Overgrown beak issue!

[QuackQuack]

Hello ALL! My green cheek conure, Kitty, is having some trouble. She suffered a beak injury at the hands of a much larger bird at the age of 6 months. I got her at a year and it seemed a little overgrown but like it was repairing. Now at about a year and 6 months, her beak is definitely overgrown. It is most likely a result of the malformation that is growing out of the beak from the trauma. The vet wants to see if I can get her to grind it down on her own first. Do you have any ideas? If we do decide on the trimming procedure, does anyone have any advice as to what we should want for her? If we start trimming her beak, will we always have to trim?

I should add that before she came to me she had been on an all seed diet. I switched her to pellets, veggies, and fruit. Could she have had a better beak on the unhealthy diet?

 

[mandolynn]

Is it misaligned (malocclusion) or just overgrown? Do you have a pic? It seems odd your vet won't trim it. Ordinarily larger birds are aerated to trim their beaks, but I worked at a bird store and we did grooming services like beak trimming.But only if it wasn't so overgrown we could cause harm, or if the bird was ill or showing signs of distress. And yes, Vit A or D deficiency or iodine deficiency have been linked with over growth, as well as fatty liver disease and metabolic bone disease. Also, some birds' beaks are just a little long. My parents thought their Severe should have hers trimmed at every 6 month checkup. Her beak was overgrown when they first got her, but has been fine since with a diet change. Your vet should be able to do blood work ti make sure hes not deficient or have any other underlying issues. If you post a pic, Id be happy to give advice on it. Ive trimmed many beaks, don't try it on you own though.

 

[roxynoodle]

I'm probably not the best to advise here, but my understanding is that an avian vet should know what can be done to help. I've seen many pictures of birds who were rescued from abuse and neglect that had horrible beaks and with time, they were made much better. This may require multiple trimmings to get things better aligned, and with good diet and plenty of things to chew hopefully the bird will keep things in check.

 

[QuackQuack]

Here is Miss Kitty this morning. Kitty does let me file the end back a bit with not more trouble than a nail trim, and she is very calm and quiet once toweled. She usually just kind of goes to sleep. I have some experience trimming minor length issues, but I think we are hoping jointly for a more natural approach since it is not severe.

 

[roxynoodle]

I've only done this twice and both times the vet did it for me. Rowdy was overgrown when I first got her, but she had been in the pet store for 5 months and didn't have toys to chew. I just had Pete done in January and they used a dremel to trim it and to remove excess horn and flake from malnutrition. I think I'd be afraid to try it myself. I'm surprised your vet is telling you to do it.

Make sure she has wood toys to chew. Maybe provide some balsa wood as it's easier to chew to get her started. I would also get her a cement perch. My birds all like to groom their beaks on them. You might even give her a piece of pine 2x4 (not treated for outdoor use as that is toxic) to gnaw on. Merlin likes to chew on those.

 

[Luna]

Hi, I concure with most of the previus info givenand I also upset some knowitalls on another site by my coments. How ever:- A parrots beak VERY rarely requires any trimming. Uot of several hundread I have five that I must trim and one that I l
kept because she will require it as she ages. In my experience it is age and illness related The lower beake will become white and wax like extending until it causes eating and living problems. I should state the only problem I have had is with lovebirds and when a beak over grows close to onehalf inch I clip it with nail clippers. You probaly will never need it but always have a coagulant availale. My only other example is "Tippsy" a malformed male that the mother then a foster mother knew should be alowed to die. Being human and less knowledgable my wife and I propped him opright with cloth and fed him. He is now about seven years old and seems to enjoy life however his breathing sounds terable and he has two upper beakes that I have to trim fome time to time. For any one who may read this the bookstore in you nearest agriculture university will have several good texts on bird health and treatment that will give you much more information than most vets can be expected to have. Good luck D.D.

 

[Pedro]

IMO the beak doesn't appear to over grown to me. Give her some branches with the bark on so she can chew. A calcium perch is also good as they can really groom their beaks properly.

From what i have learned about parrots beaks is if a beak is damaged on the growing plate then the chance of the beak being normal or even growing at all is nil. I have had a few accidents where a bird was bitten on the beak & once the damaged part has grown out the beak is fine & will be normal. Not all Vets will jump in & trim a parrots beak if it's not absolutely necessary. If the bird is having trouble eating then it would be advisable.

The next thing is diet or disease or a combination of both. I would first make sure my bird was having a balanced diet, IMO fresh is best. You can create a great diet so your bird gets all the necessary vitamin & minerals from their food. I have been feeding my parrots this way for the last 25 plus years & have never lost a bird to diet related illness.

Parrot Beaks: To Trim or Not?

 

[QuackQuack]

I wanted to let everyone know that I did the conservative beak filing at home, and it went well. She tolerated it well and her beak looked much better. Almost a full month after this, she is caring for her own beak more and has shaped it beautifully herself. Maybe she needed a jumpstart?

 

[Joeyx]

that's good to hear! looks like she did need a jumpstart. ;D

oh and speaking of beak trimming, i saw this video recently and just felt like sharing;
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Evx5L_guFBA]Lovebird Care: Major Beak Trim for Lovebird Calmed without Drugs - YouTube[/ame]