Beak Question

[Demonio71]

Hi, it looks like a white line on Jo's beak, do they shed layers as they mature? If you rub his beak you can feel the line, its weird to explain... should I be concerned?

[Dave007]

All greys have that type of layer/mark on the beak. Under the white line which looks like a crack but isn't, there's new material growing and the old layer on top will eventually and slowly get filed and smoothed down by the bird. Also, because of the bird's age the rest of the beak will eventually lose that bright, solid black color as the bird gets older and continually files down the beak. The beak will look very dark grey with scratches on it.

 

BEFORE

 

AFTER

[Demonio71]

Thanks Dave for the reply

[spookyhurst]

When Nikko was at the vet last April, he shaped her beak a bit. He didn't use a dremel, but some tool thay looked like he was shaving off pieces to even it out. Her beak looked beautiful for quite awhile, but in the last few days, it's started to flake off again. So she'll just have to have a flaky beak until her next vet visit.

[siobha9]

The flaking of the beak can also be caused by a deficiency in biotin and sulphur. These are what cause the keratin in the beak to bind. If your bird is not on a pellet diet (mine aren't) maybe finding foods that include these, or a dietary supplement might be a good idea.

 

Siobhan

[Mcgyver]

You can rub some moisturiser into your hands and before it fully penetrates into your skin rub the residue into your birds beak it also conditions the beak. You will find that a regular wipe with a damp cloth will keep the beak looking glossy black with no scratch marks

[BMustee]

I don't think that human moisturizer would be safe for use on a parrot’s beak. Almost all the hand creams and such have a lot of perfumes in them that can really hurt the birds respiratory system. I would only use Aloe Gel as a moisturizer on any bird.

[Dave007]

BMustee

 

Right on the mark about hand creams. They have chemicals, they don't penetrate the beak, they can be accidently wiped onto food before the bird eats the food. Putting a dab of aloe gel is the way to go. That's what I do but in case a person doesn't have access to the gel, a tiny dab of olive oil which has no chemicals can be used and I've used it, friends of mine use it and there's never been problems. It works great.

 

By the way, olive oil is frequently use on hens that are egg bound. The hen is turned on her back, the person gets a Q-tip and wipes the vent area so that the egg has a better chance of coming out. This problem frequently happens with cockatiels because they have a reputation for laying eggs with no male around. It doesn't take much to stimulate her.

[BMustee]

I thought about the chemicals too. If you look at the ingredients lists on cosmetics there is not one natural thing it them. Hell, over half the stuff you can't even pronouns:laugh: …and if you can’t say it, it ain’t bird safe and should never be used on them.

[loviechick]

Mine all flake, but when they go to have a beak trim they file it all down and make it smooth!

[judygram]

So it is not perfectly smooth, who cares, as long as the bird is healthy, a little flakiness is ok.

[dblhelix]

So long as the beak is normal leave it be. No trimming, filing, smoothing, adding lotion or anything unnatural. Most birds will keep their beak in perfect condition through grinding the upper and lower areas together and chewing/shredding woods. The "flaky" look described and shown in pics looks completely normal.

 

You do need to provide them assorted woods to chew, gnaw and exercise their beaks. Unless there is an actual overgrowth or other problem verified by a vet, I would not do anything to the beak. Trimming and smoothing is primarily done by humans to make the bird "easier to handle" or "prettier". Its not necessary and if done wrong will prevent your bird from being able to properly climb on things or even eat. :ohmy: <br><br>Post edited by: dblhelix, at: 2007/11/15 04:42

[Tycos_mom]

I agree my greys beak isn't flaky and she keeps it in beautiful condtion. I only had to trim one of my bird beaks and not much just rounded it a touch because he was a rescue and would bite right through your hand so I had his beak rounded a bit so the bites wouldn't be so severe. and by the time he filed his beak back into a point he didn't bite anymore. Other than that none of my birds have ever had a problem. I give them branches off non toxic trees from my back yard. I know there's no spray or anything used on them I wash them in a mild bleach solution and dry them in the sun weather permitting or in the oven. my birds love to chew the bark off and make shreaded wood out of the rest My Amazon and Grey I try to get branches at least 1 1/2 inches around and at least a foot long. my Conures get the ones that are about 3/4 of an inch around and a foot long takes them about 2 weeks to finish them and they love it. and their beaks are beautiful not flakey

 

[Mcgyver]

I am aware of chemicals and perfumes and the like, I am referring to Lanolin and vitamin E, there is no perfume or scents and if it conditions human nails then beaks are a form of nail as well and I'm not talking about great amounts ....when you condition your hands you always have some residue if nothing more than a smear so you rub the beak between your fingers...it stops food sticking to the beak and helps the bird maintain the beak more easily ..you do the same for their feet.

I have done this for years with different parrots conurs, budgies, eclectus and now greys with no ill effects.

Then small amount of cream on their feet also acts as a barrier to germs and whatever they might step in.

This is just a time to time thing not part of a set care program.

[MakenasDad]

Mcgyver,

It would actually have the reverse effect. Adding oils will actually pick up germs, as it will act like glue to everything they're walking on. I can kind of understand your thinking on this, but I'm with MrSpock on this one, I don't believe that you should be adding moisturizers to a birds beak or especially feet. Most of us here use Aloe juice or gel. It's completely natural and doesn't leave an oily residue. It seems to me that what you're doing is more for cosmetic reasons, making the beak look better, but you really have to consider how they cope with this in the wild. We use aloe because many of the climates we bring our birds into do need a form of moisturizer for their skin, we just need to make sure that it is healthy for our birds, and has no ill effects.

[Talon]

Good information guys, Andrew, and Dave, thanks!

 

My avian vet said, that because they are not outdoors in the wild using their beak fiercely looking for food, and cracking nuts etc., like they would in their natural habitat, their beaks may do this. They need toys to chew on, and hidden snacks, so that they have to work their beak to keep it smooth. It doesn't hurt them if their beak is not perfect looking. We just make it easy for them to get food, and they don't get to wear their beak down as much as they would in the wild.<br><br>Post edited by: Talon, at: 2007/11/17 04:52