Advice, Tui chipped his beak

[Shades Of Grey]

I was waiting to hear form the avian vet regarding Tui. He fell off his cage during some over excitement from his spray bottle shower. then he started acting funny. He got very quite and stayed in his cage all morning. I have been worried sick that he was ill. I managed to get him away from his cage and near the window to look him over. I noticed a little crack just above the tip of his beak and he is moving his tongue around a lot. Its more like a chip just above the tip. There is no blood or other sign of injury. It doesn't look cracked all the way through. I tried offering his favorite foods like apple and nuts. He will try to grasp the food and take a bite but he lets go and shakes his head. I managed to get him to eat some blueberries and a thin slice of apple. He is pretty quite and wants to stay in his cage.

 

I was waiting to hear from the proper avian vet. My step mom has agreed to drive me to kingston (an hour away) if we could get an appointment as I don't drive.I just heard back that the one avian vet on call is leaving in an hour and we won't make it there on time. They don't offer emergency services either. They would have to refer me to Toronto, 3 hours away. My mom won't drive to toronto even on a good day. I have absolutly no way of getting there. I am pretty worried even though he seems fine other than the fact that he favors his beak.

I wonder if he will be sore today then better tomorrow. Have you ever had a bird chip their beak and what happened in regards to treatment and recovery? I am trying to do everything possible. I soaked some pellets to soften them but he is not interested. I also have him some cooked foods and he picked out the fruit, better than nothing. I put a dish of mixed soft fruit and cooked veggies in the cage. I don't know what else to do.

 

Any advice is so appreciated.

[Shades Of Grey]

Just an update, I managed to get an appointment for Monday with the vet. They are not in office this weekend. I will offer soft foods all weekend and have him checked on Monday if he is not eating properly by then.

[Dave007]

Visit

http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?190393-broken-beak!!-Advice-please

 

 

What happened to your bird is nothing serious.

Vet visit is probably not necessary but if it makes you feel better, go.

Edited August 13, 2010 by Dave007

[Shades Of Grey]

Really, well that's a relief! I am trying so hard to be a good responsible owner to my adopted baby. I took an oath to give him the best life possible when I offered him my home. The other forum I am a member of (pm if interested in name, I bet some of you know it anyway LOL) is very preachy about getting a bird to a vet at the first sign of even the tiniest problem. I bet I will get chewed out there for not traveling the three hours to Toronto today.

So I shouldn't be concerned that it seems to be causing him pain to eat? I assume he will be better by tomorrow then. I am still going to keep that appointment for Monday just in case I don't see an improvement by then.

Thanks again.

[GoDiego]

The other forum I am a member of (pm if interested in name, I bet some of you know it anyway LOL) is very preachy about getting a bird to a vet at the first sign of even the tiniest problem.

 

Mmmm, if this is the forum that I have experienced I will not be re-visiting. I was made to feel like I was the worst person in the world for having an Amazon parrot as my first bird, remarks like "I hope you know what you have let yourself in for, and I hope that by him having an unexperieneced owner will not lead to irreversible physcological issues later in his life". As you can probably understand this knocked a lot of confidence out of me and worried me so much that I was not the best person for Diego. Thankfully for this forum, I have been reassured by Jayd who boosted my confidence back up.

 

I hope Tui starts getting better soon

[Tweedle]

Just my personal opinion......but I think a lot of 'animal' people spend so much time with animals, they forget how to deal with people......or perhaps they were never very good with people and that's why they prefer their animals........

[Jayd]

I am still going to keep that appointment for Monday just in case I don't see an improvement by then.

Thanks again.

 

With no disrespect to anyone, my personal opinion is:

It's always best to err on the safe-side..Should we give advice on how serious a injury is with-out seeing it first hand? no! to give a suggestion? yes!...Our Fids lives depends on our concern, as well as our feelings of doing the right thing......Good Mama.......

Edited August 13, 2010 by Jayd

[Shades Of Grey]

Thanks, I did notice a little drop of blood after the fact. I want him to see a vet NOW to be safe because he is still not eating much. I feel so helpless because there is nothing open until monday except Toronto and I have absolutely no way of getting there.

[Shades Of Grey]

Here is the best picture I could get. It's not cracked all the way through but you can see the line.

 

[Birdnut]

Ouch! I bet that does hurt Tui.

 

I will share my experience with a similar sort of injury. It was a different type of bird, but might be helpful.

