Pchela Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 Willow's beak is slightly crooked and when her beak is fully closed she has a gap... the top and bottom don't line up correctly. Should I be worried about scissor beak or do some Greys just have crooked beaks?
LisaM Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 Do you have any pictures you could post so we can see it? Has it always been this way? Is she having an problems eating? I think that normally there is an underlying cause for crooked beaks (dietary, injury, improper handfeeding techniques, trauma...), but can often be corrected in time. When was her last avian vet visit?
Pchela Posted January 20, 2009 Author Posted January 20, 2009 I'll try to get a picture posted of it tonight. I think it was always slightly crooked but I only noticed it for sure recently... I don't know if it's getting worse or I noticed so now I'm obsessing. It doesn't interfere with her eating at all. It's only slightly crooked right now. I've got to go to a meeting but I'll post a photo of it later tonight!
judygram Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 A picture would help a lot Melisa and maybe one of the more knowledgeable members will be able to give you an opinion on it.
Pchela Posted January 20, 2009 Author Posted January 20, 2009 In this photo you can see that her beak is fully closed but she has a gap. The other side has less of a gap but it is still there. She was not cooperative when I tried to take a photo from the front... this is the best I could do. You can kind of tell that her beak is just slightly crooked here. And this is when we first got her... about 4 months ago. To me, it looks like less of a gap but I could be wrong. (she's the one on the left) Post edited by: Pchela, at: 2009/01/20 04:06<br><br>Post edited by: Pchela, at: 2009/01/20 04:07
LisaM Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 When was your last vet visit? It doesn't look like it's seriously out of whack (I was expecting worse), but it's probably easier to get it corrected at this stage, particularly if you think it might be getting worse. It definitely doesn't look like some of the scissor-beak pictures I've seen. Dave (007) has probably seen the most birds so may have some more knowledge on if this is within the boundaries of "normal" or not.
Pchela Posted January 20, 2009 Author Posted January 20, 2009 Well, she has only had her new birdie checkup when I got her. Everything was fine then (4 months ago) I wanted to get your opinions on her beak before taking her in because I suspect that I'm overreacting... but I don't want it to turn into scissor beak! Is that even possible?
LisaM Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 Hey, you're talking to the Queen of Overreacting here so I may not be a good "sanity check". I call my vet about a lot of things (yeah, I'm one of "those" moms). Maybe you can fax the pictures to the vet and see if it's something he/she feels needs to be addressed now (vs at the next appt in 8 months or so).
danmcq Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 Just a good informative link to give you some insight in how misalignment is corrected in some cases. Note the case used is a SEVER case. Your Grey is not that severe, but it could become worse over time without attention. http://www.avianweb.com/scissorsbeak.html
sandra902 Posted January 20, 2009 Posted January 20, 2009 my little milly the mitred conure has what i consider a really off lower beak. she cannot hold the conure kibble which really distressed me til i took her to the avian vet (and at the time i was convinced she had zinc toxicity - right back atcha LisaM haw haw haw!) anyway Dr Avian Man assured me that all i needed to do was feed her a bigger gauge kibble and she would be fine. so for us, she is a bit odd looking but who are we to judge many would say the same about me and big daddy! milly is happy and healthy and does just fine with the bigger kibble as well as making a huge mess of mamma if there is buttered toast about.
Pchela Posted January 21, 2009 Author Posted January 21, 2009 Okay, so... I think I'll keep an eye on her and see if the crookedness becomes worse. If it does we'll go to the vet and see what can be done. I don't mind if she has a crooked beak... makes her unique and cute, but I don't want it to get worse so that it interferes with her eating. Thanks for all of the input! I appreciate it!
LisaM Posted January 21, 2009 Posted January 21, 2009 That sounds like a very reasonable and sound strategy! Maybe it has always been that way a bit and hopefully it won't get any worse. And thanks for the shot Miss Sandra...lots of :kiss: :kiss: :kiss: back at ya!
she Posted January 22, 2009 Posted January 22, 2009 I too think its a good idea to monitor the situation. Perhaps take photos at periods of say one month apart so you have an acurate record of any changes.
Pchela Posted January 22, 2009 Author Posted January 22, 2009 Oh! Excellent idea She! You're right... it's difficult to gauge whether something might be slightly more crooked... photos is a great idea and will be an excellent record for the birdie vet. Thanks!
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