Trimming Your Parakeet’s Nails

Have you noticed that your budgie’s nails are getting too long? You may have seen your parakeet have trouble climbing, or she got tangled in her favorite toys. That’s what one of our Facebook fans experienced, and she asked us for advice on how to trim her bird’s nails.

Trimming a squirmy parakeet’s nails can be tricky, especially if she is not hand tamed. If you’re trying to train or hand tame your budgie, holding her and bundling her up to trim her nails can be a major training setback, and damage your fragile relationship with her. That’s why I recommend avoiding doing nail trims yourself, if possible.

A safe way to avoid having to trim your budgie’s nails is purchasing a pumice, cement or stone perch, and also having a variety of perches available to your bird, in various sizes, shapes and materials. While you don’t want your parakeets to use a textured, nail-trimming surface as their primary perch, having one available for occasional use can help keep their nails at a comfortable length.

I use this cement perch for my two rescue parakeets, and they enjoy the surface and shape variety it provides. Plus it does the trick when it comes to their nails! Click here to purchase this perch.

For more information on perches, check out this great article by Drs. Foster and Smith, including how to choose perches, where to place them, and more.

If textured perches don’t work for your birds, I recommend taking your budgie to an avian vet for a nail trim. If trimming your parakeet’s nails yourself is your only option, please do so very carefully! Here is a video tutorial that explains the process.