sulphur crestred nail clipping

[majorparrot]

hi guys im new to the forum all the way from brisvegas downunder but not new to birds i am wildlife bird carer but not any more since obtaining my own cockatoo.that is 13 weeks old and was just wondering if toe nails can be clipped as he /she has big nails?

 

[Chewy]

They can be clipped but you sdhould have a expierienced person do it.

 

[zarafia]

You can start to use an emory board to file them down if she will let you . Be very gentle.

 

[Redballoon]

I get the vet to do it.

 

[majorparrot]

yeah i have called the vet he will cahrge me 13.20 but he also said it will grow back with in a week to the same stage

 

[TexDot33]

DAMN ... one of my posts was lost in this thread ... and I don't have the patients right now to repost it ...

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Lost one of mine too... frustrating.

I'll try to recap. I know Tex pointed out a benefit of having someone else do it so that you are not seen as the "bad guy". [drastically paraphrasing]

You can get a veterinarian/groomer/ or experienced bird handler show you how to do it yourself. DO NOT try it without being shown first.

If you do start trimming his nails yourself take time to get him used to it: take out the clippers, show them to him, then praise and reward him with a treat. Do this often (a couple times a day, for a couple weeks.) Then one time take out the clipper trim just one nail, then praise and reward. Each day or every few days you can trim just one nail that way it is a positive experience rather than a long ordeal.

I know some people who have done this, now when they get out the clipper their bird comes up and holds out a claw to be trimmed.

There are many options, but with him being so young it is a great time to make positive associations.

 

[majorparrot]

i give him natural branches to chew and hopefully this may help in keeping his nails down a bit. i also let him outside frequently during the day i have a cement area where he walks and also agrassed area.by the way i have been taking him evrywhere i got lately even up to my kids school in the morning and afternoon .i think im doing the right thing .in that i am socialising him and getting hi used to the sites and sounds would you all agree?i also let people pat him aswell

 

[TexDot33]

yeah i have called the vet he will cahrge me 13.20 but he also said it will grow back with in a week to the same stage

Then they aren't doing it right ... even with just human fingernail/toemail clippers Ham and Mac's stay dull for 4-6 weeks ... there is no way that a clipping should only last a week ...

There are two ways that I have seen that I like for nail clips ... one is with just good old fingernail/toenail clippers ... just snip off the quick of the nail and you are good to go. The other way that I have seen (and this is how my vet does it) is to use a dremmal ... the nail gets ground down pretty closely and any bleeding that may occur is instantly cauterized from the friction of the dremmal ...

As Auggie's Dad said, my original post did say that I am a big fan of having someone else trim nails. I don't like the thought of being associated with being the person who is 'mean' and puts them through that. I like the be seen as the 'rescuer' who they come to for cuddles after that is done to them ... as well as my boys are trained they are not quite trained enough for toe nail clipping ... yet. Hamlet will hold out her wing for me, so I might be able to trim her wings so that we don't have to have any more 'butchering' (not that I am still upset about that one).

 

[Lori]

i give him natural branches to chew and hopefully this may help in keeping his nails down a bit. i also let him outside frequently during the day i have a cement area where he walks and also agrassed area.by the way i have been taking him evrywhere i got lately even up to my kids school in the morning and afternoon .i think im doing the right thing .in that i am socialising him and getting hi used to the sites and sounds would you all agree?i also let people pat him aswell

Do you have any cement perches in his cage or play area? Do you use a harness or teather when you go out? is he clipped? Even a clipped bird can fly if scared by something. Yes I think you are doing the right thing and socializing him. Taking him with you is keeping him entertained and allowing him to socialize. It is also giving others a chance to see and be educated on an animal they may not know anything about. Just remember when asked that a Cockatoo is not a beginners bird. good luck and keep asking questions you never can know to much. Lori

 

[Auggie's Dad]

You're absolutely doing the right thing socializing him. Make sure to use the appropriate precautions as Lori mentioned, but when it comes to socializing the more the better - as long as they get enough quite time to sleep. I wish I could get Auggie out more but we are frozen here for 7 months out of the year.

