[Joeyd]

I've read that Green Rumps are very sensitive to getting their nails clipped. I'm not sure how true one breeder told me it was, but she said it can be so traumatic (not from over cutting the nail) that the Green Rump can die.

I do have a nail clipper for birds, and I know to cut the literal tinkest amount. But boy is PIko great at clamping his nails anytime I want to cut them. He HATES it.

Now. I did have on idea. I do hate these perches, but I was going to get the better type of half sand half regular. Just put it in his cage for a little bit till his nails are nice and then remove them since i know they are not good for his feet and could cause cuts.

If any of you think this might be the best way to go about it do you know the best brand to get?

I've even tried the towel method to calm him down but even with the dremel sand paper he curls up his nails to where i can't get to any of them and his front ones need to start getting filed down.

 

[ginziputzi]

I have never heard that about Green Rumps. I would say all birds hate it as it isn’t something that is natural for them. I have only had Kiwi’s nails trimmed a few times and always by an experienced professional. I would be too nervous to do it myself. She was not cooperative at all but they knew what they were doing apparently. It wasn’t expensive and took less than 5 minutes. Maybe an option for you if Piko is so difficult?

i have never used the sandpaper perches but I do have a rough cement perch as one of the permanent perches in her cage. Maybe that is why her nails are usually fine? Not sure. It is only one of a number of perches in her cage (and not the one at the highest point in her cage as she would be on it all the time). I have seen her on it from time to time but not often.

 

[Anya]

I am with Jackie - I would let a professional do it. Let them be the bad guy! 😁

 

[aqueilo]

I always get the vet to do it since I go once a year. Monty chews his nails down himself mostly so when I asked about them being long (I thought they were long) they said they were actually fine for the length.
The vets often use a electric nail file or regular nail file rather than a clipper. That's often more gentle, apparently Monty enjoyed it so much he insisted on having his beak done too, so they did the tiniest amount of his beak and he was very happy.

 

[Joeyd]

Vets are way over expensive. I have to pay a 100 dollar fee + the insane clipping fees. I’ve had bad experiences with vets in which they only hurt my bird more.

There is a place by me , the only parrot store that will clip nails, but they over clip them to the point where they bleed since everytime they put on the blood clotting powder. I do have that powder in the rare case it does happen.

At this point I think I’m going to get a perch. He has an out of bird cage and had regular perches (3 to be exact) in his cage that are natural. So hopefully one sand perch he is barely on will slightly start to cut his nails and not do much damage.

 

[ginziputzi]

Vets are way over expensive. I have to pay a 100 dollar fee + the insane clipping fees. I’ve had bad experiences with vets in which they only hurt my bird more.

There is a place by me , the only parrot store that will clip nails, but they over clip them to the point where they bleed since everytime they put on the blood clotting powder. I do have that powder in the rare case it does happen.

At this point I think I’m going to get a perch. He has an out of bird cage and had regular perches (3 to be exact) in his cage that are natural. So hopefully one sand perch he is barely on will slightly start to cut his nails and not do much damage.

Wow! That’s a crazy fee for a nail clipping at a vet! I think I was charged somewhere around $15 but I did always get it done when I was at the vet anyway, like for a checkup. What is more shocking is the bleeding. Is this an avian vet? You would think they would be better than that. The other guy that clipped her nails was also around the $15-20 mark and again, no issues with over clipping and bleeding. I can see why you are so reluctant to have it done. What terrible experiences!

I would honestly pick a cement perch over a sand one although it is more expensive. I don’t find the cement ones as hard on their feet and you can clean them, so less expensive and wasteful over time. That being said, I think you will be fine with either option as you are well set up with other perches. Fingers crossed it takes care of the issue for you!

 

[Joeyd]

Wow! That’s a crazy fee for a nail clipping at a vet! I think I was charged somewhere around $15 but I did always get it done when I was at the vet anyway, like for a checkup. What is more shocking is the bleeding. Is this an avian vet? You would think they would be better than that. The other guy that clipped her nails was also around the $15-20 mark and again, no issues with over clipping and bleeding. I can see why you are so reluctant to have it done. What terrible experiences!

