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In the wild, a parrot's beak and
nails are maintained naturally in the course of chewing, nut cracking, nest
building, climbing, tearing apart fruits and vegetables, landing and walking on
rough branches, and swiping beaks frequently on hard, rough surfaces.
All this “parrot work” assists in manicuring their beaks and nails.
Domestic parrots don't have as varied an environment or activity level.
Therefore, some level of human intervention is required to achieve what is
accomplished naturally by their wild counterparts.
Besides lack of
activity, improper nutrition and health problems can also result in beak and
nail problems as exhibited by overgrowth, brittleness or softness. It is
suggested that you routinely monitor the status of your bird's beaks for signs
of overgrowth, cracking, flaking, lesions or color changes. A healthy beak
is well aligned as well as uniform in shape, color and texture.
The best way to assist your parrot
in grooming its own nails and beak is to have a variety of
destructible chewing toys and accessories such as
grooming perches available and appropriately placed within their cage at all
times. Multiple
perches
and
climbing toys stationed throughout the cage will stimulate your bird to be
more active and move within his environment which will assist in maintaining his
nails and beak, as well as improve his overall mental and physical fitness.
Proper
placement of
grooming perches is essential to ensure they are effectively used and not
overused. Due to their abrasive nature, grooming perches can irritate a
bird's foot if they spend excessive time on it. Therefore, it is
recommended that they not be placed in the area of the cage where your bird
commonly sleeps, typically the highest perching spot. Rather, place the
grooming perch near the food dishes where he is assured to spend some time and
where he is also likely to use it to scrape his beak.
Although the use of the above
mentioned accessories will not completely eliminate the need for manicuring your
bird's beak and nails, it will greatly reduce the frequency of having to subject
your bird to grooming. Further guidelines and specific
recommendations pertaining to the health, maintenance and care your bird's beak
and nails are contained in our related articles:
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