how would this happen?...pls take a look

[crimson]

Dexter (Num Nums dad( has what looks to be a small hole, or a puncture on the side of his beak.
I just noticed it today. I swear I don't know when this happened!, gosh I analyze my birds daily, and I know I haven't seen this before today.

He must have done this in the cage, he hasn't been out for quite some time.

It doesn't seem to bother him, there is no blood, not on him or the cage....eating and drinking fine, everything seems normal except for this

his left nare seems to be clogged as well,and quite dry, do you think that is connected some how?

It also looks like there is some slight bruising or discolouration on the side.

Anybody else notice anything unusual?

some pics are pretty good, while others are not that great *sorry*....he would not sit still on Dave.

 

[JerseyWendy]

Holy smokes, Beth, he really has a little hole there. Could someone have bitten him? The only other option I can think of is he got into it with a toy, but I know how super careful you are with those.

I'm stomped here.

I know vets can repair beak injuries such as this with some sort of filling, and over time, I'm sure it'll grow out just fine.

 

[Allee]

Ouch! I see what you mean about the discoloration and stopped up nare. Is he alone in his cage? If so, is it possible he snagged his beak on a toy or a part of his cage somewhere and damaged his beak trying to free himself. If it wasn't caused by an accident, I'm at a loss Beth. Maybe someone else will be more help.

 

[Terry57]

I am also at a loss Thank goodness he seems to be fine except for that. I was also wondering if he is alone or with a cagemate? Sending good thoughts his way that it heals quickly!

 

[crimson]

The only thing I can think of(and this just came to me)

I have a pair of lovebirds above their cage, I used hardware cloth to divide it in half....so lovebirds on the top half, cockatiels on the bottom half.

the squares are 1/2" and I'm wondering if one of the lovebirds bit Dexters beak when he was at the top of the cage.(he loves hanging upside down from the top

the more I think of it the more I'm wondering if that is what has happened.
Its the only logical thing that *could* have happened, and the hole looks to be the size of the tip from the lovebird beak.



my lovebirds are currently nesting....so they are very protective. I hung the towel on the left side of the cage due to the cage being right by the door, they flip out when I open it, so hanging the towel prevents them from seeing me, but can still here me, and it has calmed them down when I enter the room.

I am a bit worried of possible infection, that's a nice puncture wound,and I'm not sure how deep it is:54:

 

[labell]

Yikes! poor baby that looks like it hurts! I would look over the cage and toys for any sharpness. To me it does look like someone bigger might have bit him. Is he around larger birds? Is his other nare clear?

 

[labell]

The shape of it does look like a bite.
I am not seeing how the cages are separate, is there a grate and tray between them, if not doesn't the poop and food from the lovebirds fall down into the cockatiel cage?

 

[crimson]

labell-in the photo you can just see the hardware cloth behind the lower door that's open.

everyday I put paper in the cage, and Summer my female lovebird (a.k.a. the shredder) shreds every square inch of paper and takes it into the nesting box.

she starts first thing in the morning and by mid afternoon she's finished two full size sheets of newspaper....and yes they have been pooped on a few times.

 

[Betrisher]

Beth, FWIW, I reckon it looks exactly like a bite. It's the right shape and everything. We all know how Lovies can bite when they're feeling a bit humid and I really reckon that's what happened to poor Dexter. I hope he's feeling better soon, poor little guy! XX

 

[Kalidasa]

If it were just the perforated beak, I would say just let it grow out, but that left nare looks like the scaly growth some birds get, a form of psoriasis I believe. That can be helped by daily application of neosporin cream (not ointment). Those cere itself looks dry and scaly. The neosporin works wonders if applied daily. It may recur but you can do it again. I had a budgie with that problem, and it's the only thing that cleared it up. It can easily grow over the whole cere and plug the nares, so it should be dealt with immediately. That's from what I can see in the pics, I'm not a vet I could be wrong, but I've definately seen that before and dealt with it.

 

[crimson]

I think so to Trish, I just hope it's not too deep.

chris- that is great to know!....I had no idea birds can get psoriasis there.

his right nare is a little bit clogged, but not as bad.

I've been misting him, any other suggestions on how to get his nare unclogged?

 

[MonicaMc]

Pick his nose? If you can restrain him upside down, flush his nares out with some saline?


I know that dental paste can be used to close up holes to prevent infection, although I'm not sure how easy it would be to get a hold of some of that stuff and use it on a bird.


It's been a few days, how's he doing?

 

[cassiepengo]

oh no that looks like its hurting!! do you think its very deep?

 

[cassiepengo]

could it really be ur lovie?? bird beaks are pretty hard. its gonna be very hard to BITE your way through a tiel bite. would ur tiel even let ur lovie do that? he loves his beak too, you know

 

[TessieB]

This type of wound could be from physical trauma (toys, another bird) or a simmering infection that has finally erupted in the area of least resistance. Watch this wound closely. If blood supply to the beak is compromised you will end up with a bird who has lost its upper beak. Good luck with him!