How To Properly Restrain A Parrot

[FoxersArtist]

I was asked on another forum to create a thread explaining how to restrain and/or towel a parrot as there seems to be a trend with people having difficulty giving oral medications to sick parrots. In a lot of ways, I guess I view Happy Birdy as a bit advanced as many in our family are serious, hardcore, learn-everything-there-is-to-know-about-our-parrots-because-how-on-earth-could-we-do-it-any-other-way? That being said, I want to post the information I wrote for the other forum to compare notes with some of the experts to see if we do things differently. So, here it is:

Recently I offered to help explain some techniques for restraining and/or toweling a bird in a different thread. Several people were interested in these techniques so I offered to start a thread on how to properly restrain a parrot. Please keep in mind that these are techniques that I have found to work for myself. I am not a vet and do not claim to be a medical expert, but I do encounter the need to restrain parrots for medication, grooming, urgent medical needs, and other important things on a daily basis because I run a rescue. I feel that anyone who owns a parrot, large or small, should be comfortable with restraining and/or toweling in the event of a sudden emergency or an illness that requires treatment.

I have found that it works best to use a towel when restraining a parrot with only few exceptions. Lovebirds and parrotlets naturally gravitate toward liking to have a hand cradle them and often feel secure enough being held like this that they do not make a big effort at trying to wiggle away. Some of these species can be restrained beautifully with minimal effort and without the use of a towel. A towel will also, in many cases help prevent the owner from getting bitten as the bird may easily be able to turn his or her head to the side to bite fingers that are very close to the face. Please use an appropriately sized towel for your bird. A small bird can suffocate in a large thick towel and a large parrot can easily escape from a small or thin towel. We use large bath towels for large species such as macaws and cockatoos, hand towels for smaller species such as conures and psittacula, and receiving blankets or paper towels for small birds like cockatiels & parakeets. Receiving blankets work wonderfully for small birds because they are larger but still thin. Sometimes the little guys are crafty enough to slip out of thicker towels because it is hard to get a good grip on them. I started using paper towels for small parrots after observing my vets use of them in the exam room and they worked very well. Just don't try to use them for making birdy burritos because a small bird still has enough power in his kick to punch his foot right through the bundle.

There are several ways to towel a bird. You can drape a towel over their head and back and restrain them using your hand or you can roll them into a birdy burrito, allowing the towel to do most of the body restraint. I have found that the burrito style is best with restraining for beak and nail grooming and for medicating some extra feisty large parrots. Simply draping the towel around the back and head and using your hand to restrain the head and body seems to work best for small birds and for medicating & tube feeding. I usually only ever roll a small bird into a burrito when I am clipping nails.

BIRDY BURRITO:
Find a long towel that is large enough to fold in half. Lay the folded towel on a bed, or countertop, or other waist level surface. Step the bird up onto the towel, facing your waist in order to keep the bird from running off the towel and away from your reach, especially if he is prone to running from the sight of a towel. With the towel under him, the first part of your bird that will become wrapped up is his legs and belly and he will be less likely to get away. If your bird is lightning fast and darts away before you can start the burrito wrapping process, place him on the towel and drape a second towel over his head and back, holding him in place so that he cannot run off of the towel you have layed flat for his burrito.

Here is Peggy Sue being an excellent example - standing on her towel, waiting to become a burrito. Depending on how anxious your bird is to be toweled, this needs to be a fairly rapid process. Your bird will not patiently wait for you to ponder the folding methods for the worlds most perfect burrito:



Drape one end of the towel over the birds back at a slightly downward angle and tuck part of it under the belly so that it is wrapped around him snuggly. Place your hand on his back to keep him from running away if needed. This is usually the part where he will turn his head to the side to bite at the towel that is invading his boundaries:



Continuing to restrain the bird by having your hand gently pressed on his back, drape to other end over your birds back with the same downward angle. Wrap the loose end underneath the belly. If the burrito is snug, your bird will relax somewhat and will feel less likely to fight his way out. If your bird is really wriggling to get out, your burrito is not tight enough for him to feel like he can relax and you should try again.



