upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

I have a mitred conure that due to a beak injury has to have his beak trimmed to keep it in shape... otherwise, the bottom part will overgrow, and if it overgrows and curls, it too will end up going up to his nares. I saw, in person, an african grey who had the same type of injury (missing half of lower beak), and since the beak wasn't kept in shape, the lower beak grew upwards and curved.... to say the least I was disgusted! I know of someone who owns a blue throated macaw (if I recall correctly) who also has this same problem. She too receives beak trims and does just fine!

If the vet can work on the beak then I wouldn't worry about it! However, you need to get the birds checked for mites, and also get blood panels done, as they probably have HORRIBLE livers which may be causing the overgrown beak...

Try and keep them on mostly a similar diet, and change it slowly over time. If you change the diet too quickly it could be a shock on their system.


Would love to see pictures of the two!

Thanks for the information. I feel alot better knowing this kind of beak growth is not completely rare. I have lots of different species of birds, and I had never seen this kind of thing before, so it was quite shocking.
I did give them some cockatiel seed mix with some parakeet seed as well. I did`nt want to take any of her food home with me for fear of contamination.
Can you believe that this pair laid eggs and hatched three chicks....although she said one died. Poor mamma, trying to raise her chicks on Hartz parakeet seed.

Poor things! I agree! Keep us updated about the vet visit!

I have an appointment at 2:45 to get the birds trimmed and examined. I am so glad that I will be able to come home and take them out of that small cage and release them to their new big cage. I have kept them in the smaller cage , hoping to see the vet today. I did`nt want to release them into their large cage, and then have to put them thru the stress of having to be toweled and put into a carrier to transport to the vets. I have decided to quarantine them in an upstairs bedroom. It has two windows in a corner, and the view is like being in a treehouse, because our huge oak tree envelopes that side of the house. The tree is always bustling with activity, with squirrels and Cardinals and Robins. The IRN pair will be so delighted to be in the treetops. They had little to none stimulation in that dark basement. I told my friend , that I imagined that they dreamed at night of the warm breezes and blue skies of Indian....and of flying thru the treetops in seach of ripe figs and persimmons. I will also place a few of my fake ficus trees around their cage to further the feeling of being in the wild, as well as provide them with a more secure feeling. They are not overly flighty, but tending to them in that small cage, with nowhere to go, is stressful I am sure. Today, they will see great improvement in their health and surroundings...and I will sleep well tonight.

I took them to the vet. She did an outstanding job trimming that awful twisted beak. She was able to trim in completely in one visit....although I will need to have it redone as needed. She trimmed both the male and females beaks and nails...she charged me $8.00 each. She believes that the bareness around the female`s eye is a nutritional problem. I had fecals done, and there were no concerns. She did`nt believe that the male`s deformed beak was caused by liver or kidney disfunction (sissor beak).
I brought them home and released them into their large cage. The woman that had them, had told me that she never bathed them. So this morning, I sprayed them with very warm water. The male was estatic! He did upsidedown somersaults and spread his wings and dove his head into the water dish and he bounced all over the aviary, then came back to where I was standing, spread his wings and begged for more. The female was just looking at him like he had lost his mind. He acted like a cat on catnip. She just sat right where I sprayed her....like no big deal.
Later on, they had orange slices and loved them. I have given them lots of healthy foods to try, and they are very good eaters. They seem to be enjoying the sun and light and trees and birds outside. I think they will do very well.

The happy ending to this story has just made my evening. What a wonderful thing for you to do. Thanks for taking on 2 special birds and for sharing your story.

This brought a big smile to my face also. Sounds like you have a great pair of new charges and they are lucky to have you - best of luck.

Freddy

And thanks to all of you here at UAS. What a great place to come to , to share triumphs as well as concerns. My heart feels very full and at peace anytime I can make a positive difference in the life of a critter. For years, I did horse rescue and after about 4 years of going to the slaughter auctions every Wednesday, I fell completely apart emotionally. I had to live a lie, just to infiltrate the small social structure of the killer buyers. If they ever knew how much I loathed what they did, I would have never been allowed to bid. I just found it so hard to accept, that I could not save them all. The sale barns always reminded me of the death camps of Nazi Germany... so much misery and suffering.
So, now, I am in another state, and much older. My passion in life are my rescue "flock". I have a Hahns Macaw, a Sun,a Jenday and a Mitred conure, three pairs of various lovebirds (peach faced, Blue masked, Fischers and yellow), a small flock of parakeets, including Bourkes, five cockatiels (pied, albino, pearl and normal)and my blue female Indian Ringneck, and now my new pair of Lutinos. I and my husband are retired from our business. His passion is restoring antiques cars....and I have my birds. We have designed and built one very large indoor/ outdoor aviary for the tiels. We are planning another large flight outdoors this spring, so that the larger birds can have their outside time.

I have tried and tried. But I am fairly computer ignorant, and I just cannot post pics. My camera is set up to transfer my photos to Kodak Easy Share. But to get them from there to a program like Photo Bucket....just does`nt happen....grrrrrr. I could perhaps send photos to another member here, who could post them for me....?