My parrot wont let me file his nails... What should i do?

I have a congo african grey (I LOVE HIM TO BITS). He doesnt usually bite me, or fight me... But his nails are gone eXXXtra scratchy and are hurting me and he just wont let me file it (yes with an emery board).





Whenever i try he gets really angry, starts biting me and shouting me (in his birdy sort of way). I dont wana fight with him or upset him, but i have to file his scratchy nails...





Some tips would be really appriciated... ThanX!My parrot wont let me file his nails... What should i do?
Consider taking a few moments of free time daily over the next week creating a game with a towel. Play with your companion and pull the towel around on the floor and let your bird go after it. It may take sometime, but as you play the bird will get used to playing in the towel, and will soon realize that it is actually quite fun. I AM NOT TELLING YOU TO WRAP YOUR FRIEND UP. NO, NO, NO...





But soon your bird will see that fun games will take some of the attention from what you are doing while in his/her space meanwhile creating a fun experience, creating trust. Slowly take that trust to the next level by petting his/her feet, lightly sliding the toes between your fingers. Soon a new trust will emerge, and that too can become a game. See where I am going? You need to take little steps along the way and before you know it the emery board will then too become a ';game';. That method took 5 days with my macaw and only three with my red lord amazon. They too will see the benefits of getting the nails done just after a few quick scratches. The sharp tips are even too sharp for them and they can actually hurt themselves just trying to get that itch. If you allow this too long they will attempt to bite off the tips themselves and this can cause a vertical crack up the side of the nail, then you may have a serious problem.





Before you know it, your bird will sit on the door of the cage holding up a foot calling for your services.





BobMy parrot wont let me file his nails... What should i do?
we have an exotic bird shop in town that does nail trims for a great price, maybe you guys have one too. if not, this is what they do i watch them a lot.





one gal holds the bird in a hand towel protecting her hands, and some times they lightly and very gently cover the birds head to keep it calm.





the second gal clips and files the nails while the first gal holds the bird.





they are usually done in a few seconds and they give the bird a treat %26amp; the birds forget about it very quickly.





if you can find someone to hold your bird with a towel while you trim that would work. just teach them how to hold a bird without hurting it.





hope you find something that works for you.
Do you have one of those perches that are rough to help file down their nails themselves? We got one for our conure and put it near the front of the cage - where he spends a lot of time so that he'd be on it often enough. It has definitely helped to keep those nails not so pointy!
I had to make nail filing into a game for my CAG, have you got a concrete perch in the cage? this should help if not.


other than trying to convince him that it is fun to have his nails done, if he is ok with being wrapped in a towel this could be a useful tool although you would probably need nother pair of hands.


( the towel thing can be introduced as a game too but will take a while to get used to if hes never done it before )


if he wont be convinced that it is a good idea then a trip to an experienced avian vet may be a good idea.


African greys are very sensitive and may hold a grudge if you force him on it. mine once ignored me for 3 days because i pushed him too far too soon with the towel game when he was younger.


i use a site called parrotlinks where the forums are fantastic, there are probably loads of people with ideas for nail filing on there , have a look.


maybe try to do a tiny bit once a day for a few days to make it eaier for him ? good luck