Peggy Sue has decided to relax all wrapped in her towel burrito and is not struggling to free herself. Some birds who are extra stressed by toweling may become quickly overheated and will start to pant or breathe heavily. It is important to give these guys frequent breaks if toweling is needed for longer than a moment. Also, it is common to hear a popping sound from the keel while a bird is breathing heavily. This is usually a normal sound and does not mean that your bird is injured.



You can tell if your bird is too hot because the mouth will be open and the tongue will rapidly bob up and down, usually accompanied by heavy breathing:



This washcloth sized towel is a little bit small for ringneck Chrissy, but it will work for demo purposes:


Using the burrito method to restrain for nail clipping and foot examination works well because the feet can be gently extended out the other side of the burrito for easy access, while keeping the beak far, far away! I usually lay a birdy burrito in my lap with the beak facing away from me when doing nail trims:



continued...

[FoxersArtist]

HOW TO RESTRAIN WITH HANDS:
I always get a lot of confusion when trying to show people how to properly restrain a bird using this method, probably because detail is very important in order to keep the bird from wriggling free. For smaller parrots, the thumb and pointer finger are used to keep the head steady and restrained while the other fingers and the palm of the hand is cupped around the birds back as well as one or both wings depending on how small the bird is. If the bird is small enough to where the fingers wrap around to the front of the chest, make sure that your middle finger is not pressing on the birds crop because otherwise he might throw up. For tube feeding, it is important to gently feel for correct tube insertion and crop fullness with the middle finger, but do not press firmly unless you want the bird to suddenly regurgitate. For very large birds, it is important to use a thick towel because the same thumb & finger are used to support the head, but the remaining fingers and palm will most likely be supporting the neck and it is best to have some padding there when possible. For large birds it is essential for the bird to also be wrapped in at least a partial birdy burrito so that they cannot wriggle, flap, or kick even though you have their head and neck restrained.


Finger placement is really important for successful restraint. Generally speaking, it is a wise practice to place thumb and pointer finger on the neck, just below the jaw. Instead of applying pressure to the neck push upward with your fingers on the jawbone until you feel the neck and spinal cord fully extended. Stretching the neck as far as it will go is essential for full cooperation with parrots of all sizes because otherwise the bird can easily arch his back and wriggle free by kicking his legs. With the neck fully extended, it is very difficult for the bird to move at all because there is no slack with which to do so. A fully extended neck is essential for tube feeding, blood draws, and other medical procedures. It is also helpful for administering medications because once the neck is extended, most birds will naturally have their beaks at least partially open. For small parrots with tiny heads, it can be hard to have finger and/or thumb under the jaw so instead a firm grip on the cheeks, right at the jawline is acceptable. Restraining a large parrot on the cheeks is more likely to create a situation where your patient is squirming, or suddenly whips his head out of your grasp by turning it to the side. When fingers are under the jaw, the bird is unable to turn his head because your fingers are locking him in place.

The correct way to restrain a parrot. Notice how Cooper's neck is super long? My middle finger is gently resting on her crop but not gripping hard. This is where he neck ends and her body begins. Her mouth is gaping to show me that her body is fully extended. If I were restraining to tube feed, it would be important to make sure that her body and head were properly aligned and not twisted the way they are here (due to me not using a towel for extra support). In this case, it doesn't really matter.



The incorrect way to restrain a parrot. Notice that the neck is not at all stretched and Cooper looks like she is about to kick (which is exactly what she did next.) My middle finger is just below her crop. She is arching her back and her beak is not gaping. In this case, the head will follow body no matter how good I am holding onto her jaw.



Here is an example of a correct way to hold a smaller bird, with pointer finger hooked under the jaw and thumb on the cheek in order to give more support to the back of the birds neck while still holding the jaw in place. Beak is agape, Middle finger is just below the crop resting on the breast. This is the perfect position to administer a tube or meds. It is always important to keep the bird as vertical as possible when giving liquids.



Incorrect. The bird is arching, beak is closed, feet ready to kick. You can see the crop bulging and there is almost no distance between lower mandible and crop. There's a lot of bunched up neck there!:



Continued...

[FoxersArtist]

Here I am trying to hold Peggy Sue by the cheeks. I am able to stretch out her neck, but seconds after this shot, she turned her head to the side which caused me to lose my grip on her. It's good that she is such a forgiving macaw.


