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Fixing Tyson's wonky beak


Tyson'sMom

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Tyson the CAG came to live with me in mid-Feb of this year (2013). He's my first parrot since the TAG I had in the late eighties. He had been in at least two homes before he came to me. He's 8 years old. When I first got him, the only "different" thing I noticed about him physically was that he plucks his upper neck and a couple of chunks on his wings (shoulders).

 

After a few weeks, I noticed the two mandibles of Tyson's beak were starting to cross, with the lower mandible getting pretty long, since the tip wasn't in contact with his upper beak. (BTW feel free to correct me if "mandible" isn't the right word!") I finally took him to the vet a couple of days ago, thinking he just needed a beak trim. According to the previous owner, Tyson hadn't seen a vet since 2010! And it wasn't an avian vet. The previous owner owned and bred other large parrots, now I think she trimmed Tyson's beak herself just before I bought him, so I wouldn't notice the problem.

 

Right away my vet noticed Tyson's beak has some signs of deformity from a long time ago. His lower mandible is wider than normal, and is "dented" on his right side, near the "root" of the beak. There's even a notch there. His upper beak has a bump that looks like at one time it was either cut way too short or broken off. Tyson holds his lower "jaw" crookedly to one side, the vet thinks this is due to either muscle/tendon damage or habit caused by the shape of the beak.

 

My vet said that in over 10 years in avian practice she has never seen a case like Tyson's! She took photos and plans on consulting with other vets online, to figure out the best way to correct or minimize the problem. Then she spent about half an hour carefully grinding Tyson's lower beak. She couldn't do as much on the right (dented) side because the beak is thinner there. She told me she's not sure what could cause this deformity because it's one-sided, but she suspects trauma or a viral infection. Now the beak is not perfect, but it's a lot better and Tyson is able to close his bill properly - though he still holds the lower beak a bit to one side. I've been told to give him plenty of things to chew, like nuts, sticks with bark etc. to try to strengthen the weaker muscles on one side of his beak.

 

The vet wants me to take him in again in 2 weeks so they can see how he's doing and if more shaping is needed. I was also told that they may have to wire Tyson's beak to get it back into shape, like braces on a person's teeth. I wonder if anyone else here has had similar issues with their bird? How did things turn out and did it take a long time to fix the problem?

 

Here's Tyson getting his cuddles last night. You can see the notch (vertical line) in his lower bill near the "root". Note that his lower bill tip is overlapping the upper bill a bit, as well.

 

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Your Vet sounds spot on, it is best to make corrections slowly to avoid having a sore beak and not eating well. I have seen crossed beak before -not too uncommon really. It should respond well to the therapy your Vet is providing. What a sweety he looks to be.

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Cute photo. It's wonderful you are getting the professional care he needs for that beak alignment issue. It sounds like you have a wonderful avian vet that knows others to consult with on this very rare beak issue. I am looking forward to the updates on this.

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