Many aviculturists prefer that young birds learn to fly prior to their first wing clip, and I tend to agree. Weaning birds should develop takeoff and landing skills. This helps them develop balance and an overall grace and agility that I believe is lacking in birds that never fly prior to clipping. It is essential to take a history prior to performing even routine grooming because if, for example, a bird is on an all seed diet, it could be hypocalcemic or suffering from nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, which may lead to spontaneous bone fractures during handling. While taking a history, it is a good time to inform your client about the necessity of preventative health care for pet birds, proper nutrition and recommended yearly testing.
Birds often dig around on the bottom of their cages, sometimes in fecal material.
Unless it is specifically requested, and unless the request is justified, or unless the beak is diseased, beak trims should be avoided. At the very least, if the client has not requested the beak be trimmed, you leave yourself open to litigation. Because wing trimming techniques have been developed by a wide number of individuals, I have developed guidelines for wing clipping which I hope will be adopted as a standard by avian veterinarians, pet stores, groomers and aviculturists. The main purpose of wing clipping is to prevent upward flight in a bird and not to render a bird flightless. A properly clipped psittacine should glide gracefully to the ground and have enough feathers to break its fall.