Conure beak problem

[Billco88]

Hello everyone,
I purchased a cinnamon cheek conure about 3 weeks ago from a local pet store in Chicago. When I brought him home I noticed his beak looked dry and had layers but assumed it was normal. Today I went back to the same pet store to buy more toys and noticed another bird from the same hatch who's beak looked very smooth and healthy compared to Manu's. When I asked the owner who sold me the bird about this he told me it was a question for the vet. I plan on making an appointment next week but was hoping someone here could give me some insight on what this could be caused from. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Manu's hatch date was Mar 2012
I feed him roundybush pellets and goldenfeast fruits and vegetables daily.
One a week I give him a little Kaytee rainforest foraging diet seed as a treat. He isn't acting sick or out of the ordinary I'm just concerned about his beak health.

 

[nicolee003]

From your picture it doesn't look really bad. I've had two conures and both of their beaks have had that layered look and neither of them had any problems because of it.

 

[weco]

Welcome to parrotdom & being a slave to one.....or more.....

Like Nicole mentioned, the beak doesn't look bad & a parrot's beak is layered, so some may look like they're flaking off at times, though a bird will usually keep them manicured by rubbing their beaks on perches and/or cage bars.

I would wait 'til his vet check, before worrying about additives or supplements because birds fed a balanced diet & receiving fresh fruits & veggies regularly should not need any type of supplement, unless it's prescribed by a vet.

 

[Aquila]

Mine looked like that for a while, I purchased one of those beak buffers (I think it's made of coral?) and she goes to town scraping and preening on that thing! Their beaks are a lot like a tree, compressed layers that flake off. You might also be able to lightly take your fingernail and flake it off. I had to do this with my amazon at first because his were SO thick and all the dead layers wern't shedding on their own till I got down to the "current" layer. I still occasionally get a layer off of my conures too.

 

[Brisch]

Mine both have this, I went to the vet and she said it was completely normal. Some seasons it will get worse then other same as our hands dry out in winter. Giving them cement perches or coral or sand paper will help, as stated above they will rub their beaks on these to get the dry layer off.

 

[momto3]

This can be normal but it can also be caused by a lack of vitamin A. My blue crown has a vitamin A deficiency and my avian vet said that his flaky beak would get better over time. I think you will get a better answer after your vet visit.