Jake's first grooming ... Uncertain about a few things!

[Jong81]

Hey all,

I have no experience grooming, so I brought Jake to a bird store to do it. I was sort of uncomfortable with it, because they used big gloves instead of a towel. I thought everywhere they used a towel. Poor Jake looked so upset. Then they cut two more of his flight feathers, saying that Parrots and Co. (where I got him) didn't cut enough. This was something else I was uncomfortable with, because Jake falls pretty fast when he's frightened and flies off and I would prefer him to glide down as slow as possible. Luckily, he's just started malting, so they'll be back soon, but should I be concerned in the meantime? I think they said only 5 flight feathers had been cut and at their store, they cut more than that. I don't think I want to bring him back there again. He was a little disheveled when I finally got him home.

[Franciscus]

Jake is you responsibility and if you feel uncomfortable about ANYONE doing ANYTHING to him you should always feel free to ask them to stop. That includes people at bird stores, vets, anyone. They should have asked you about his flying abilities before cutting more feathers. I suggest you bring him to a bed and gently toss him on the bed untill he knows how much he can fly now with a more severe trim than he is used to. I feel the majority of Senegals should have no more than five flight feathers trimmed, they are heavy bodied birds.

[Jong81]

Thanks Frank - They sort of caught me by surprise because I just asked them to LOOK at the flight feathers and cut the nails (which were tearing up my arm), not to cut any. But I wasn't sure if it was better for him or not - before I could think about it, they cut them. And were the gloves a bad idea? Is it healthier to groom birds with a towel? When he was first groomed, he didn't seem to be freaking out like he was there. I don't want him to develop a phobia of gloves!

[Alika]

Originally Posted by Franciscus

I feel the majority of Senegals should have no more than five flight feathers trimmed, they are heavy bodied birds.

I agree.

I had a bad experience over a year ago when I took my cockatiel and senegal to get clipped. The place I took them supposedly had a lot of experience with birds, so we were reasonably comfortable. Back then, we were still pretty new to the whole bird thing.

I had to work, so my husband took them. When they came back, the idiot vet had clipped all of the secondaries, leaving all of the primaries intact on both my birds. I didn't know a lot, but I knew enough to know that you're supposed to leave ALL the secondaries and only trim a few of the primaries, depending on the bird's flight capability.

Here are some pictures I took shortly afterwards:

Cami got along alright. She molted shortly afterwards and regained her flying ability in a very short period of time. Beeper wasn't so lucky. He struggled with flying this whole past year. Because his secondaries were cut, he couldn't land properly and crashed again and again before he just stopped trying. He also completely ruined his tail this way, and we're still working on getting it back to where it should be. He still has two secondaries on his left wing that haven't been replaced.

The reason I bring it up, is because I learned from that mistake. I don't let anyone else clip my birds' wings. I won't even let my avian vet, whom I love, do it. After that experience, I learned to groom my own birds and I worked with them so I could do it bare handed; no gloves or anything. Then I taught my husband how to do it. I believe it is a lot less stressful on my birds this way, and they get exactly the clip they need, when they need it.

If I was you, I'd learn how to do these things, too. You'll probably want to still go to a vet for beak jobs... I only recently learned how to do beaks, and only feel comfortable doing my birds' beaks because I have to do it at work. But toenail clipping is really easy, and so is wing clipping once you get the hang of it.

This is the wing clip I learned to use on my birds: http://exoticpetvet.net/avian/clip.html It describes which feathers to clip and how to do it safely. It also teaches you about blood feathers and how to check for them.

The biggest thing is learning how to safely restrain your bird. Please have someone show you how to do that.

[kathleen]

I think if you are uncomfortable, you should follow your feelings. The bird store I bought Pumpkin seem very good. They don't cut the nails, they file them. The first time I had it done I was afraid to watch. They did it bare handed just knew how to handle him/her and used two people. It was kinda nice. Then when they were done, they talked to Pumpkin and told him/her what a good bird he/she is. Pumpkin was already clipped when I bought him/her so I haven't had that experience yet, but, knowing what others went through, I will know what to look for and will ask which feathers will be cut.

[felisdomesticus]

Scarlett is molting now and has 2 new primaries and a few more still coming in. I dread having to try to clip her as she still doesn't like it when we touch her wings.

Jeff and I worked together to clip the wings of a Goffin that was here for a few weeks. I held her and he cut the feathers. I imagine we'll have to use the same teamwork plus a few Valiums to get through Scarlett's clip!

[Jong81]

Well thanks everyone. I'm so mad at myself that I didn't say something, but it's frustrating - you expect that these "professionals" know what they're doing. There should be a law! Jake seems to have recovered, although he's a bit suspicious of strangers now. At least I can handle him again without getting my arm all scratched up. Alika - were you able to get compensation or something? That's clearly very wrong on their part. I assume that's what you took the pictures for?

[Alika]

Originally Posted by Jong81

Alika - were you able to get compensation or something? That's clearly very wrong on their part. I assume that's what you took the pictures for?

They offered to 'fix' it or do it again after the feathers grew out, but there was no way they were touching my birds again. They didn't offer us any kind of monetary refund or compensation... we just never went there again and told all our friends not to take their pets there. It's one thing not to know about birds, it's another to not know and say you do. I think that says a lot about your professional credibility.

I took the pictures to show some friends on another board how badly the wings were butchered. I'm glad I did, because I've used them as good examples of bad wing clips many times since.

[The Outlaw]

Well, I have to agree with everyone else. NO VET or anyone else will do anything to ANY of my birds unless I understand COMPLETELY the logic and agree. No one will EVER take my bird into another room away from me to do any procedure, either. That's my rules.

As for having them groomed elsewhere, I suggest you learn to do it yourself. If, however, you don't feel up to it, then take your OWN scissors and clippers with you. I can't tell you how angry I get when someone reaches down under the counter and produces clippers and scissors that they've just used on another bird. That's exactly how avian disease spreads.

You are the one paying for and ordering all services for your birds. I would not return to any store that didn't do it correctly. I once took my Ekkie in for a nail and wing trim at the very store I purchased her from. She had never screamed in the months that I'd had her and was very sweet and mellow. She let out the most blood curdling scream I'd ever heard in my life. That was my turning point. I knew I could do better than that.

[Myst]

I learned from other bird owners and from my vet. She is great - She does a show clip, and I am starting to lean toward a regular clip. Mostly because show clips leave flight feathers vulnerable to being destroyed. My vet will do what ever way I want though and she and her staff are great with my birds.

As for beak grooming - beaks will flake some on thier own, and unless they are mis aligned then beak grooming is not usually needed. (it usually is more cosmetic than any thing else)

I asked my vet how to trim claws - and she showed me and explained it in detail. I use a rotary tool/dremmel which is like a grinder/file. We can do all of it ourselves, and it is less stress for the feathered kids.

Saturday we had to pull a broken blood feather. She is a CAG who has calcium and other problems partly because of a zinc toxicity when she was young. She does not fly and is clumsey, but lovable. She was hurting and we knew it - but it took 3 of us to hold her to pull the feather safely. (Spouse to hold head and claws, daughter to keep wing in place, and me to pull it) The feather was an outer flight feather. She was a much clamer and happier bird when it was finished.

My suggestion is to learn how to do it with another person - and use team work of people the bird trusts. Less stress for the birds and on the owners.