Parakeet Beak Broken

[JosephN79]

I came home to let my parakeets out of their cage to find one of my parakeets beak had broken off. Some of it makes contact with his lower part, but I don’t think he can crack seed or anything.

I’m not sure how it happened, maybe he ran into something flying or one of the other birds... I have another parakeet and two GCC Conures in the room, but never any trouble for the past 4 years.

Either way... what are my options? Can I make food for him to eat until/if it grows back? What could a Vet do?

He doesn’t seem in any pain and it flying and chirping. I see dry blood, but no bleeding now...

Thanks for any help.

 

[Owlet]

can you give us a pick so we have a better idea?

 

[Laurasea]

A vet would hopefully be able to fix it fashion a temporary beak from the veterinarian bonding stuff they use.
If your birds beak is so badly damaged it can't eat needs a vet now. If your budgie had been on a seed diet, it is not going to o take soft food from you, so please take to avain veterinarian right now.

 

[ParrotGenie]

We would have to see a picture to tell you anything. If it badly damage and not just chipped, get him to a vet.

 

[AutumnBreeze]

if he is on a pellet diet then its not a huge rush but if he is on a seed diet and can't shell his seeds he needs to go to a vet ASAP. you can buy hulled seeds like millet at stores like bulk barn but that won't last you long. try to coax him to eat and take him to a vet immediately. also if the bleeding starts again put some corn starch or flour on it until the bleeding stops, but be carefully he doesn't accidentally consume to much flour/cornstarch.

 

[noodles123]

If a beak is broken and bleeding, that is an emergency in my mind..if it impacts eating, that is very serious as well.

 

[JosephN79]

I went and talked to a vet this evening. We have an appointment for him tomorrow. His beak is broken off up to his nostrils, with a small piece left. There’s like a black part where the beak was, not sure what it is.

I think he’s trying to eat, I hope he can drink. The vet said to get some organic baby food so I did that. But he’s used to seed so he didn’t seem to enjoy it, maybe he’ll try more this evening. I held him and put some on my finger and put it on his mouth, I hated doing it but maybe he’ll like it and try more. I figure where his beak brokenis really sensitive too, like a chipped tooth or hang nail.

We’ll see what the vet tells us tomm. He’s still flying around and chirping. I haven’t seen any more bleeding thankfully.

I’ve heard this will grow back, then I’ve heard it won’t... I still don’t mnow how it happened.

 

[JosephN79]

I don’t know how to send a picture... but I couldn’t get s great close up of him either. I’ll try to tomorrow.

 

[ChristaNL]

If the upper beak is almost completely missing ...

That will probaly mean he will have to be on soft foods for a long, long time/ probably the rest of his life (unles you are lucky it will start growing back or can have a 3Dprinted beak installed).


Good luck at the vets.

 

[Laurasea]

He is going to act normal, as birds have to hide injury and illness. They are hard wired this way as prey species. So he will try and look ok, even though I doubt he can eat anything at all with a beak that broken. He will act ok, right up to being found dead. So I'm really glad you are getting him to the vet, and I hope they can help.
I don't know if you can try offering the babyfood and or water from an eye dropper or syringe? With time and patience he could learn to drink from a syringe. I just hope your little one will be ok!!!!!

 

[Laurasea]

You can attach pictures by going to the advanced button on the text box, it's a little button under the box you enter your text in. Then hit the paperclip abd upload pic from phone our computers. It will show up ad small thumbnail pic under your text when you post. But we can click on it to make it bigger. I would like to see what you are dealing with. And I'm so sorry this happened to your bird.

 

[JosephN79]

Yeah I understand about hiding injury.

He was hammering away at seed last night, but I don’t know if he was getting anything out of it. I tried to mash some pellets into something soft, but he didn’t know what it was or to eat it. He kind of attacked it lol. I held him and put some banana baby food on his mouth and he was licking to get it off, but not sure he likes it or what. I also feel bad doing that because I feel that area is real sensitive now.

It’s 8am here. Wife is taking him to the vet. He was asleep and woke up when I put him in our travel cage, so I don’t know. Well see what the vet says.

Is basically getting him to eat other than seed, but that’s all he knows to eat so...

Hopefully we can get him taken care of.

 

[noodles123]

Keep us posted! I hope that everything works out!

 

[Scott]

Hopefully the vet is highly experienced and certified avian. Looking forward to a promising report.

I'd also keep a close eye on him and the others, as birds will often shun and/or become aggressive towards perceived "weaker" cage mates.

 

[EllenD]

If his beak is broken-off that far up it will never grow back...And baby food isn't going to provide anywhere near the nutrients he'll need to survive, he'll die quickly on baby food...You need to get a digital kitchen scale and weigh him each day at the same time, first thing in the morning after he poops but before he eats anything. If a Budgie loses even a few grams each day, that means that he's not taking in adequate nutrition...

The problem with baby food is that it contains no protein at all, it's just water and fruit/veggies and that's it. So you have to feed him baby bird handfeeding formula, which you can buy at any Petco or PetSmart. It must be mixed fresh EACH DAY, as it quickly grows bacteria and fungi. So only mix up enough for that means, and only let it set out for an hour at a time. You can give him a bowl of it and see if he'll eat it, but you may need to syringe feed him...

If he can't eat seeds, then this is a forever thing, as their beaks do not grow back when this happens... Here's your bigger issue, and you need to take it seriously...For that to happen to his beak, it being ripped off, it was another bird who did it, it was not an accidental crash...It doesn't make a bit of difference how long your birds have been flying freely together in that room, this is a common occurrence, and it was one of the two Green Cheeks for it to have been ripped off that high on his face...SO you need to separate not only him but the other Budgies from the Green Cheeks immediately, because there is a bad dynamic that is going on here, and it's amazing he's not dead. When this happens, which it usually does when different birds are let free unsupervised, whether it takes one day or years to happen, then it typically keeps happening...And trust me, a beak doesn't get ripped off at it's base from a crash, it has to be ripped off, and a Budgie probably can't do that to another Budgie, it has to be a larger bird. Or rather a bird with a larger beak...

Some birds get by just fine with no beak and some don't, so you need to really keep track of what he's able to eat as far as seeds, because typically this is a bird who will need to eat handfeeding formula or Emerald Critical Care for the rest of it's life...And no human baby formula or cereal like Ceralac or Similac, the Iron content will kill him, it must be a bird formula like Kaytee Exact...

 

[Mariar]

This happened to me last year. The sparrow i was rehabilitating..her lower beak fell off. The vet tried to bond it back on but no luck.so we taught her to eat..first by putting things like melon and soft friut in the cage,then baby food(purred veggies fruit) then we showed her by dunking her head in water after scopping up seed with her tongue she can eat on her own. Chirpy is dong great. .shes healthy and happy. So don't be discouraged.