Hi i am wondering if anyone can help me. My budgie has developed a very long curved beak. It really looks like I should clip it shorter with nail clippers to make it look normal. He did have a bout of scaly face last year, which got better with 3 doses of ivorvectin. Does this sound like another mite infection? (His face is otherwise unaffected, this time).He has cuttlebone and natural wood perches to play with to help file it down, but no good!

His beak is overgrown and becoming curved and starting to dig into his chest feathers. Any ideas from other owners?

Best you take him to your avian vet. One of my rescue budgies, Freddy, started to grow a long beak on a scary, frequent basis and it was decided he had an endocrine disorder. Hopefully your vet can suggest something to keep the beak length at bay or maybe it has to be trimmed on a more frequent basis (realizing that most budgies don't need beak trims) due to his special needs. Good luck to both of you.

Edited May 18, 200718 yr by Phoebe

Just take him down to the vets and get them to trim it and have a look at him there could be health issues or nothing at all... If you can look at the bottom of it beak to make sure that it is damaged or V shaped as this can sometimes be a problem with an over grown beak.... ( my shyanne has it )

Edited May 18, 200718 yr by Neat

Apart from the long curvature of the beak is ther minute tunnelling type lines in his beak indicating further scaly face problems at all ? This IS another case of needing veterinary attention, as a misshapen beak can affect their intake of food, and may mean he is taking in all seed without husking it if he cannot acchieve it with beak issues. Best for the boy if he does see a vet again this time around. Persistant growth issues with beaks can indicate underlying problems as Phoebe and Neat have advised.

Edited May 18, 200718 yr by Kaz

Please do make sure you take him to an Avian Vet not just a regular vet.

You can click her for one by you http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/faqs/i...=138&artlang=en

 

by the way welcome to our forums and keep us updated too

Yes, the vet needs to see him. It would be mighty tempting to trim it yourself with a nail clippers, but the beak has a blood supply like nails do. It can be trimmed too short and bleed. I have seen this happen even when the vet trims them with a dremel, but at the clinic, we can stop the bleeding. Also, beak overgrowth in budgies usually does indicate an underlying problem, particularly if its chronic. Please get your little guy seen because as it was already said, it can affect his ability to eat, and if its growing into his chest and its pointy, it can injure him too. Good luck and let us know how he's doing!

thanks for the advice, guys. In response to some of your queries:

Little Bubs does not have any other signs of scaly face again (no tiny furrows or tracks). He seems to be quite well otherwise.

The bottom end of his beak (closest to the chest) is a bit ragged looking, probably where the long end has been chipped away a bit. The beak is probably twice the lentgh of a normal beak. I have trimmed it with clippers in the past, which has generally gone well, with the distal bits sort of coming away very easily without much clipping effort, however once I did go a little too short, and he yelped and it bled a tiny bit (that was maybe 2 mths ago). However it healed, and he eats normally, and seems to climb round his cage normally.

I still have some ivorvectin (scaly face treatment) left, so i might rub a bit on the back of his neck topically, to see if that halts the process. If not, I will take him to the vet.

thanks for the advice, guys. In response to some of your queries:

The bottom end of his beak (closest to the chest) is a bit ragged looking,

I am not a vet but this will be your answer... As the lower part of the beak can't keep the top part of the beak in shape - .....

If you read my post from my other birds - But if it is an on going issue best to get it checked out...

Keep some cornstartch for the bleeding - i cut angles beak a little to short and she bled for ages until i read to use a dab of this....

 

Good luck

http://forums.budgiebreeders.asn.au/index....topic=14681&hl=

thanks for the advice, guys. In response to some of your queries:

Little Bubs does not have any other signs of scaly face again (no tiny furrows or tracks). He seems to be quite well otherwise.

The bottom end of his beak (closest to the chest) is a bit ragged looking, probably where the long end has been chipped away a bit. The beak is probably twice the lentgh of a normal beak. I have trimmed it with clippers in the past, which has generally gone well, with the distal bits sort of coming away very easily without much clipping effort, however once I did go a little too short, and he yelped and it bled a tiny bit (that was maybe 2 mths ago). However it healed, and he eats normally, and seems to climb round his cage normally.

I still have some ivorvectin (scaly face treatment) left, so i might rub a bit on the back of his neck topically, to see if that halts the process. If not, I will take him to the vet.

 

The medicine you are speaking of is to kill mites not halt the growing process of the beak. The bird needs an avian vet and they will trim it correctly and ensure that there is no underlying disease that could be causing the issue.

There can be health reasons that a beak continues to grow abnormally.....

 

Reasons for Abnormal growth of budgies beak

 

Liver disease

Knemidocoptes mites

Polyomavirus-like infection

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD)

Vitamin D3 deficiency

Soft food

Malnutrition

Old trauma

There can be health reasons that a beak continues to grow abnormally.....

 

Reasons for Abnormal growth of budgies beak

 

Liver disease

Knemidocoptes mites

Polyomavirus-like infection

Psittacine Beak and Feather Disease (PBFD)

Vitamin D3 deficiency

Soft food

Malnutrition

Old trauma

 

Thanks, Kaz.

I am going down the path of trying 3 doses of ivorvectin, 1 wk apart, to exclude recurrence of Knemidocoptes mite infection that may be affecting the beak only, and not the face this time (previously had scaly face about 6 mths ago).

If no help, then I would see a vet to consider the vitD deficiency and liver disease possiblities.

The other options can be discounted in Little Bubs case, as he doesn't have beak and feather disease or viral infection or old trauma, and is not malnourished. His food is the same as his companion's, who is fine.

Do you know if sunlight can provide the vit D3 for birds, or are supplements needed? In humans, VitD3 deficiency only occcurs in people who are not exposed to enough sunlight (that's why it's rare in Australia!)

sunlight does provide Vitamin D.

I have read that they should be in unfiltered sunlight daily (of course not directly under the hot sun) at least 15 mins (estiimated) a day and those like us who have colder climates to use the UV lighting.

Edited May 24, 200718 yr by Elly

Hi, I was just reading about Vitamin D3 a couple of hours ago and it says that Vitamin D3 deficiency is caused by lack of natural sunlight and a couple of the things can happen when bird suffers from Vitamin D3 deficiency is splayed legs, crippled feet, bent beaks I can't remember if it was long and bent beaks or just bent. It also says that these problems are rarely fixable.

You should go to the vet very soon as your bird will not be able to eat properly, I have seen a breeder, well he showed me how to do it, that is trim the beak but I have never had to it up to now Touch wood.

But there needs to a fair bit cut off and it has to be shaped like his beak should be, so please take him to an bird vet.