Hello everyone!!!!!

[Eddie Harris]

Hey guys, Nice to meet you all my name is Eddie and i've just recently bought a breeding pair of aviary ringnecks who i hope to tame! they are 18 months old so i know i have my work cut out but im sure with alot of love and affection i can have them eating out of my hands in no time! Their names are yoshi and sakura ;) Just a quick question tho! Yoshi (the male) seems to be missing a nail, now im not sure if hes completely lost the whole end of his claw or if its just the nail thats came out! The thing i wanted to know was how much of a problem would this cause to the little fella? Hes very happy and eats and drinks as normal so im sure he isnt ill, Could it possibly be a birth defect? Just so you know its on the longest toe!

Thanks for reading!

[ellieelectrons]

Hi Eddie

Welcome to the forum. Best wishes with the taming process!

Ideally, your bird would have all of its claws... as it helps them grip perches. However, birds are extremely adaptive... and from your description of him, I'd say he's adapted just fine.

If you ever decide to have his nails trimmed / ground down, I'd be really careful however. I let someone who I thought was an expert file Janey's (our blue IRN) claws once and for a couple of days she would slip off her tree. I felt so awful for her... and I've never let anyone other than a vet do anything with her nails again...

I've just taken a look at my arms... and I used to have all sorts of red marks on my arms from their feet... but I don't seem to have any now. We always have natural branches in their cage and a couple of months ago I purchased a cement perch swing (which they love). I guess that is a natural way to keep nails down.

Sorry, I got a bit off-topic there... I'll stop ranting now.

Welcome and good luck!

Could it possibly be a birth defect?

A breeder could probably answer this question as I don't know.

Take care.

Ellie.

[pinkdevil]

Welcome Eddie.

Yoshis' nail may be a birth defect or it could have been bitten off by parents or aviary mates. Or he could have gotten it caught and pulled out, so many "maybes".

Unless it is a recent nail loss, I would say he is coping fine without it if he has managed to live to 18 months with one less nail.

I have a Conure hen who has a nail missing, has since I purchased her 3 years ago. Climbs around just as good as her male.