As for training them for the clipper as I posted, it does take quite a while. Auggie isn't trained for that either, he seems to take care of his nails on perches. He hasn't had a nail trim in almost a year. Given that, I cant imaging you'd need to redo a trimming in a week - unless your bird never walked on anything.

 

[majorparrot]

i do have pumice perches in his cage aswell. and his wings are both clipped .i was thinking about getting a feather but im still not sure on the idea. i suppose now would be the right time to get 1 as hes young and can be trained to get use to it.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

i was thinking about getting a feather but im still not sure on the idea

If you are referring to the feather-tether DO NOT get that. The feather-tether is horrible, unsafe, and borders on cruel.

However there are other harness products that are well worth their while. Many members here speak highly of the Aviator harness. I have not used it yet but I look forward to trying it this summer. In looking at its design it seems to avoid the pitfalls of the feather-tether.

But once again for your birds safety and for your sanity stay away from the feather-tether.

 

[majorparrot]

ok i will saty away from the feather teather and try to find the one you recommended although it may be hard to find it in oz thank you

 

[Lori]

I agree a feather teather is no good. Try http://www.millerhausdistributing.ws/page3.html you can buy a harness here!!
hope this helps.

 

[TexDot33]

Aviator Harness!!

There isn't another harness out there ... don't waste your money on anything else ...

Check it out here:

http://www.theparrotuniversity.com/aviator_harness.php

It is, quite simply, the best harness out there ..

:50:
​

 

[majorparrot]

hi guys ive just started clicker trainiing with my bird i did about 10minutes yesterday and he didnt really catch on but today he just about ran to me when i said come and offered a Almond as a reward.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Awesome. Clicker training just came up in another thread as well. Now the real trick, teach him to GO somewhere. "Come" is an easy command when you have the treats, the magic is when you train them to go away from the reward in order to earn it.

That is probably the major downside I have seen with clicker training. Rather than just being a reward it becomes a conditioned stimulus which evokes the response of approaching the sound.

IF you get into training behaviors where you have your pet at a distance the key is to get them used to the reward coming from somewhere OTHER than you. But I'm getting off topic a bit.

Congrats, keep us informed on the progress.

 

[TexDot33]

Rather than just being a reward it becomes a conditioned stimulus which evokes the response of approaching the sound.

Ahhh, good ol' Pavlov at his best! The other problem with Condition/Reward is that, and I am sure I will corrected if I am wrong, is that the extinction rate is higher. By that I mean, if you train for the purpose of the "reward" (in this case the almond) when the reward disappears so does the behavior.

The ideal situation is instead of a food/treat reward use positive reinforcement and lots of scritches ... this way your pal will want to perform a behavior because it makes you happy and that in turn makes him happy ... it's still a reward but it's something that is always there ... I know that I don't aways carry almonds around with me where ever I go, and right now with all the work we are doing on Recall Training (God Forbid) should I ever need to use it I don't want the behavior to not be there because we aren't training with treats. If either of those guys get away from me I want them to WANT to come back to me when I call them.

 

[Auggie's Dad]

Very true, very true. That by no means means that using treats is not good however. Most of the effects of behavioral extinction can be overcome by a variable reward schedule, ie giving the treat sometimes but not others. In fact variable reward schedules are somewhat counter-intuitively more effective than continuous reward schedules.

Its what I call the vending-machine/slot-machine issue. No one gets addicted to vending machines, but people DO get addicted to slot machines. Gambling is addictive primarily due to the variance of the reward pay-out. Vending machines pay out much better, but the consistency of it is "boring".

So yes, our praise should be their main reward. But that praise should be, on not rare occasions, associated with treats. However most of this goes without saying as most owners do this naturally without delving into the theory.