clipper. We've got five done and four more to go. I'm finding that the hardest part is catching them at this point!:) We know it's time to do ours when they start having a problem moving around the cage because their nails are getting stuck. Many of them have white nails and you can see the dark quick, so just don't cut that far. It's trickier when the nail is darker and you kind of have to guess where to cut. Have some quick stop or flour on hand in case you cut too far. We're pretty generous with not taking much off. It's not hard to do but I wouldn't do it alone the first several times you do it. To get them to unclench their little feet, use anything small for them to grip like a lolipop stick or a small perch. That will get them to open the foot and make their nails more accessible.
 

Joelle

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Good tips! Going to try to trim them myself. Might try nail filing instead so I don't hurt them. They have dark nails. Does anyone do this?
I worry about losing trust since they are getting more used to hands and eating treats from our hands but it hopefully won't be so bad.
Btw @jmfleish, was it easy to add birds to the flock? Are linnies more accepting of other new linnies? Thinking of adding in the future.

I'm currently in the process of doing our nine Linnies. None of our guys are hand tame either and I have to do them as I can catch them. We've had them for about two years now and they're getting used to having their nails done and don't clench their feet as much. We stick them in a towel and just clip them with a finger nail clipper. We've got five done and four more to go. I'm finding that the hardest part is catching them at this point!:) We know it's time to do ours when they start having a problem moving around the cage because their nails are getting stuck. Many of them have white nails and you can see the dark quick, so just don't cut that far. It's trickier when the nail is darker and you kind of have to guess where to cut. Have some quick stop or flour on hand in case you cut too far. We're pretty generous with not taking much off. It's not hard to do but I wouldn't do it alone the first several times you do it. To get them to unclench their little feet, use anything small for them to grip like a lolipop stick or a small perch. That will get them to open the foot and make their nails more accessible.
,
 

jmfleish

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Good tips! Going to try to trim them myself. Might try nail filing instead so I don't hurt them. They have dark nails. Does anyone do this?
I worry about losing trust since they are getting more used to hands and eating treats from our hands but it hopefully won't be so bad.
Btw @jmfleish, was it easy to add birds to the flock? Are linnies more accepting of other new linnies? Thinking of adding in the future.


,
I don't know if filing them will work as you have to take off quite a bit. I would just make sure that you have a small bowl of flour ready to make them sit in and make sure that if you cut too far that you get the bleeding stopped before you release them. It's scary when they bleed but it does stop. Be generous with the clipping and you should be fine. Even with the black nails, sometimes, if you look carefully, you can see the quick. And don't worry about getting the bird full of flour if you do need to use it to stop the bleeding. I've been known to just put the whole bird in the bowl of flour and make him sit there for a while!:)

The middle Linnie in my avatar is my sweetest Linnie, Sophie. She does not like hands but she loves us. She was one of my first victims this last time around for nail trimming. After I got done with her, I let her go and she was happy that it was over but was not traumatized by it. She would come back to us and sit with us and on us. While she shies away from hands, she loves to be with us. We had breakfast after that and she sat on one of our plates after we were done and ate the crumbs of our leftover egg with glee as it sat on one of our knees!:) So, they definitely get over it. She's had her nails done at least a half a dozen times now though and I think they start to realize that once they are clipped that it's easier to get around and you are doing them a favor.

As for adding more Linnies, there can be some squabbling at first. I would definitely not add an odd number and we've found that adding two at a time to an even number is the easiest way to go because then the two you add have a friend right off the bat but we have added a single to our bunch and have been successful but the first week or two can be a challenge and they will fight but have calmed down for us. Right now, with the nine we have, we're doing well, but have had a couple of instances where we've had to separate one from the bunch here and there for a bit. They can be bratty sometimes!:)
 
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