Overgrown nails

[loubear]

I am picking up a umbrella cockatoo on July 3 and I noticed when we met him his toenails were way overgrown. How would you all fix this so as not to hurt the bird and bring the nails back to a manageble length.
thanks

[donnakris]

I take mine to the vet to have them trimmed.

[SarahNya]

Yeah if they are really overgrown get the vet to trim them and then go get something like a Sandy perch, these are great for keeping the claws down and it also keeps them blunt so they don't stick in you when you're holding them

[savagem13]

How overgrown is way overgrown? Personally, I'd never pay anyone else to clip my bird's nails--it's so easy. Of course, if you'll be bringing him/her to the vet for a checkup anyway, by all means have them do it as part of the exam. But it's very easy to do. If they are very long, you'll need to clip a bit off every couple of weeks to allow the quick (blood supply) time to recede between clippings. Can't remember--does an umbrella have clear nails or black? If clear, you can easily see the quick and avoid it. If black, then you need to be more careful and clip only a small amount at once. Just make sure that you have kwik-stop on hand to stop any bleeding should you nip the quick.

[Chief's Mom]

If you do clip yourself, then the above posters are right. Start with just taking the tips off and give the quick time to receed. Otherwise, if you're not comfortable doing it, the vet will do it at their first visit. You are bringing her in for a vet check, right ?? After that, you can keep them up by filing them down a little with a black nail file. I do that weekly and all my birds have a pedi-perch in their cages.

[GlendaNS]

I used a nail file and filed them every week. That way there was no chance of quicking them.