African Grey's beak changes color

[alexlee]

My Congo african grey is 9 moths old. In the past few weeks, his beak color is changing from black to brownish grey. is anythinig wrong with him? i need advice. thanks.

[Joolesgreyuk]

alexlee, It is quite normal for beaks to change colour as your grey gets older, for instance my grey's beak has gone from a nice shiny black colour to a dull grey. Why not post a picture so we can take a look and maybe reasure you?

[ranaz]

Oh I didnt know that beaks may change color, Kookies beak is still black, but is fast growing and we need to trim every 3 months, cos it gets too long....

 

I also heard that some can have an idea of the greys age by his beak, is there any truth in this???

[Joolesgreyuk]

Not sure about that one ranaz.

[judygram]

My greys beak looks more like dark charcoal most of the time but that is probably because of the dander but if you have any concerns just contact your avian vet and ask about it.

In the meantime why don't you introduce yourself in the welcome room and tell us some more about yourself and your grey.

[Luvparrots]

I will not just guess. Please post a picture of your grey, so we can see what you are talking about. I have a Timneh Grey so her beak is bone-colored.

[alexlee]

Here is a pic.

 

[ranaz]

Oh what a beauty... I guess thats pretty normal color of beak

Actually most Timneys have a much lighter color

I guess other more experienced members could give their opinions

Bust surely hes a very handsome grey

 

Rana

[judygram]

Thats a Congo grey with a bone colored beak, maybe he has some timneh in his bloodline somewhere along the line but he is a handsome fella, maybe your avian vet can answer your question, thanks for sharing the pic with us.

[Luvparrots]

What color is your grey's tail? A Congo has a red, red tail. I have a Timneh. The avatar picture is her at about 16 weeks. The picture in the signature line is Ana Grey at around 1 1/2 years. How about a total picture of your grey.

[Dave007]

I've seen this a few times. The area that's outlined lacks certain minerals that normally keep a Congo's beak black. A lack of these minerals isn't anything to worry about. A vet can't change the color because there's actually nothing to correct. Your bird isn't related to a TAG. Your bird's beak may change back to a darker color but I doubt it. The beak loses nothing even though these cerain minerals are missing. He's also doing to the upper and lower mandibles what he normally does as well as other greys---scraping them on rough surfaces which makes the beak lose it's shiny, smooth black color and turn to gray. Don't worry about it . Your bird's beak is as strong as other greys who have a solid black color. Soon enough, that brown area will also be scraped.

 

[Joolesgreyuk]

Thanks for this explaination Dave. Beau seems to have a lighter beak than many CAGs and replies to this post has had me questioning if this is normal (I thought it was, hence my reply to the original question) anyway Beau is a bit of a beak rubber so that does figure.

 

Thanks again Dave