Bird Articles and Care Sheets

At Specialized Care for Avian & Exotic Pets, our exotic animal clinic provides compassionate and quality care and medical treatments for many avian pets. As a local bird hospital, we come equipped with specialized equipment to perform a variety of services, including in-house radiography, house calls, flock visits, behavior consultations, and many more! Our avian veterinarian provides medical attention to bird owners and their birds in Niagara Falls, Buffalo, Lockport, Jamestown, Rochester, Batavia, Fredonia, NY; Erie, PA, and the surrounding communities!

We strive to keep bird owners knowledgeable and informed. Whether you have one bird or multiple birds or are new to being a bird parent, our bird hospital has the resources you need. We have included various articles and resources on important topics concerning your birds. Whether you are looking for information on diet, diseases, vitamins, toxic metals, or other topics, take a look at the links below.

In addition to that, the team at our bird hospital have created care sheets for various types of birds. These detailed sheets include the bird's life span and average size. Contact our bird hospital today to speak with our avian veterinarian regarding your birds' needs or to schedule an appointment!

The information in these care sheets are just an overview and should not be used in substitution for veterinary care. At Specialized Care For Avian & Exotic Pets, we offer emergency exotic pet care services, and our specialists will make home visits for larger groups of birds and special situations. If your bird needs help from an avian specialist, contact our bird hospital today! We proudly provide services to Rochester, NY, and the surrounding areas.

These care sheets were developed for Pet Supplies Plus by our own Dawn Griffard and later modified by Dr. Laura Wade. If you have any questions on the care sheets below, give our bird hospital a call!

From time to time, your bird will need to be held in a towel to be examined or groomed. This sometimes unpleasant procedure is important for the bird’s safety and in many cases, the handler’s safety as well. In the vast majority of situations, this is a very safe, brief procedure if the person is educated in how to do it correctly and the bird is healthy. When are there times where toweling and restraint might be a concern?

1. If the handler does not know how to safely towel and hold the bird. A bird must be restrained in a way that prevents it from biting the handler or hurting itself, but it must have its chest free to breathe.

2. If the bird has an underlying condition such as heart problem, atherosclerosis, lung disease, obesity, etc. These conditions may not show overt clinical signs until the bird experiences an exertional or stressful event.

Why is grooming a medical procedure? Having your bird’s nails or wings trimmed might sound like a simple procedure, but it actually takes some skill to be done appropriately due to the restraint component. If your bird is healthy and restrained safely, it should be fairly straightforward. There is some stress and excitement involved, but this is usually tolerated well. If your bird has an underlying condition described above, it requires a very careful approach that sometimes benefits from the use of mild sedation. If a bird with a serious underlying condition is not used to being handled, the increase in blood pressure and respiratory rate experienced during toweling and restraint could lead to death in some situations. This is especially common with elderly birds that often have cholesterol deposits in their blood vessels. Wings and nails can be trimmed by a veterinarian, veterinary technician, trained assistant or a knowledgeable experienced lay person. Beaks should NEVER be trimmed by anyone other than a veterinarian. Overgrown beaks usually indicate a health problem, which should be addressed concurrently. It is of extreme importance the beak is trimmed properly or the bird could have difficulty eating and experience pain. We always recommend you have your pet bird evaluated regularly throughout its life to make sure any underlying illness is addressed.

At our hospital, we require an annual exam prior to allowing routine grooming such as wings and nails. Any bird with an overgrown beak must be seen by a veterinarian to ensure proper treatment. You should also ensure your bird is examined by a veterinarian routinely prior to having a lay person groom it, especially if it has never been examined or not examined in several years.

By Laura Wade, DVM, ABVP (Avian), Specialized Care for Avian & Exotic Pets ©2022