Budgie With Scissors Beak

[Feathered14]

Hello there...
So I recently got a budgie with a severe scissors beak. Her top beak has grown quite long and some of it is too thick to clip with a nail clipper. At one point, a chunk of her lower beak broke off. There are no vets around, the only avian vets available have extreme prices. She can eat seeds and groom herself. What can I do?

 

[Feathered14]

Photo below

https://ibb.co/QNVMxwD

 

[ChocolateChipCookiez]

Poor thing. Thank you for taking care of the little guy.

I don't have much advice for her beak but I would try to get a CAV though it seems that's not an option for you.

I hope that'll she'll be alright. Some other more experienced member will be able to help you.​

 

[noodles123]

Yes- I would be afraid to try to deal with that myself- the blood supply can extend out when it gets too long so someone who knows what they are doing will need to evaluate it. If left alone, it will continue to grow and interfere with eating further.
They can also end up having difficulty breathing due to sinus issues.
You can try providing grinding surfaces in the cage, but that needs professional attention as soon as possible.
Do you know anything about how it got this way?
Where are you located (roughly)?
That might help members point you in the right direction...

 

[OutlawedSpirit]

First, I would not try taking it down with nail clippers. The beak is a very sensitive and important area of your budgie, and if you clip too far or in the wrong location, you can make the issue far worse.

If taking her to a vet isn't possible, although it really is the best option as far overgrown as the beak is, the next best option would be to gently start filing it down. You can even use a rough nail file and work on it a little at a time so that if the blood supply has grown down, it will start to recede little by little. Just like trimming overgrown nails a little at a time to force the quick to recede.

Just be aware that her beak is something that will most likely have to be maintained like that for the rest of her life. Unless they are corrected when they are young, or by a skilled certified avian vet, scissor beaks are a lifelong issue.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk

 

[AmyMyBlueFront]

Geee that's tough! I might try using a Dremel with a sand paper disk to GENTLY sand/file it down. My CAV uses one when she does Amy and BB's nails and it works very well. Their old CAV (he retired) would use a very sharp knife and "whittle" like peeling a patato when he would shape Smokeys beak (a TAG)




Jim

 

[Amsterdam]

Your budgie is in really bad shape assuming you have some finance problems to bring your poor budgie to the vet did you already contacted a vet nearby to inform about the price of the treatment? where do you live? i dont know if its allowed on the forums but if you need i can do you a small donation to help this poor budgie he or she looks VERY BAD.

 

[Feathered14]

Thank you all for your help. I will try filing it down. I am worried about her lower beak though, it's very brittle.
The person who gave her to me got her from a pet shop, I think.
I am in KZN, South Africa. Still looking for a vet.
Again, thanks for the help.

 

[EllenD]

Yes, please try to find someone to help your Budgie, either an Avian Vet who knows what they are doing (in South Africa you do have Certified Avian Vets), or if money is an issue maybe a parrot breeder who is very experienced...He needs a lot of help...

Is he eating regularly? The problem he's going to have if it's not taken care of soon is that he'll no longer be able to eat seeds, pellets, or anything else, and will have to be tube-fed hand-feeding formula. That's the typical issue you face with this particular condition...

Thank you for helping this poor little Budgie, I hope you are able to get him help...If you choose to try to file his beak on your own, you need to be extremely careful because you could make it worse, or you could easily cause bleeding as well, so if you do it yourself, I highly suggest that you don't start unless you have some Cornstarch with you just in-case it's starts bleeding badly, because with beak-deformities like this, you have no idea where the vessels start any longer, as their anatomy actually changes...

 

[Feathered14]

Thank you so much. I will try to find someone who can help her.

 

[Feathered14]

I went to the vet this morning. All he did was snip her beak off and done. I guess that's sorted for now.
Any tips on how to strengthen her beak besides cuttlefish?

 

[Amsterdam]

I went to the vet this morning. All he did was snip her beak off and done. I guess that's sorted for now.
Any tips on how to strengthen her beak besides cuttlefish?

Thats good news Feathered!!!!

 

[noodles123]

Yay! Please know, we weren't being paranoid in telling you to have a vet do it. In a beak like that, the blood vessels can extend out to the point that trimming it to a normal length can cause a bird to bleed severely. Glad they were able to take care of it.

Did you ever figure out the reason her beak was like that?
Some diseases, such as liver issues and viruses can cause extreme beak malformations (then there are things like diet, neglect and improper weaning/ birth defects).
Do you know how your bird's beak got that way? I know you recently acquired her...I am just thinking that knowing the root cause is going to play a large role in terms of how you handle prevention.

 

[Feathered14]

No, actually I have no idea about how it got that way. All I know is she was found in a pet shop like that. Her mate died a few months ago. She only eats seed although I've been trying to give her chopped fruit.