Scary Minutes

Today while cleaning Peppi's cage, I noticed his nails had gotten a bit long. This is bad for a bird - if they get too long, it's difficult for them to clasp a perch or branch. There is one ceramic perch in his cage that acts as a nail file, but it doesn't do a complete job.

After his cage was totally cleaned, I put it back together, and then reached my hand in to catch him. He doesn't like this and flies from one side to the other. I try my best to gently grab him and once caught, I take him out, and very carefully hold him in my left hand while I use the nail clippers in my right, being careful to not clip too close to the blood vein.

I was on his second foot when all of a sudden he was loose. He flew to the living room, hit the wall, turned and flew into and through the kitchen to the dining room, where he hit the wall and dropped to the floor, in a corner behind a 3-shelf stand. I quickly reached back there and took him in my hands. I held him for a second while I inspected his feet and decided I had trimmed enough and then put him back into his cage. He sat on the bottom of the cage, breathing heavily, his tail going up and down. I felt so bad. I told him I was sorry. I prayed he would be okay and then left the room to give him some quiet time to recompose himself.

After 15 minutes I went to check on him. He was still on the floor. I prayed some more and went back in 15 minutes to check on him. He was up on his perch. Everything is fine. I think he was just really scared. Thankfully I only have to clip his nails about every six months.