 

Our lovebird, Izze, is very cage defensive, as is typical of her kind. At one point, Gwyneth, the cockatoo, learned that it was great fun to tease Izze through the cage until she came to the defense, and then grab her by the beak. We only realized this was going on later, after we had discovered Izze with substantial crack wounds on either side of her beak and extensive bruising in her beak and face. She was very depressed in her manner, and it was clear the wound was painful. I began offering her soft foods, just as you are doing with Tui: oatmeal, baby food, applesauce, etc. We also put a radiant heat panel on the back of her cage to keep her a little warmer.

 

We saw the vet the next day. He examined her and said we were doing what needed to be done, and that she would be okay. I had thought he might want to put some sealer on the beak to reinforce it, but he didn't want to do that, as it might still need to weep a little fluid as it healed. He explained how beaks grow and heal from the inside and outward (rather than from the top down, as I had thought). He really didn't do anything; just reassured me that she would be okay.

 

Izze seemed depressed and really uncomfortable for a couple of days. After that, she pretty much perked up to her old self. I think her beak stayed rather sore for a week or so. She was back to eating her normal food within few days.

 

The beak gradually healed and the bruising gradually went away. It took quite a while, but she is fine now. Needless to say, we took her cage out of the bird room, so she is no longer vulnerable to injury by the cockatoo.

 

I know this was not the same type of bird or the same injury, but I thought it might be of interest.

 

I would definitely consult with the vet, when you are able, to see if anything can be done, and, if nothing else, to reassure you.

[judygram]

I know you are worried and if I were in your position I would be too but just keep doing what you are doing now, offering softer foods until you can see the vet on Monday but I imagine that Tui will be just fine in a few days, keep us informed.

[Lambert58]

Shades,

 

That looks like a troublesome crack! We give our flock a cereal mix every day that consists of:

1) 1 part baby parrot food (kaytee)

2) 1 part harrison's fine adult food

3) 1 part instant oatmeal

4) 1 tsp red palm oil

5) 1/4 tsp finely ground calcium (vet recommendation)

6) touch of cinnamon, or peanut butter... we change it up a bit

 

Mix all that in hot (edible hot... little too hot for a baby fid but not by much) water until it's the consistency of oatmeal. It's easy to eat and we find it the best way to give the calcium and red palm oil. Might be a good way to make sure Tui gets a solid nutritious breakfast and/or dinner until his beak heals.

 

Our greys, green cheeks and sun conures gobble it up like it's candy.

[Shades Of Grey]

Thanks everyone for the help. I will try that breakfast lambert The problem is that Tui was not raised on any hot fresh foods so it is still a work in progress. I keep trying him with new foods. he seems to be doing a lot better today. He is talking and eating well. I am keeping him in the cage because he is still having problems climbing around. I brought him out to the couch for breakfast today and he ate the grapes from his cooked food. He is also eating a seed mix and apples. Its better than nothing until he can be seen Monday. Yesterday was really upsetting!

 

Thanks again

[Birdnut]

Great! Sounds like Tui is already starting to perk up a bit. I'll be anxious to hear what the vet says Monday.

 

@Lambert: Thanks for posting that recipe. I think I'm going to try that.

[Shades Of Grey]

Just an update. Tui had me all worried for nothing, as new fid moms tend to do LOL. The broken tip of his beak fell off last night and there was no blood. It was a clean break and it looks nice and smooth. I phoned the vet and explained this morning. She said he was fine and we didn't have to take him in after all I feel very relieved!

[judygram]

Thats wonderful to hear, he will have that tip honed down to perfection soon.

[scoutndizzy]

That's so great to hear! My CAG also got a beak injury when she was young. She contracted constricted toe syndrome and lost 1 full toe and most of another one, so she had balance problems. She fell several times while she was learning how to perch, and I worried so much about her. The vet saw it, and he said there was nothing to worry about as it's a common injury in younger birds, and now most of the injured area has grown out. Good luck with Tui!

[Kevin]

I am so sorry to see that Tui got hurt. Since you mentioned a blood drop, it is probably a wise choice to see the vet. I wouldn't think that waiting until Monday would make a huge difference... Try giving him some oat meal and see if he can eat some of that. It's full of vitamins and you can try different cosistencies to see which he'll eat. Good luck and keep us posted. As Rosanna Rosanna Danna always said, "It's always something" Isn't that the truth???

[Kevin]

Should have kept reading further.... I'm so glad that Tui is going to be fine.... Aren't the people on here amazing. You can always count on Dave, Jade, and so many others to step up to the plate and help when things are looking bad. My hat goes off to all of them. And this includes you....Thank you.

Kevin