On Clipping Wings and Trimming nails

A few months ago, Pepper, our cockatiel, got a litle cocky and flew out of his cage, straight towards the white wall. We had to rush him to the vet clinic where we learned that his eyesight isn't all that good. To protect Pepper from himself, we've decided to have his wings clipped. Apparently, we have to do that every two months.

I found an interesting diagram drawn by one Kaytee posted in the website of the National Cockatiel Society (NCS).


According to Nancy Kizuka of NCS Magazine, the bird's wings need to be clipped again after the next molt. She says, "When clipping these flight feathers, be careful not to clip any growing feathers. You will recognize these blood feathers from the others since you can see the dark blood area in the shaft."

Kizuka also wrote something about clipping the nails of the bird.

"Nails need to be clipped when they are becoming snagged on toys, cage covers or clothes. One can use a human nail clipper or baby nail scissors, and take off just the tippy-tips.

All nails have a blood supply. If you nick into this blood supply or quick, have some Quik-Stop or Stay on hand. If you do not have these commercial products on hand, flour or corn starch will work. Apply this with gentle pressure until the bleeding stops. Occasionally the nail gets cut too short and these products don't work. Silver nitrate sticks stop any bleeding. They are available from your avian veterinarian.

The proper size perch can help keep nails at the correct length. The tips of the nails should touch the perch. You can also use concrete perches, pedi-perches, sandy perches, hard wood perches or any of the other conditioning perches available today. Using a variety of perches also helps the bird stay comfortable since they are on their feet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It also helps to prevent early onset arthritis." (Source: NCS Magazine)

I've been clipping Pepper's nails and it has worked like a charm. He's much more balanced and gets a better grip of the perch. He also doesn't hurt himself anymore when he scratches himself.

Based on the text that I have read, we should get CAREFRESH to line the brooder with to avoid splayed legs, and to make sure that there is no build-up of bacteria in the brooder. PetSMART says that CAREFRESH is "the ideal pet bedding and litter for parakeets, finches, cockatiels, conures, parrots, macaws and all other birds." Apart from providing superior odor control, CAREFRESH is highly absorbent, natural and biodegradable. It comes in many variants, all of which are non-toxic and pet-safe. It contains no contaminants, added inks, dyes, or chemicals. Made of natural, biodegradable wood pulp fiber, CAREFRESH is sanitized to kill bacteria, mold and fungus. Its natural, biodegradable fiber allows for safe and easy disposal. Heck, some even say that it's flushable (but I'd rather not disprove this theory firsthand).

I'm thinking of hitting the pet shop this week and buying a pack. Price ranges from $3 to $25, depending on the size and the store. I'm particularly interested in the white variant.

Philip on the defense

Philip is noisier than usual. Every time Sylvia emerges out of the nest box to eat or gather nesting materials, Philip is right beside her, making threatening sounds while beating his wings at imaginary predators. It's funny how, they've never been to the wild, yet they still do some of the things wild birds do.

Sylvia's getting better at gathering nesting materials, and Philip has been stuffing himself with all the leafy greens we've been feeding them. This is all so exciting. We're going to have chicks soon!

Sylvia lays her first egg!

According to aviary owner, Amanda Stoner from Canada, "the first egg is laid within 10 days after mating. The lovebirds eggs are laid in the nest every other day. The hen usually starts to brood (sit on the eggs) after the second egg is laid. Most of the time, the eggs are laid at night. Brooding takes 22 to 25 days."

Sounds like pretty exciting stuff. Now, we have to think about handfeeding and brooding. The people from Parrot Parrot have some very interesting text, particularly, about avoiding splayed legs in chicks. Read below:

You know it when you see it: a poor chick's legs are spread straight out from the body and the chick is unable to get a grip and sit up with its legs properly underneath its body. Splay legs can be very traumatic for the novice breeder. The best way to deal with this is to prevent it. Even the best nest-builders should be given a basic substrate for the nest box. I recommend Care Fresh. It is nontoxic and easy to get. Put about 2-3 inches into the nest box. Then give the hen nest-building materials. She will build her nest on top of the substrate. This prevents the chicks from ending up on the bottom of a nestbox on a slippery wooden floor where they can't get a proper grip. It also cushions them if they have an overzealous mother who sits very tightly on them. If you've already got chicks in the nest and realize they are hitting the wooden floor, remove chicks, remove the nest built by the mother (try to keep it basically intact), add 2-3 inches of Care Fresh, replace mother's nest on top of the substrate, replace chicks. Problem solved. If you've got some babies with splay legs, the best way to treat it is to double band the legs, use dental floss to tie the legs together in the proper position under the body, place the baby in a cushioned cup to help hold it in the proper position. Obviously this entails pulling the baby from the nest and handfeeding it separately from other chicks, as the string between the legs can strangle other chicks in the nest. If you are having difficulty, take the baby to the vet. You do not want to let this go, as these birds are often severely crippled and will need special caging and extra help all their lives. (Source: Parrot Parrot)

I've been researching since day 1 so that we could prepare ourselves to handfeed the chicks when they hatch. I've never done it before, but my husband has had some experience in it. He has handfed 3 chicks, and they turned out pretty well, so I'm pretty optimistic.

What's curious, though, is that despite having laid an egg, she's still gathering nesting materials. Perhaps this is normal behavior, but then our birds are pretty weird. For instance, they sleep like people. I was alarmed by this at first, and I thought that something was wrong with them. As it turns out, it's just something that they do: they lie prone on top of the nestbox with their eyes shut. Some days, I panic and think they're dead, but they just chirp and hop around looking pissed that I woke them up.

Ah well...