bird problem, went to vet today

[BreannPearlLang]

my conure is having a very very flakey cere..she got some string stuck under a flake and eventually a dead layer broke off.. the vet recommended that i use a glass acrylic nail file on the sides to help the blood quik recede away from the tip of her beak.. so for now i have to grind the top pretty good, expect more breaking, and grind down the sides a little every day. does anybody have any tips? i'm not really sure how to start.

 

[friedsoup]

Flaky beak? I just use a finger tip to scrape the flakes off and since my bird loves to have his beak rubbed and scratched it's great bonding time and I hope your vet gave you some ideas about diet to help relieve the problem.

 

[BreannPearlLang]

Flaky beak? I just use a finger tip to scrape the flakes off and since my bird loves to have his beak rubbed and scratched it's great bonding time and I hope your vet gave you some ideas about diet to help relieve the problem.

the flakes are severe enough that a large portion broke off. heres a photo of it from the side

 

[Parrotmamma]

Awe , poor little girl. Did the vet give any explanations as to why it is flaking so much? seems like she might be deficient in a vitamin ?
Hope she is better soon.

 

[Lovelyloribeth]

Aw poor baby!! I know nothing aboutthisbut just wanted to say that i hope she gets better soon!! As you know people on this forum are very knowledgable and will chime in with lots of great advice!! Hope she feels better!!

 

[BreannPearlLang]

i assume its a nutritional deficiency. she was in a pet shop since being hatched, so shes been on a bad diet of seeds her entire life. i recently bought conure food for her but she wont touch pellets. i even tried taking everything out and only putting pellets in, but she threw them all out and refused to eat. so i started pulverizing pellets in the blender, mixing the powder with egg, coconut flour, and cooking it like a tortilla with coconut oil.. she loves it this way! and if i feel exceptionally lazy, i cant microwave water and pellet powder for a quick "biscuit"

 

[Lovelyloribeth]

That is so smart!! I'm in the process of trying to switch chichi over to pellets as well. Sorry to get off topic but imma try that. I've never heard of it. And he throws them all over too. Then I worry he's going to starve so I put seeds back in. Can you post your lil tortilla recipe?? Sorry for hijacking your thread. :/

 

[BreannPearlLang]

That is so smart!! I'm in the process of trying to switch chichi over to pellets as well. Sorry to get off topic but imma try that. I've never heard of it. And he throws them all over too. Then I worry he's going to starve so I put seeds back in. Can you post your lil tortilla recipe?? Sorry for hijacking your thread. :/

I made a video i'll upload on youtube tomorrow.
Recommended daily amount of pellets, pulverized in blender
1 table spoon coconut flour or finely ground shredded coconut
two teaspoons of baby bird formula for added nutrition (my bird has nutrition problems and if she doesnt eat it all atleast she gets extra stuff this way)
1 teaspoon of finch seed
1 teaspoon flax seed (ill be adding chia seed and hemp seed when it gets in the mail) (i dont pulverize the seeds, its mostly for texture)
1 egg
add water until its the texture of cookie dough

form it into cookie shapes and fry it in coconut oil. dont move it until firm, and carefully flip (it will most likely break)

or

use a small circular tuberware, push an inch of dough into tuberware and microwave for 1 minute..it will pop out easily.

it might not work for your bird, you can try substituting water for fresh fruit juice etc.

i change up the shape of it, cubes, strips, a whole tortilla. i call it a tortilla but its more like a biscuit or cookie
also i switch inbetween microwaving and frying.. so she doesnt get too much coconut oil.
i dont know if it kills any nutritional value, but its way better than just seeds

 

[DebsFlock]

I am told that they CAN indeed starve if you try to change the diet all at once. If you're trying a cold-turkey approach, it's recommended you weigh them daily to make sure they are getting enough to eat. It's really hard to tell by looking since food tends to go everywhere.

 

[Annageckos]

Have you tried adding a little water to the pellets to soften them? I have also heard that many birds like apple juice. You can also mix in a little bit of seeds into the moist pellets.

 

[DannyA93]

That's what I had to do! My bird wouldn't even go near the food bowl if it had pellets in it so I soaked them in apple juice and WALA she ate every one! I'm not kidding haha there wasn't 1 pellet left I was so happy.

 

[patch]

I would introduce her to other foods too, like fresh fruits and vegetables, if you haven't yet.