Bird Grooming

 Bird Grooming

Today I will be discussing how to groom your bird for their health. Keeping your bird clean is very important to their overall health.

The most common grooming your bird will need is nail trimming. Nail trimming is something many pet owners must take into account, and for birds, it is especially important. Bird's feet are used for all sorts of day to day activities such as climbing, eating, and cleaning their feathers. This is why well trimmed nails are important to the bird. When trimming your bird's nails, it is important to keep them safe during the process. Your bird may squirm and move, so you want to keep them still. The best method of doing this is holding them with a towel, tight enough to stop them from moving around, but not too tight as to not hurt them. When trimming the bird's nails, gently hold the foot or toe still and use a nail clipper to cut off a part of the nail. With certain birds, you may see a dark black or red material inside the nail. These are blood vessels and nerves, and you should be careful to not cut this part of the nail, to prevent bleeding. If you do accidentally cut this part of the nail, clean the area with cold water and hold a clean towel to the nail to try and stop the bleeding. Trimmed nails are important to being able to handle your bird properly, as sharp claws can scratch your skin.

Another important part of grooming is a very controversial part of bird keeping. This is called clipping, and there is a large amount of disagreement among bird keepers on whether this practice is alright for birds. Personally, I do not approve of clipping a bird's wings. It is done to keep birds from flying around the house, but this behavior is vital to a bird's mental well being. Wing clipping involves cutting off parts of a bird's feathers to prevent them from having enough lift to fly. Many bird owners do this if their house is too small for a bird to safely fly around, however, birds should not be kept in these sorts of habitats to begin with.

A final part of common bird grooming is bathing. Like cats, birds do not generally need lengthy baths, as they groom their feathers by themselves. However, it can be good recreation for your bird to take a specialized bath every once and a while. For larger birds, some keepers will set up a perch in their shower and put the shower head on a low, lukewarm setting. Do not ever put your bird directly under the showerhead. This can severely hurt your bird's fragile body, or suffocate them due to their smaller nostrils. For smaller birds, many owners will set up a water dish with grass, or they will lightly spray their bird with a gentle water mister. Keep the mister at a distance, and make sure your bird has room to move around if you go for this method. Make sure your bird can move out of the way if they decide they do not want to be misted. If your bird tries to move out of the way, do not continue to mist them. Once your bird is finished in whatever bath you decide to give them, it is important to dry them. Drying animals fur or feathers properly prevents it from getting tangled, and stops them from getting sick. Make sure your bird is in a warm environment while they dry off. If they trust you, lightly pat your bird down with a towel to speed up the process.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bird-proofing Your Living Area

Cleaning Your Bird's Cage