upatsix.com - Your Source For Pet Bird Information

Does anyone here have a macaw with a crooked bill? If so, what are the practical considerations of caring for it as opposed to one with a straight bill?

It depends on why the beak goes crooked, how badly, and for how long. Many macaw parronts are familiar with scissorsbeak and can help you with a little for detail about your bird. What have you learned about the cause and what has your avian vet(s) advised about treatment and maintenance? Give us some history to work with, and a picture if you can.

Paca

Thanks Paca, but I'd just like any information that anyone might have.

You can gather a little information by Goggling "scissorbeak macaw."

It certainly depends as to why it's that way in the first place... My mitred conure has scissor beak because a blind ruby macaw bit him in the face (completely the conures fault). Well, he lost half of his lower beak (on the left side), and because he has nothing to counterbalance the right side of the beak, it grows outwardly to the left... this results in having to use a dremel to trim his beak whenever it gets a little too long... and because the upper and lower portions of his beak do not meet up correctly, the upper beak also needs trimming from time to time. However, just because he's got a beak deformity doesn't mean that he still can't bite hard! OW!





I've met a B&G hybrid (they believe military but I'm not entirely sure myself) that has a crooked beak from a bite from another parrot as well. Her beak is also trimmed up from time to time, and last I heard, another vet did a fantastic job on it! However, I have as of yet to see how it looks.



With either beak malformation here, the main thing is that the beaks need to be trimmed do to the fact that they don't meet up right, thus causing the normal wear and tear on a normal beak to be much more awkward... especially when these birds can't easily sharpen down their own beaks with toys...


Now, if it's a young macaw with this deformity, then there may be a chance to fix it when the beak is still soft... however, it's not a pretty site...
http://www.urbanwildlifesociety.org/WLR/Xbeak.html
Although, I don't know if it's possible to fix scissor beak in a full adult... Depending on the severity of scissor beak and how the bird uses the beak will, in the end, result on how you'll have to accommodate the bird. As it is, I treat Charlie like a normal conure (although maybe a bit roughly since he's my buddy), other than the fact that I occasionally need to trim his beak, because, in truth, having less of a beak does NOTHING to set him back in any means!

Thanks! That looks like the same site we found in our reading.

At what age does the beak typically solidify (on a large macaw) to the point that the "braces" don't work anymore? I've looked, and this isn't something that seems to be easy to find out.

Poor conure! They do seem to think they're "six feet tall and bulletproof" half the time. I love that they just soldier on like nothing ever happened. Such tough little guys!

The site shows that scissor beak can be treated, as in the manner of Charlie, the conures beak, is... such as it is, he'd only need a proper prosthetic to re-align the beak to sit correctly. As far as the macaw beaks go on adults, I don't really know if it can be fixed or not... I based my judgement on being able to fix a beak at a young age with the idea that young chicks can get splayed legs, and if fixed at an early age can look and act as normals, but if not treated quickly will always be awkward. I'm sure it would depend on type of parrot, but in birds such as budgies, tiels, and lovebirds, it must be corrected around 2-6 weeks of age, usually the earlier the better.


There's not really much information out there, at least not that I have found... but here's another site...

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=15&cat=1829&articleid=2752 wrote: Scissors beak: Scissors beak is a lateral deviation of the rhinotheca. It is a developmental abnormality that occurs most commonly in cockatoos and macaws. It is thought to be caused by improper temperature during artificial incubation, genetics, or incorrect feeding techniques. Other possible causes include calcium deficiency, trauma, or a viral or mycobacterial infection.

Treatment varies with the severity of the problem and the age of the bird. In young birds with mild deviations, simply applying finger pressure to the appropriate side of the beak for several minutes 2-3 times daily, may correct the problem. In older birds, or those with more severe deviations, an avian veterinarian may need to perform surgery and apply a type of acrylic prosthesis (splint) to correct the abnormal growth.

http://www.exoticpetvet.net/avian/orthopedic.html wrote:Beak Repair
Birds may suffer from traumatic injury to the beak and underlying structures, or they may develop mandibular prognathism or lateral deviation of the rhinotheca (scissors beak), which may be congenital defects. The application of rhamphorthotic devices, using wire mesh, wires and dental acrylic may be used to redirect the growth of abnormal beaks. Mandibular fractures may be repaired using stainless steel wires, mesh splints or dental acrylic. These fractures are difficult to manage, as osteomyelitis, non-union, tissue avulsion or avascular necrosis may occur.

Indeed you are right about conures! At least most of them! His foster parents weren't really sure what they had (they thought he was a cherry head, since he lived in San Fransisco where there's the wild flock of cherry heads and hybrids... he may not have been a wild flock member, but his parents sure were! Imports, really). In the least, he's the one who was picking on the blind ruby, which resulted in her backlashing... I guess he thought he was all big and mighty cause he over-ruled two lilacs and a possibly blue front hybrid amazon... Even after surgery (twice) and recovering, he still had the guts to try and pick on the ruby again!!! He's such a brat! OF course in this household, he's the largest and strongest so he doesn't get to have any buddies, less I can find another bird willing to put up with his behavior!!!

I have a B&G with a scissored beak. He is about five and I'm not really sure how he got it (third home for the baby). But, he's had it all his life. My vet treats him about once a month with the dremel tool. He has gotten it down as far as he can and now he's working on thinning the top beak out. Rocky, the birdy, has a pretty normal life. He's working on getting all his beak strength back. He doesn't really like to play with toys yet, but all he had for five years was a T-stand. He doesn't know what toys are completely, but he's starting to get the hint. My husband and I haven't had to do anything special for him. We've treated him normal and he's seemed to thrive.

before
before
after
after[/url]

It's awful that no one treated him prior for the beak! At least he's starting to look a lot more hansom! You've certainly been great with him!