African Greys beak deteriorating?

[Owl]

My mother has an African Gray, Sidney, who is 25+ years old. Today I went to fill his food (my mother usually is the one who does that) and I noticed that he has a spot on his beak that looks like he's been rubbing it on something way too much or there is something wrong. I'm hoping someone can help me out, I've never been on this forum. I took two pictures, maybe someone could help me out?

In the first picture, you can see about half way down his beak where there is a spot that goes 'inward'.
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This second photo is showing where you can see the spot
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Is there something I can do and is this serious?

 

[MikeyTN]

Does he have a concrete or sand perch to use? That's nothing unusual or serious about it really...

 

[Owl]

Does he have a concrete or sand perch to use? That's nothing unusual or serious about it really...

He has a perch that's wood and two more that are made from hard material but not concrete or sand

 

[MikeyTN]

You mind taking a picture to show????

 

[weco]

Mikey's right, the pics look normal.....parrots' beaks are layered, like the layers of our skin & as each layer wears out, it will either peel off or the bird will rub it off.....

 

[MonicaMc]

I don't particularly like the looks of the 2/3 perches I see behind the grey in one image.


Considering where the damage is, is it safe to say that this grey likes to tilt his head to the right to climb around his cage? I'm guessing that this damage is from the cage bars themselves. If so, different bar spacing *may* help solve the issue, but that atm, it's not a major concern.

I would still suggest asking an avian vet if it would ever be a concern or not.

 

[GreyG]

I don't particularly like the looks of the 2/3 perches I see behind the grey in one image.


Considering where the damage is, is it safe to say that this grey likes to tilt his head to the right to climb around his cage? I'm guessing that this damage is from the cage bars themselves. If so, different bar spacing *may* help solve the issue, but that atm, it's not a major concern.

I would still suggest asking an avian vet if it would ever be a concern or not.

This is what i was thinking as well....what size is the cage? judging from the size of the food dish, I would guess it is small for a Grey. I also second the recommendation that you seek the opinion of a certified avian vet. It is really impossible for anyone to give sound advice based upon the photos provided (or any photo, really).

 

[MikeyTN]

The bar spacing is fine! You can see that from the picture when you view the size of the perches in the back ground. Birds do damage their beak all the time doing crazy stuffs that is normal. Willie did the same thing before. Same with few other ones. If it was a more serious condition he would be missing more then just a small chunk.

 

[GreyG]

I have never had this issue, so I cannot comment on whether it is a common problem or not; however, I wouldn't say there's not an issue based on a couple of poor quality photos posted on the internet. If it were one of my birds, I'd make an appointment for the vet to check it out.

 

[antoinette]

To me it does not look serious, unless this has been a ongoing thing.

Remember beaks are like nails, they have layers and they regrown

We are not qualified veterinarians, just giving our opinions

For peace of mind I would take the bird to the vet

My AG Mishka once chipped his beak while demolishing his swing, after a while it grew back beautifully

 

[Pajarita]

The only way that could have happened is trauma. A beak does not wear out a spot on the top of it naturally (the layers are usually only visible on the edges) so something happened that he chipped it in that particular spot. You posted in another forum I frequent and I mentioned there that I did not like how black and shiny the beak is. Grays beaks are black but they are dull and have a very slight greyish tint from the dust on them (like a cockatoo's beak would). When you see a beak so black and shiny, it means the bird is not producing enough dust and that's a medical issue (usually dietary in origin). I asked on the other forum and I'll ask again here: What does the bird eat on a daily basis? Not what you put in the cage but what he actually eats.