Flaking beak

[gecko_dance]

This falls somewhere in the realm of "I know this is probably nothing to worry about, but just in case..." Mostly, I just need my new-parent jitters soothed, but it never hurts to ask.

 

Gregory the timneh's beak (around 3 y/o, owned for 4 months) has always had some flaking on his beak, but this morning, it went into what my gf and I would consider excessive. On the left-hand side of his lower beak, about 3/4 of the material has its top two "layers" missing. I'm attempting to attach a picture, but this forum has rejected my pics several times in the past. Please ignore the red coloration. It is not blood; Gregory enjoyed a breakfast of blueberries this morning.

 

Is this natural beak shedding or indicative of something greater?

 

Hope all who share my time zone are enjoying the weather. Cheers...

 

Mike (and Gregory)

[Dave007]

The lower beak has a infection which needs to be treated. That's why itloks raw. A vet visit is in order. Some of the exterior may have to be scraped away. That's where the infection is. It's usually not serious because it's on the exterior of the beak.

In the meantime, if you can't get to a vet soon, put some aloe vera gel on it. Slight dabs and try to spread around to cover that area. If you can't get the gel, buy a small bottle of Vit E gel caps. Take one cap, puncture it and do the same thing until you get to the vet. keep area moist with gel or vitamin.

[gecko_dance]

It doesn't look raw. There is no infection. Once again for those in the cheap seats: please ignore the red coloration. It is blueberry juice and has nothing at all to do with the post.

[Dave007]

Well, I'm very sorry that my answer didn't measure up to your expectations. I was only trying to help. You never said anything about blueberries causing discoloration. You only said the bird ate them. I gave you a safe opinion and what to do to make it better. Photos are hard to deciphter. I'll make sure that I watch what I'm saying next time.

 

And by the way, lower beaks don't shed, only the top beaks do.

[gecko_dance]

I was trying to be lighthearted about my correction, not critical of your response. I really don't think the sarcastic tone is warranted. At any rate, I thought I had explained the coloration on the beak when I had said, "Please ignore the red coloration. It is not blood." If there was any confusion, I accept responsibility for not being more clear.

 

At the risk of angering you further, would you mind providing a reference for the information you stated (lower beaks don't shed)? As you can imagine, after seeing the state of Gregory's beak this morning, I've been reading up on beak shedding, and this is the first I've heard that the lower beak doesn't flake. I found a picture (link below) of another grey who seems to have a shedding beak as well. What is the issue at work here if it isn't beak growth?

 

http://www.mrparrots.com/birds/africangrey/africangrey1.jpg

[gecko_dance]

Is there no more information that anyone can provide about this? I'm still a little worried about Gregory, forum spat notwithstanding, and any new knowledge or related experiences would be a great comfort. Can anyone link me to more information on the bottom-beaks-don't-flake issue?

[Dave007]

Morning

First of all, I apologise for using the wrong wording the other day. That area may just be extremely crusty at this time. The other day, the picture looked like an infection but it wasn't. Flaking can occur in different areas on the beak. The other day I thought you were talking about sheddind, not flaking.

If your bird is eating well, the area may just be crusty and the dryness is causing slight cracking or visible lines in the beak. If you don't see any constant ooze in that area then more than likely the area is crusty and there's really no way to get rid of it. The bird is the one that does that. basically, he's filing it down and it takes a while. In the meantime get ome of that aloe gel and dab it on the area if you're a little worried. It didn't look bad to me. What did look bad was that color which I thought was infection but you said it wasn't. The slight cracking could be the way he holds hard food. Some will eat a hard nut with front of the beak. Others will use the side of the beak. Understand that their beak is basically their teeth. Chipping can occur but if the bird continues eating, there should be no problems.