Why are his nails so long?

Sammy's nails grow at an alarming rate, and even his beak is very long, compared with other pigeons. Is this because he's been on multivitamins and calcium because of his PMV symptoms? I've never seen anything like this.



You can tell, by the bluntness of the tips of his nails, just how often they need cutting.

Teresa...I seem to recall having heard that the over growth of beak and nails can be due to liver abnormalities.

Thanks, Charis! I hope it's not a life-threatening abnormality...

Charis.............This is one time I sincerely hope you are wrong. My Snowflake's nails are even longer than Sammy's.

Louise

Certainly a bird that is inside, can't wear the nails down and so long nails are to be expected. The beak over growing is something else and I don't think a Pigeon's beak should do that. I have a parrot that has a beak that always overgrows and he is 21 years old so I wouldn't worry too much.

I think we need to establish a pedicure protocall thread for all the inside birds.

Louise

Jackie\'s Mom wrote:

I think we need to establish a pedicure protocall thread for all the inside birds.

Louise

Jackie\'s Mom wrote:

I think we need to establish a pedicure protocall thread for all the inside birds.

Louise

Providing they don't expect nail polish...
But jokes apart, all my pigeons live indoors, Piper more so as she's been here for 3 years, and her nails are quite normal. Sammy's need cutting at least once a month.
As for his beak, at first I used to gently file the tip of the upper beak, which was longer and slightly curved over the tip of the lower beak. But, having realised that doesn't stop him from picking up seed, I haven't been doing it lately.

Teresa,
Some of my guys nails get much longer than the others.
They all have a brick to stand on and the patio to wander about.
There may be something going on or it may just be that Sammy's nails grow faster.

We have a pedicure day here about every 6 months for the parrots, doves and some of the tortoises :Yes:

No matter what kind of perches we try, natural wood, cement or 2x4 boards, the parrots nails grow long and get very sharp.

This is one day that none of us looks forward too

Some of my birds nails are fine, while others do grow faster. I think some of them just grow faster like peoples nails. Of course they're in a loft and aviary, and I haven't quite figured out yet where it would be convenient to keep a few bricks that they would have to walk on.

Teresa - I have put the same question a while ago. For me the explanation is quite simple: our pijjies are walking over carpets the whole day and even while they are flying around and have to grab to plastic surfaces, cardboard boxes, wood, rocks and stuff like that - it is no-where the same as walking in the wild, in the earth, on stones and rocks, gravel etc. They run around so much more often outside. Watching them running on the concrete balcony balustrade simply tells me they are wearing off their nails outside much more often.

I simply clip them from time to time, carefully checking where the blood vein ends.

Regarding the beak - I have given them all the opportunity to really do a work out in the sand/grit bowl with their beak and they use it often! I will order theough an additional mineral brick the next time when I order food so they have another possibility to trim their beaks although this did not seem to be necessary so far.

I have stopped to see illness behind all and every unusual behaviour/"symptom" - this is no good and drives me absolutely crazy while worrying to death. I think when you feel not well one day it is absoluletely normal - it is nonsense to immediately think you have any horrifying illness. Why should pigeons or other animals be different? They have their bad days too or bad mood - like today - when the weather is bad!!!!

pigeonwriter wrote:

Teresa - I have put the same question a while ago. For me the explanation is quite simple: our pijjies are walking over carpets the whole day and even while they are flying around and have to grab to plastic surfaces, cardboard boxes, wood, rocks and stuff like that - it is no-where the same as walking in the wild, in the earth, on stones and rocks, gravel etc. They run around so much more often outside. Watching them running on the concrete balcony balustrade simply tells me they are wearing off their nails outside much more often.

I simply clip them from time to time, carefully checking where the blood vein ends.

Regarding the beak - I have given them all the opportunity to really do a work out in the sand/grit bowl with their beak and they use it often! I will order theough an additional mineral brick the next time when I order food so they have another possibility to trim their beaks although this did not seem to be necessary so far.

I have stopped to see illness behind all and every unusual behaviour/"symptom" - this is no good and drives me absolutely crazy while worrying to death. I think when you feel not well one day it is absoluletely normal - it is nonsense to immediately think you have any horrifying illness.
Why should pigeons or other animals be different? They have their bad days too or bad mood - like today - when the weather is bad!!!!

100%, Petra.

You're probably right, all pigeons are different, so probably the rate of nail growth is different too. And he's been getting better, which is the most important.
I was only concerned because with Sammy it looked quite excessive.

I've also noticed that Hercules has much longer nails on his injured leg than the other, but that's clearly due to lack of wear, as he doesn't stand on it.

I just stumbled across this thread, and thought that an update was in order: Sammy's beak and nails are still a bit on the long side, but with time their growth has slowed down and she doesn't have any problems eating by herself or moving about.
Neither has needed trimming for more than a year now.

That's great news, Teresa.