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Beak problem? Take a look.


Char

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I know that a parrots beak flakes off and is constantly renewing itself but does this seem extreme to you? I has gradually gotten worse over the past few weeks.

 

 

 

She has an appt with the vet on the 18th but I would take off work and get her in sooner if I thought I needed to. Have you guys ever seen this?

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/12 02:21

 

 

 

 

 

Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/12 02:24

 

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Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/12 02:30<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/12 02:32

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It is a bit extreme. It looks like what happens to a beak that's been constantly scraped and/or rubbed constantly across the bars of a cage. Raraely does the tip get affected but the area above the tip, in your bird's case, the side above the tip is being thinned out so your vet will have to repair that by shortening the tip before it possibly cracks. If you can go sooner than your date, do it.

 

Check out whether you see your bird rubbing his beak side to side on the bars. It will normally happen when a bird is in the cage,<br><br>Post edited by: Dave007, at: 2009/04/12 02:45

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Thanks Dave. She does rub her beak a lot but not on the cage bars. She is not confined to her cage during the day. The door to her room is closed but her cage is open. It is an empty room and nothing in there to hurt her.

 

She has this little door that opens down and becomes a ledge that she walks out on. She does rub her beak a lot on the edge of this. That is probably what it is.

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Well, go to the vet anyway. He'll have to do a minor repair and blunt out the beak so the tip isn't so dependent on the thinning area above it. In the mean time, if you have any aloe gel or vit E fluid or olive oil, put a dab on that area to take the brittleness out

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Will do. Now that I think about she rubs her beak on the edge of her food bowl on her playstand a lot also. She does seem to rub her beak a lot, not just to remove food. Why do you think she does it so much?<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/12 03:45

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It's simply a habit. It's a question with no real answer. The best thing I can think of is that somehow or another, the bird is simply winding down, releasing tension, scratching against something that has a very rough edge, the appearance of an item. It's hard to say. One of my greys hangs upside down in the cage from the roof and does the same thing with the bars. Understand that greys don't mind hurting themselves if they think they can retaliate. Just look at what happens with heacy duty cowbells in a cage. A bird will smash them around while yelling, the bell comes swinging back and hits the bird in the face and the only thing that happens is that the bird yells louder and immediately starts to put a serious hurting on that bell only to have the whole process repeat itself.

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Update. We just returned from the vet. The vet trimmed up the beak and took some samples to send for fungus and pathology. She is being thorough.

She also prescribed an antifungal antibacterial to put on the beak. You know what pathology means..EXPENSIVE. The vet was $150 and the path alone with shipping was another $150. I am starting to think I need pet health insurance.

 

The beak looks so much better already. She said her beak was a little bit overgrown anyway.

 

I am very sad to learn that I will be losing my vet. She is moving to Iowa to head up an exotic animals program at the Univ of Iowa. I am happy for her but very sad to lose her. She is so good with Whisper. Her associate will be staying but only has 2 yrs of experience compared to her 18 yrs. The nearest certified vet is 1 1/2 hrs away and is good but does not take emergency calls.I don't mind the drive for normal checkups but what if I had an emergency. I am really bummed about this.<br><br>Post edited by: Char, at: 2009/04/15 22:28

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I am glad to hear that Whisper's beak is better, sometimes they grow so that a trim is necessary, yes vets are expensive and all those tests really add up but it is money well spent if it helps your bird.

 

Sorry to hear about your vet taking another position, but thats the breaks when you have a good one, they are in demand for greater projects but I am sure you will find a solution soon.

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