Help Transporting African Gray

[Chai]

Hello,

I adopted a pair of African Grays in July. They are about 30 years old, wild caught, been through many homes before spending several years at the rescue and are not hand tamed. One of them, Jarla, has a beak deformity that requires periodic trimmings so that he will continue being able to eat normally. It is almost time for me to take him to have that done, and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for the best way to get him loaded up into a carrier to go for the trim.

He comes out of his cage daily and we've made a lot of progress with our relationship. I let him do what he wants (he loves to explore) and have been careful to never force him to do anything, so while he is still nervous about my hands he will sit near me and talk to me, and within the last month started accepting treats from my hand. I am worried that whatever I will need to do to get him in the carrier will damage what progress I have made so far with him. His cagemate, Colee, is blind and I'm also worried about stressing her out when I go to catch Jarla.

Does anyone have any ideas about getting him into his carrier safely and with the least amount of stress possible? Or will I sort of have to start over with our relationship every time he needs a trim? Thank you in advance!

[Pajarita]

Hi, Chai, Jarla and Colee, welcome to the forum!

I am afraid that no matter what you do, you will have to maybe not start from square one again but it will be a definite set-back in your relationship. It's inevitable.

But, you can always make it as less stressful as possible and that would mean you trimming the beak because, this way, the bird will not have to be transported anywhere (which is half the total stress of the whole thing). If you do not feel confident enough to do it (you would have to learn from somebody else and practice a bit with the experienced person looking over your shoulder to make sure you are doing it right), see if you can find somebody to come to your home to do it (this will also afford you an opportunity to learn). Trimming a beak is not something that an avian vet needs to do, anybody with experience can do it. I no longer have any birds that require it but I've had several for years and I used to do it all the time. The trick is to do it as fast and as calmly as possible and that means having the right tool (this is what I use: https://www.amazon.com/Podiatrist-Clipp ... 351&sr=8-4) and toweling the bird properly (which is something that anybody who has a parrot needs to know). Once the bird is toweled, simply lay it on the crook of your arm (so you can use both one hand and the arm to hold him steady) and trim a little bit at a time so you can make sure the final result is good.

If you cannot do it yourself (you are going to have to learn sooner or later because you can't keep on stressing out an older bird twice a year without their being consequences to it) and you cannot get anybody else to do it (the tech at the avian vet might be willing to do a home visit or the person who used to do it at the rescue), make an appt for the evening, turn off all the lights and having the carrier ready and handy, quickly towel the bird so you can put it in the carrier, run to the car, make the trip and make sure you don't have to wait at the vet to bring it in and get it done. The faster the whole thing is over and done with, the better for the bird.

[Chai]

Hi Pajarita, thank you for the advice. That is a great idea, I will check and see if someone from the rescue can come out or if they could recommend someone else who is willing to do that. I saw it done at the rescue before I brought him home and they used a dremel to do it. The entire bottom part of the beak needs trimmed back as it doesn't match up just right with the top part. It grows and pushes the top part up so eventually his mouth doesn't close right. I would love to be able to do it myself though, I will see if anyone is willing to teach me how. Take care!

[Pajarita]

Yes, a lot of people use dremels but I don't like them because it takes longer (more stress), it vibrates (and that HAS to bother them much more than just a clip which is just a very quick bit of pressure), and they make noise. I can trim a beak (lower or upper) in a couple of seconds flat while, with a dremel, it would take a couple of minutes. I think that people who use dremels do it because they are not confident enough to use a clipper...