Nail Care For Cockatiels – Do They Need It

The reason why nail care for cockatiels is necessary is because in the wild they will normally be filing their nails naturally while walking in the dirt looking for food or on the rough barks of trees.

In cages, cockatiels nails sometimes get a bit long and it gets uncomfortable for them to move around freely.

Most pet birds will periodically need their nails trimmed, to prevent them from catching on toys and perches. So just like you, cockatiels also need nail care.

Nail Care For Cockatiels

It is a lot easier to clip a lutino cockatiels nails, as they are a lot lighter in colour, which makes it easier to see where the nail stops and the blood supply starts. Owners of other mutations will need to be very careful not to cut too much of the claw away or you could have a bloody claw on your hands.

A good guideline to follow is to only remove the hook on each nail, and do this in the smallest increments possible. If you do happen to cut too much away and the claw starts to bleed, use flour or cornstarch along with direct pressure to stop the flow of blood.

To keep my cockatiels nails manageable, I normally supply a perch or two in the cage that feels a bit like sandpaper to keep their nails in check.

Some experts say that sanded perches don’t work, but I have been using them for a long time and I hardly ever have to trim any of my birds nails.

Here are some examples of perches you can purchase online that will help to keep your cockatiels nails in check. If you want to find out more about the products, simply click on the links.

This perch will also help to keep your cockatiels nails in perfect condition.

• The perch safely and effectively trim your birds nails with this Cholla Wood look-a-like.
• Colorful perch simplifies foot care for caged birds.
• Conditioning perches have a varying surface area for maximum nail trimming and ultra-foot and leg comfort.

• This perch has varying diameters along the length of the perch, which helps to exercise the muscles of your cockatiels feet.
• The sand and coating helps when it comes to nail care for cockatiels.
• Suitable for parakeets, cockatiels and other similar size birds

• This perch is similar to the one above, but it attaches anywhere, whereas the one above attaches to the side of the cage.
• It also has a sand coating to help keep your cockatiels nails in check.

These sanded perch covers will also help to file those nails down.

This one also helps to keep the feet and beak in top condition.

If you do choose to not use any of the suggested perches above, please take care when clipping or filling down your cockatiels nails.

Here is a video on how to clip your birds nails.