Pet Bird Care: Grooming

Topics: avian beak trimming, proper toenail clipping for birds, and correct wing-clipping techniques - do a Google search on any of the grooming topics above to find current articles online.
Web sites with links to numerous articles:

• drsfostersmith.com - grooming articles.

Select online articles:

• Clipped Birds CAN Fly - avianeducationandresourcecenter.org
• Feathers, Flight and Parrot Keeping - Pamela Clark
• Flight Feather Trimming: Physiology, Psychology and Philosophy - Layne David Dicker
• How to Take Care of Your Bird's Beak - drsfostersmith.com
• How to Clip Parrot's Nails (video) - Kelly Willey, eHow Presenter
• How to Trim Parrot Beaks (video) - Kelly Willey, eHow Presenter
• How to Trim Parrot Feathers (video) - Kelly Willey, eHow Presenter
• Proper Wing Clipping - Margaret A. Wissman, DVM
• Pros and Cons of Trimming Flight Feathers - avianeducationandresourcecenter.org
• Pros and Cons of Wing Clipping - Judy Leach's Parrots
• Standardization of Wing Clipping for Psittacines - Margaret A. Wissman, DVM
• To Fly or Not To Fly, That is the Question - Steve Martin
• Trimming Nails Safely And Successfully - Louise Bauck
• Wing Clipping: Why, When & How - Carol Highfill

For further reading, here are articles from various bird publications that you might be able to find at your local library. If none of these publications are available in your library, most libraries have an interlibrary loan service (may be a fee involved). Merely provide them with one or more of these citations.

• Gonzalez, Fran. "Wing Clipping Basics," Bird Talk, 14 (May 1996): 72-75.
• Kikuchi, June. "Grooming—Just Do It! Keep your bird safe and healthy with these simple grooming tips," Birds USA, (1997/98): 108-109.
• Mizera, Richard. "Small Birds: Time for a Trim—Here's How," Bird Talk, 19 (Apr. 2001): 72-73.
• Samuelson, Phil. "Clip Those Wings!" Bird Talk, 12 (Apr. 1994): 72.
• Wissman, Margaret A. "Proper Toenail Clipping," Bird Talk, 14 (Apr. 1996): 28-29.
• Wissman, Margaret A. and Bill Parsons. "Correct Wing-Clipping Techniques," Bird Talk, 11 (May 1993): 69.

Conure Care: What To Do and What Not To Do

What To Do

• Give your bird(s) a lot of love, time, and patience.
• Consider subscribing to Bird Talk magazine. This is a helpful source of information on caring for pet birds.
• Wash fresh fruits and veggies before giving them to your bird and give him/her fresh food and water every day.
• Allow your bird to bath frequently at least a couple of times a week and daily if possible. My bird prefers a bath taken in a small 5-6" wide (2-3" high) bowl of water (room temperature).
• Teach your bird the "up" and "down" commands. Although with green cheeks, they don't always wish to obey the "down" command. They sometimes grip their owner's finger even tighter when one gives the "down" command or try to scramble up your shoulder.
• Take your bird for regular well-bird check-ups with a certified avian vet. Also consider keeping an Avian First Aid Kit in your home and check out NetVet. 
• Consider purchasing a book on basic bird care and one on avian first aid.
  
• Clip your bird's wings when the primary coverts grow out and trim your bird's nails when they get long and sharp. If you are not acquainted with these procedures, please have a professional do it for you; it is fairly inexpensive to have done.
• Dismantle and clean your bird's cage completely, including toys and perches, with hot, soapy water to which a cap full of liquid bleach (like lemon Clorox) has been added. This will clean and sterilize the cage to provide a safe environment for your pet.
• If you have a single bird, consider leaving a radio on during the day when you are away at work or school to keep your bird entertained and allow some supervised "out" time for your bird when you are home.
• Research a bird species, like green-cheeked conures, that you are interested in before you buy one to determine if it is right for you. 
• Visit Birds n Ways' Library of Articles/FAQs which has a listing of excellent bird care articles too numerous to reference here.

