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MooShu

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Sorry, I don't know where to post this topic but I need help with a problem.

I have an rose ringed parakeet / indian ringneck parrot. I think he hatched somewhere in the middle of May 2018. So he's about 8 months old. I've had him from first of July 2018.

My main problem with him is this clipping his nails. He doesn't like it one bit because of me and my mistakes.
He's my first parrot that I had for more than one month ( I had a cockatiel for 1 month last year but died of a virus that he got from the petshop ) .

Here's how things have been :

I've clipped his nails like 4 or 5 times in the last months. At first I was tricking him. I was placing him on his T stand and I was giving him his favourite fruit ( apple) to eat while I was underneath him clipping away at his nails. That worked 2 or 3 times. Then he refused to let me clip his nails. He would get the piece of apple and then fly away like crazy around the room.

Then I tried another rout, and that's by holding him. I asked my girlfriend to hold him while I was clipping his nails. He was held on his back in my gf's palm with some kind of fabric over his head. Something like a cut out bed sheet. Some fabric that was soft and thin. This worked until I acidentlly cut off one of his back nails too short and blood came out. I was kinda paniked because I felt bad "hurting" my parrot. He on the other hand was chill about it. He didn't care that his nail was bleeding, he was just enjoying some dried fruit that my gf gave him so he wouldn't notice the blood.

After that incident, he refuses to cooperate when he sees the clipping tool. When he sees it, he goes berserk. Flying around like crazy or if he's already in our palms, biting and shoving his sharp talons in our hands.

His nails haven't been clipped since, and it has been about 2 months. I don't want to get him to a vet either because outside is cold and freezing and I don't want to risk him getting sick. I waned to wait until the snow is gone and then get him to the vet to get a proper clipping.

It's not that I don't know how to clip nails. It was an accident because I didn't saw that the nail was already dull. I'm a Vet student and I work at a veterinary clinic. I clip nails all the time, of dogs and cats that is. So I know the tehnique.

The problem is that he won't cooperate anymore.
I tried letting it sit around in the same room as him and he, again, went berserk. He was biting and throwing the tool around.

How do I make him less scared of the clipping tool?
 

Ripshod

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The easiest way to make him less scared is to avoid it altogether. Natural wood perches, especially those with hard bark, should take care of his nails for you. Or a calcium perch (good for nibbling on too). Or making a platform with a large cuttlefish bone hard side up in his favourite spot.
 

Kodigirl210

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You might try a large emery board too. The kind they use for acrylic nails and such. The bird store where I took my previous bird used those. Less chance of making a mistake if you are filing them down gently. I plan on filing versus clipping as well. Sif’s nails grow to irregular to clip :)
 

MooShu

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Thank you for your answers guys. I'll try some of the stuff and I'll see how it goes.
 

Fuzzy

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Hi Calin, sorry all went horribly wrong. You can get back on track. I think you had the right idea with the apple but went too fast.

I would suggest first desensitizing him to the presence of the clipping tool. It might be an idea to get a new clipping tool that looks different to the one you have since he is now so scared of it. Maybe a different colour. Leave the tool as far away as he is relaxed with, then over days or even weeks bring it closer and closer to his cage. Slow enough that it doesn't worry him.

Then start shaping. Shaping is breaking down the target behaviour (clipping the nails) into tiny achievable increments or steps. And each step is reinforced. Think about what reinforcer you could use. Food/a treat is a good one. Maybe the apple. First step might be taking the clippers in your hand as far away as he is comfortable with and reinforcing his relaxed body language with a "Good boy!" and giving him a desired treat. Second step might be bringing the clippers slightly closer (just a centimeter). His relaxed body language (RBL) earns another treat. You might want to leave it there for this first session.

A little later in the day you might want to try again... a second session. Start again from the beginning. Take the clippers in your hand and reinforce his RBL with a "Good boy!" and treat. You may be able to get slightly closer this time. Then closer and closer still. Eventually you will be able to touch his nail with the clippers.. "Good boy!" Treat! And then clip! Jackpot treat!!! You would have to go through the same shaping plan for each nail since it will be a different sensation.

Keep training sessions really short. Always end on a successful step. If any step fails, then go back to the last successful one and proceed slower by breaking the steps down even smaller.

This is exactly how I taught Ollie, my Orange-winged Amazon to allow me to cut his nails. Ollie wasn't tame when I taught him. Reinforcers for him were pieces of cashew nut which he loves.

 

Farlie

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Question. I was planning to use my shiny chrome nail clippers to do the job with but I wanted Farlie to get used to these things first, as you're teaching above, so I thought I would just hang them in his cage as a toy for him to get used to. Is that a good idea?
 

Fuzzy

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Hi Rick, my first concern would be safety. Even with a safety catch on you never know what might happen unattended. Secondly I wouldn't like Farlie to think they were a plaything. It might then be quite difficult to reinforce his foot targeting a point on the perch at the approaching clippers, if perhaps he is bending forward trying to touch them with his beak because he's used to playing with them.

Another way could be to teach the bird to target his foot to the bars of the cage and clip the very tips of one nail at a time from outside the cage. Again by shaping the behaviour for each nail in tiny approximations/steps. Use any method that is easiest for Farlie.

With pale nails you'll be able to see the quick that runs through the nail. With dark nails it is impossible to see. If you cut the quick you are going to get a lot of bleeding. So only clip the very tips of the nails. And have styptic powder or cornflour or icing sugar on hand to stop the bleeding if you should cut the quick.
 
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MooShu

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Thank you a lot @Fuzzy . That might actually work, but it will take some time. I'll try first with a new set of clippers and see what happens because his nails are annoyingly long haha. But I'll take the slow path aswell, to fully regain his trust.
 

Brittany0208

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I'm actually dealing with this dilemma with Java. His nails are ridiculously long, and they're dark so I have no idea where the quick is. Filing doesn't seem to help since his nails grow pretty quickly.
 

Birdbabe

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I clip my birds talons, best bet is to remove a quarter of an inch, in dark nails, with light nails, you can see the quick..just have " quick stop " on standby in case you need it. I use a nail file on my IRN since he has a long blood line in his talons, a few swipes and grumbling from him gets it done. Good luck!
 

CrazyBirdChick

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You've been given good advice. The only thing I can add is, if you don't have time to acclimate him to doing it yourself, it's totally possible to get your bird to a vet in the cold - as long as you have a car.

I just took my bird in to the vet today for a pedicure and it was below zero with the windchill. I covered his travel cage with a blanket for the 1 minute walk to the car, and had the car all warm and toasty before I put him in. He was totally fine.
 
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