Here I have Peggy in her birdy burrito and have her firmly restrained with my finger and thumb underneath her jawbone:


With some little birds, I choose not to wrap them in a burrito but instead, I use the hand method and restrain their feet by allowing them to perch their feet on my chest. I put some downward pressure on the bird so that the legs and feet are contained between their body and my chest, giving them no slack to kick. This seems to be more comfortable for the little birds and easier for me to work with them close up.

Pushing Cooper's feet against my chest to restrain them while restraining the rest of her with my hand:




Sometimes even in a position where the mouth naturally falls open, a bird will stubbornly clamp the mouth shut if he knows he is about to get medication. Many birds become wise to this after the first try and it can be frustrating trying to get them to open up. I take the end of the syringe and gently use it to push up on the exposed part of the roof of the mouth. This pressure feels funny and makes the bird want to readjust his beak so he opens up his mouth, forgetting for a moment the purpose of keeping it clamped shut. I quickly slip the syringe into the mouth and administer the meds. Other birds may have more fight in them and may open their mouths to bite the syringe as it comes close. This is a great opportunity to slip the tip of the syringe into the mouth.

Pushing on the roof of the mouth with the syringe so that Thatcher opens up:


I have found that the best way to trim the wings of larger parrots is to not use a towel at all but simply place them on a bed, countertop or other even surface. Open each wing and quickly clip before they have time to fuss much. This may not work for those who are slow to clip because the bird may thrash and hurt his body or wing. Also, beware of blood feathers. For smaller birds, I use the hand method as wing trims are somewhat impossible when they are in a birdy burrito.



I hope everyone found these tips useful. Just a reminder that these are my own methods and I am not a trained vet! Enjoy!
-Anna

[Julie]

Amazing work and examples! Thanks!!!~

[FoxersArtist]

My poor fids got lots of extra treats for being such good, patient examples.

PS: This is not for those who are suave (ahem, Brenda) and can do nails without any restraint at all, hehe. :P
-Anna

Originally Posted by Julie

Amazing work and examples! Thanks!!!~

[birdie]

awsome! I'll have to try this on my amazon. she is a master at wiggling out of a towel and is the only one I need to towel.

[too&me]

Another good job Anna we should make that a sticky.

[Patty, Linus and Co.]

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. The pictures are great. This is information every bird owner should have.

[Dot]

Someone find my thread on how to take ta few minutes and teach your bird to take meds and post it on those forums.

Target Train the bird.

Switch from drinking straw as target stick to syringe as target stick.

Place bird on t-stand or cabinet where he will receive meds and continue training with syringe.

Give the bird apple juice from the syringe.

Give the bird meds from the syringe.

For those who will not do the above, thank you for typing out the other style.

Please understand that you don't have to towel your bird. Use positive reinforcement to train him to want to take something from that syringe.

The time to start target training is now. Don't wait until your bird is sick and needs meds.

[FoxersArtist]

I politely disagree and feel that knowing how to properly towel is critical. A bird is not going to want to have anything to do with target training if he gets his toe stuck in the cage bars, breaks it, and has to be "stabilized" by his owner because it's 3:00 in the morning and no vet clinics are open. Would it be better if all of our birds knew how to drink sugar coated bitter medication from a syringe or straw? Absolutely! Still, this life is not perfect and things happen which requires toweling. If we are not armed with varied knowledge of how to help our fids, we may find ourselves feeling helpless when we are needed during such a time. I give loads of credit to anyone who can handle their parrots in the most gentle manner possible, however, sometimes we have to put them through a little discomfort to do what is best for them, as a parent might have to do with his or her young child in order to be a responsible parent.
-Anna

Originally Posted by Dot

Someone find my thread on how to take ta few minutes and teach your bird to take meds and post it on those forums.

Target Train the bird.

Switch from drinking straw as target stick to syringe as target stick.

Place bird on t-stand or cabinet where he will receive meds and continue training with syringe.

Give the bird apple juice from the syringe.

Give the bird meds from the syringe.

For those who will not do the above, thank you for typing out the other style.

Please understand that you don't have to towel your bird. Use positive reinforcement to train him to want to take something from that syringe.

The time to start target training is now. Don't wait until your bird is sick and needs meds.