I would honestly pick a cement perch over a sand one although it is more expensive. I don’t find the cement ones as hard on their feet and you can clean them, so less expensive and wasteful over time. That being said, I think you will be fine with either option as you are well set up with other perches. Fingers crossed it takes care of the issue for you!

Yeah the only way to see the vets around here is that I have to automatically pay 100 for the ”visit fee” , might be higher now.

It was the local parrot store that charged 15 bucks, might be more to trim the nails. But if I wanted to cut my birds nails like how they did, I could do that myself but can’t get myself to do that since I heard its horribly painful for the birds.

At least Piko has a few other perches, I’ll get the cement ones, I had that for my lovebird and never had problems with her feet. Then I’ll just remove them when they get down to a nice size.

I’m sad to say, me and Pikos relationship has Gone downhill. I feel that he wants to be with another bird and is fed up with everything. It wasn’t like my lovebird where she was absolutely thrilled to be with everyone. Plus everything I read about the green rumps and was told about them I thought they would be so loving.

I also tried putting the jacket on him but he hates it. I want to bring him back outside since he used to love that when his wings were clipped. I know I shouldn’t compare birds, but I’m just being honest. I miss the love Kiwi would give me.

 

[ginziputzi]

I am so sorry to hear you and Piko are struggling. It is very difficult not to compare pets, particularly when you had one that suited you so well. How old is Piko now? It is difficult to not have expectations but I think if you try to come at this from Piko’s perspective, you will find you can have a rewarding relationship that is different from what you had with your lovebird. Lovebirds and parrotlets are indeed very different personalities, even green rumps. If you think he is bored or fed up with everything, you may just have a highly intelligent little guy who needs stimulation. Have you read about clicker training? This might be something your little Einstein would really enjoy and would be fun for you as well. I am not sure what the jacket is that you’re referring to. Is it like a harness? That would take a very long time to adjust them to as they are wild birds despite being raised in a human environment. He probably needs to go much slower and be rewarded for every progress. And he definitely needs you to see him for himself and not as your former little love. Much like you wanting to be valued for being yourself.

Thank you for being honest about your feelings so we can help you. If you can give us some more details of his behaviour, we may be able to help you figure out what is going on and how you can help him. It is natural to attribute human emotion and reactions to our birds, but they are not human. For example, we are the only animals to bare our teeth to express joy. Perhaps you just need to hear different interpretations of what Piko is doing so that you don’t feel rejected. To the extent I can help with that, I am happy to do so.

 

[catexotica]

Simply use the nail trimmer to cut off the tips of the bird's nails. Trim off a small amount of nail at time, keeping a good distance from the quick. You should only trim a small amount of your bird's nails to avoid hitting the quick. Trimming the tips is usually sufficient.

 

[vkelman]

Wow, you got Green Rumped! I've read that they are rare, that in USA, at least, 99.7% of parrotlets are Pacific.

I also read that sandpaper perches might be dangerous and hurt bird's feet. I think cement ones are OK.
Somehow for 26+ years we have Pacific parrotlets we never needed to clip birds' nails. We had to clip our previous parrotlet's beek per times, my wife did it herself, I would be scared to death to do it. That necessity was unfortunate due to problems with bird's liver. That parrotlet still lived with us for 14 years. Our current parrotlet Chizhik is 9 year old and we never needed to clip neither nails nor beek.

It is important to have natural wood perches of various diameters (grape or manzanita wood etc.). It is going to have some (semi)flat perches as well, like this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D4C91LQ?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share.
It is important to have chewing material available to bird.

 

[HarryTheParrotlet]

Harry's nails were trimmed when she was DNA tested. She couldn't do loop the loops on her training stand until they grew back. (They do that)

She keeps them trimmed at the perfect length for her, herself. (One concrete perch in the cage, but she nibbles her nails when they need a trim).