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Bathing & Grooming

blue parrot on a tree stick

All pets, especially dogs and furry cats, need regular grooming. Parrots, however, need it ten times more because it not only keeps them smelling, looking and feeling good, it also assures them of stable health and safety.

Grooming for pet parrots basically covers four main areas of concern:
•Clipping wings
•Clipping toenails
•Trimming Beak
•Bathing

Clipping Your Pet Parrot’s Wings

Some people think of this as cruel. The truth is, if you don’t do this, you could lose your pet bird which may fly out of an open window not realizing that where he is going, you may not be able to follow to take him back home again. He could end up in the cruel claws of a flock of ravens.

He may also accidentally find himself caught in a ceiling fan or drowning in the toilet bowl as he flies aimlessly around the house. Clipping his wings will only allow him to fly short distances as from his perch to the floor whenever he needs to come out of his cage for some quality time with you.

It is fairly simple to clip the wings of your pet parrot. All you need to do is take a pair of scissors and cut the outer primary flight feathers (normally the first seven to nine feathers) on both wings. These feathers grow back rather quickly so make sure to check them often.

Clipping Your Parrot’s Toenails

A parrot’s toenails grow very rapidly and, unless trimmed, can become all curly and sharp. You need to clip your pet’s nails to prevent yourself from getting scratched when you play with your pet. Moreover, its curly toenails can get caught in its toys and cage wire causing severe injury, even death, to your pet. To trim your pet’s toenails you will need good-quality clippers. Make sure to trim only the tips of the nail and not too close to the parrot’s skin.

Trimming Your Pet’s Sharp Beak

Some species of parrots have beaks that get overgrown and become extremely sharp. It is best to have an avian veterinarian deal with this by trimming the parrot’s beak. You can also do this yourself by using a nail file or emery board to even out the sharp point of the beak. Make sure to keep your pat parrot’s beak clean at all times to avoid any type of fungus infection from developing on it.

Bathing

Make bathing a happy time for your pet bird even though he may seem wary and scared at first. Remember, your parrot is used to bathing by himself in the wild and for you to take him to the shower or use a water sprayer will seem very unnatural and intimidating to him at first. Gently initiate him on the joys of bathing and make it seem like play. Soon he will be stretching his wings and appreciating the fresh cool water you are spraying on him.

Regular bathing is good for your parrot as it control’s the bird’s dander and applies moisture to his dry and itchy skin, softening his feathers and allowing him to preen. It also cleans and removes any pollutants from his body that may cause him to ingest toxic elements.

Regular grooming and bathing does wonders for your pet parrot’s physical and mental well-being and assures you of many happy years with a happy, clean, healthy and loving pet.