What Not to Do

• Never buy a bird merely for its color, buy a bird on impulse, or for the sole purpose of expecting it to be a talker (and then be disappointed if it is not).
• Do not lose your temper or get frustrated with your bird or its behavior. Birds, like other animals, are in tune with their owner's emotions and will react accordingly.
• Do not use teflon or other coated cookware (fumes from overheated pans can kill your bird if heated past a certain temperature). Some irons and hair dryers also contain teflon-like products. Update: One reader pointed out in her comment that there was an article in ConsumerReports.org in 2007 called "Nonstick Pans are Ok in New Tests." In the article, they didn't mention testing them with birds though, so I would still be cautious.
• Do not keep your bird shut up in its cage all the time. Birds have feelings too and will be extremely unhappy if shut up constantly and may develop behavioral problems as a result. During the week, spend at least an hour a day interacting with your bird and more on weekends.
• Do not feed your bird avocado, chocolate or foods full of sugar, fat, salt, or an all seed diet.
• Do not use soaps or other chemicals directly on your bird or use aerosols, paint, or other chemical products around your bird(s); they have very delicate, sensitive respiratory systems and could die from asphyxiation.
• Do not place your bird directly by a heater or place your bird in direct sunlight without providing a place for him/her to be in the shade (sun/heat stroke could occur). Do not place your bird near an open window or near an air conditioner as birds are susceptible to upper respiratory infections.
• Do not let your bird chew on jewelry, metal or painted buttons, dried paint, metal or plastic blinds, treated wood, etc. (paint and costume jewelry, especially, could contain lead; and wood can be treated with harmful chemicals).
• Do not walk blindly into bird care without knowing how to care for them.
• Do not let your bird's nails get too long as they can get caught in frayed ropes or other toys in its cage or let your bird's primary coverts completely grow out. Free-flying birds can accidentally escape through an open window or door, fly into windows, mirrors, water boiling on the stove or a hot frying pan, or land in the commode and drown. 
• Do not let your bird's cage go uncleaned as mites, bacteria, old food, and feces can adversely affect your bird's health.

Housing Your Green-cheeked Conure

The HOEI (18.3" x 18.3" x 22") cage is an excellent cage for smaller conures and gives them plenty of room to move around. They are difficult to find these days, but a cage similar to this would work fine for your pet. The cage that you select should have 1/2" to 3/4" bar spacing. I would suggest putting newspaper (cut to the cage size) in the bottom of the cage for adult birds; make a stack of about 10-20 papers high and then just remove the top soiled paper every day as conures tend to be messy--both their food and stool. However, if your conure is still a baby, being hand fed, and lives in the bottom of its cage, newspaper would not be a good choice.

It is necessary to give your bird fresh water every day. All food dishes, glass water tubes, etc. should be washed in hot, soapy dish water with a capful of liquid bleach--lemon Clorox is good--added to the water to disinfect the dishes at least twice a week if not daily (also a good idea to clean their wooden perches and all their toys as well in this solution making sure that the perches and toys are rinsed well and dried off before putting them back in the cage). The entire cage should be dismantled and cleaned with the same solution at least once a month. [Also see article How Clean is Clean?]
 
It is important to provide a variety of different perches for your bird, so that their feet do not get sore from being in the same position all the time. Some suggestions for mixing and matching are: 1/2" wooden dowels (untreated), Comfort perches, small or medium Booda cables, natural manzanita perches, and a small (3/4") cement perch to keep their nails dull.


The site owner suggests that one purchases (or makes one's own) play area for your bird as conures need a lot of "out" time from their cages when you are home and can supervise. For your bird's safety and to better train your bird, make sure your bird's wings are clipped first by a professional; your bird's nails should be clipped by a professional as well since windows, large mirrors, food cooking on your stove, commodes, etc. can endanger your bird's life). If kept in their cages too much, some green cheeks can throw temper tantrums that you would not believe! Green cheeks also need a wide variety of toys to play with to keep them entertained (but don't overstock their cage with toys so that they have no room to maneuver!). 

In addition, rotating toys every week or two will help keep them from getting bored. The owner's bird enjoys playing with toys with knots in them that they can unravel and hand-held toys. They relish playing with large buttons, and a favorite is a soda bottle cap. They especially like rope toys that they can swing and climb on (and hang upside down from!).