Beak Trimming

A bird's beak grows continuously throughout its life and must be worn down by eating, chewing, grasping and other activities.

Most birds like to chew on wood, and this will help keep their beak trimmed to a proper length. Chewing on cuttlebone also helps keep a bird's beak trimmed, while providing important minerals at the same time.

In the vast majority of cases, the bird's beak will be kept at a satisfactory size through these normal chewing activities. However, if the beak becomes so long that it interferes with the bird's eating, it must be trimmed.

Beak cutting can be done with a guillotine-style dog or cat nail trimmer. The customer may want to have the beak trimmed by a veterinarian, at least for the first time, since this is a somewhat difficult procedure.