by Kathy Butterfield
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Using perches that are too thin can cause toenails to grow too long. When toenail trimming is necessary, you may want to take your bird to a veterinarian to have it done. This is recommended if your bird's nails are way overgrown. If just a little trimming needs done and you'd rather do it yourself, it is easier done by two people. One to hold the bird and the other to do the trimming. Wrap your bird in a towel exposing only his head and feet. You may cover his head but be sure it can breathe. A regular nail clipper can be used to trim your mynah's toenails. Clip a little at a time - there is blood in the nail close to the tip and you don't want the nail to bleed. Be sure to check each toenail for bleeding before going on the the next one. If bleeding does occur, have some flour or cornstarch handy, pack the nail and apply slight pressure around the toe above the nail for a few minutes to stop the bleeding. After placing the bird back into the cage, sometimes bleeding can re-occur so watch for this because you may need to pack the nail with flour again and apply pressure for a few more minutes. Instead of clipping the nails, an emery board can be used if preferred, but this takes longer. File down a little at a time, not getting them too short. Once you have the toenails down to the proper length, fine sand paper may be placed around an extra perch for a couple of days a week. In the wild a birds toenails stay trimmed naturally flying and perching from tree to tree and to different types of surfaces. In captivity, we can help our bird's toenails stay trimmed by the use of natural branches in the cage. A variety of sizes is important but none so small that the toes wrap all the way around the perch. If your birds toenails are in need of frequent trimming, he needs some larger branches (perches). Trimming Your Hill Mynah's Wings Even with trimmed wings, a mynah bird can fly 3 to 4 feet high and 30 feet + straight on without stopping. You will still need to monitor your bird so it does not escape - it can be much faster than you. Before having your bird out of its cage for free time, be sure to close windows, doors and curtains, and cover any large mirrors. Be aware that a bird will naturally fly towards a window or mirror, not realizing it is a glass barrier. If you keep your mynahs wings trimmed, a fatal accident can be prevented. Mynahs are content hopping around and flying up to things to explore. When trimming the wings, both wings should be trimmed so the bird has balance. Without balance, a will be clumsy when trying to fly, being forced to land where it didn't intend and could have a crash landing. Triming one wing instead of both deprives your bird of balance and is not safe for your bird. Do not trim the feathers too short, as this can cause bleeding. Feathers should not be clipped until they are fully grown out and the blood has receded from the quill. Trim the first 5 outermost flight feathers cutting along the outer edge of the white wing markings - but not cutting off the white wing markings. You want to trim but not take away the beauty of your mynah. The
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