awful nails

[amalan11]

I brought a pair of tri coloured nuns about 10 days ago,they are very shy and keep out of my way .I see them all the time from a few metres away but they hide in the branchs at feed time .
Last night I was standing near enough to see both of them had deformed feet,when I got a closer look by catching them I saw it was due to their nails being awfuly overgrown,one in particular has 2 toes broken/deformed, I think due to length of nails one nail on a broken toe was actualy growing back into its foot/leg and and most other nailson both were like a corkscrew.
Apart from severe guilt I hadnt noticed, im wondering what I can do.I cut back as much as I could so they are much improved but in another post e orix stated that it is ok to cut finchs nails to bleed levil I hate to do it but im wondering about the toe that is broken/deformed to the extent it is doubled back the nail is still sort of sticking in its foot its still a problem ,I guess they are used to it but that toe will not go straight and im worried it would be better to remove nail.
Its a lesson to look first as I didnt even check their nails they are otherwise very flighty and happy and apart from refusing to eat anything but sprays of millet seem happy

[Finchman1]

Nuns are known for long nails.If the birds have really long nails they could be old birds.Nail clippers it is ,cut the nail back to where you can see the vein start.

[djb78]

I would cut the nails as the damage has already been done and this would prevent any further damage. If the toe is deformed due to being broken chances are slim that they will go back to normal but if its dislocated turn hopefully they will go back in place after a while. If the nail has broken the skin best to keep it clean to help prevent infection, I myself prefer the cheap old way with salt water but someone may point you in the direction of a good antiseptic.

[vettepilot_6]

We used to use Condy's Crystals..probably no longer available....Salt water doesn't cost much

[jusdeb]

Corn flour packed onto the bloodied nail ..it forms a crust ( fake scab ) or you can buy syptic pencils from the chemist or the barbers ( if there are still barbers around ) they are specific to stopping bleeding.

[amalan11]

thanks,the nails were cut last night and I put iodine on where the nail had been inpailing it but will try salt water.Its just so sad to think they could be like that and I didnt notice.My spice finchs are the same they need nails trimmed every month but iv never seen nails like these
I think once the shock of being caught and clipped was over they have noticed the difference they have started playing tonight by getting on a swing so hopefully they feel better

[E Orix]

Sadly this is a common problem with Nuns etc when they are kept in a cage/aviary where there is no grass to climb about on.
Birds kept under these conditions end up with scaly feet and legs plus long toe nails.
Simply clip the toenails just away from the black line. If you do cut it too short and it bleeds don't worry as they self heal.
To get blood for a DNA sample I actually cut a nail at the start of the dark line,get the drops of blood needed and just release the bird.
My Tri Nuns have plenty of grass to walk up and down on, as a result they have smooth black legs and short shaped toe nails.

[amalan11]

my guys have teatree and gum sticks to climb on.I might get them a big bunch of rough native grass to swing off if they want,like fountain grass or kangaroo grass and see if I can prevent it happening to both the nuns and spices as it realy got them upset catching them so better to try and prevent it.Some of those native grasses are like sandpaper ...

[jusdeb]

Good rough barky perches seem to work well with my birds .

[Diane]

What about one of the rough commercial perches put near the seed or water?