My latest budgie, Pixie, came to me from a local pet shop. I found him there and noticed he was in pretty ragged shape. My guess was that the other budgies in the cage were picking on him as he is very small. I brought this to the attention of one of the staff at the store but he insisted that the budgie was only molting and didn't need to be separated from the others. So, I bought Pixie and brought him home with me.

 

Pixie has a few bald patches on his head, seems very thin, and has scissors beak (the lower mandible points way out to the right instead of straight in front of him). I need to have him treated by a vet, I know. His beak probably needs a trim but for now he's eating well and isn't bothered by the beak. It will be about two weeks until I am able to get him to the vet (it's a pretty long drive as there are no avian vets in my area).

 

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had any experience with a budgie with scissors beak? Did it correct itself with regular trimming and a better diet or did the bird just have to live with it for the rest of its life?

 

Also, I've been very strict in quarantining him from the rest of my flock as I'm very scared that his problems might just be from some sort of illness or disease. I hate to say it, but PBFD is one I'm worried about and I want to have him tested A.S.A.P. His tailfeathers look very odd to me. I'm going to do more research on this disease, but if anyone here has some experience with it or know a bit about it, please share.

Edited March 10, 200520 yr by devvle

if it is overgrown once it is trimed it should be fine if cuttle is provided if it is undershot it will need to be trimed regularly for it to de husk its seed properly the vet should give you some advice so you can do it your self to save your journy time

pbfd normally affects chicks and young adults but can affect older birds,there is a loss or failure to grow ,the large wing feathers,adult birds will also eventually lose some of its body feathers at each moult,affected budgies dont show other symptoms and are bright and alert unlike some of their larger relatives,as i am sure you know it is highly infectious and without a cure

Edited March 10, 200520 yr by hath

Devvle, I will do what I always do when im faced with something i desperately want to give good advice on, but the situation is beyond me. I will go to a much trusted group of people, and comeback with whatever advice i can gain. Bear with me, these are GOOD people, and very learned.

Anne

Thank you both for your replies and your help. :bluebudgie: Chirpy, I look forward to hearing what these people have to say about it. Thanks for looking into it for me.

Have you got a picture of the condition?

I use wooden pegs inside my cage the birds love to chew at them

And a block of sand stone or an old house brick

I use nail clippers on mine but be very careful as not to cut the bird?s mouth as they can bleed to death

If the bird is losing feathers in clumps it could be scaly face.

One of mine lost all the feathers of its wings and tail but now its fine I treated it with scaly face ointment from the pet shop.

Well I hope this helps and your bird gets well soon

Have you got a picture of the condition?

I use wooden pegs inside my cage the birds love to chew at them

And a block of sand stone or an old house brick

I use nail clippers on mine but be very careful as not to cut the bird?s mouth as they can bleed to death

If the bird is losing feathers in clumps it could be scaly face.

One of mine lost all the feathers of its wings and tail but now its fine I treated it with scaly face ointment from the pet shop.

Well I hope this helps and your bird gets well soon

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If you're going to be around for a few minutes I can post a picture of Pixie so you can see the scissors beak and the missing feathers.

 

I did suspect a case of scaly face though he has no growths or anything. Still, I heard that mineral oil helps (and I won't be able to get him to the vet until the end of the month as it's out of town and a bit expensive) and I treated the head and face and beak with the oil (avoiding the cere). I've noticed that he looks MUCH better as far as being perkier and his beak no longer looks chalky since I started the mineral oil. Just a sec and I'll show you pictures of when I first got him and now...

okay post a Picture thanks

okay post a Picture thanks

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okay, it was hard to get the picture but I think you'll pretty much see what I mean about his beak in this first picture...

 

 

 

 

 

Here's another shot of his beak from underneathe....

 

 

 

Here's a shot of the whole budgie. He's fairly small compared to my other budgies but you can't really tell in this picture...

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the bald patches easily because his feathers are a bit wet due to the mineral oil I applied earlier.

 

 

 

 

 

Despite the beak problem he eats and drinks well. He's very active, and starting to get a lot more vocal. I really feel that he needs tests run for other diseases though. I'm really worried about there being a more serious underlying problem behind the beak and the baldness. Then again, he was picked on by the other birds which is pretty much why I bought him. (The guy working said he wasn't being picked on, just molting but that is obviously not true.) Could scaly mites cause baldness like that though? The mineral oil really did seem to help a LOT.

The condition does not look like scaly face usually it?s evident on the crea and feet in a fungus type of growth

As for the beak I would leave it alone unless he stops feeding

The introduction of a stone or iodine block could help him to right it on his own.

I would say the other looks like French molt or a skin disease

With scaly face you can only cover 30% of the bird?s skin

As over applying of the ointment can kill the bird

Best to test the treatment over four days then leave the bird for 2 weeks and re-apply for another four days.

If the condition worsens then take the bird to the vet.

 

Remember I am not a trained vet and the advice I give is from personal experience with budgies and I take no reasonability for advice given.

So check the bird everyday and if the bird?s health worsens take it to a vet straight away

Edited March 14, 200520 yr by hommer2054

The condition does not look like scaly face usually it?s evident on the crea and feet in a fungus type of growth

As for the beak I would leave it alone unless he stops feeding

The introduction of a stone or iodine block could help him to right it on his own.

I would say the other looks like French molt or a skin disease

With scaly face you can only cover 30% of the bird?s skin

As over applying of the ointment can kill the bird

Best to test the treatment over four days then leave the bird for 2 weeks and re-apply for another four days.

If the condition worsens then take the bird to the vet.

 

Remember I am not a trained vet and the advice I give is from personal experience with budgies and I take no reasonability for advice given.

So check the bird everyday and if the bird?s health worsens take it to a vet straight away

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Thanks for the advice. Yeah, I am going to have him looked at by a vet either way it goes. The bald patches may also be from being picked on by the other budgies when I first got him. Any idea how long it usually takes feathers to grow back? Maybe when he begins a molt again?

 

I've only been using the mineral oil on the bald head and beak and I use it pretty sparingly (especially on the beak). I'll stop using it for a while and see if things get better or worse. If they continue to get better than I'll stop doing it all together as it probably has nothing to do with it in that case.

Yes id say leave him for awhile and see if the condition worsens or gets better.

One of mine the feathers under the wings disappeared and after treatment about 2 weeks they started to re-grow back

Sometimes Mother Nature will repair the damage and in this case it?s better to leave alone.

But it pays to check everyday as a bird?s condition can change at the blink of an eyelid

So I hope your bird gets better soon

Is the problem with the feathers just on the head or are there other blad spots ?Budgies when picking on each other go for the head area first.

 

I don't know about the beak, never having to deal with one before.

 

As for how long for feathers to come back well that depends on what stage the bird is at in the molting cycle. Could be a few week to a few months before he starts to molt again.

Is the problem with the feathers just on the head or are there other blad spots ?Budgies when picking on each other go for the head area first.

 

I don't know about the beak, never having to deal with one before.

 

As for how long for feathers to come back well that depends on what stage the bird is at in the molting cycle.  Could be a few week to a few months before he starts to molt again.

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The balding is strictly on the head. So yeah, that's what led me to also believe that he was badly picked on. He was in a "bin o'budgies" type of cage and I observed his behavior around the other birds. He really seemed afraid of them.

 

By any chance, do you know if a vet would be able to check for certain diseases (Polyoma, PBFD) without taking blood? I have Pixie strictly quarantined from my other birds right now but from what I've read, these diseases can be carried by a bird that seems to recover or not be ill at all. I'm just worried about the other birds picking something up even after the 90 days. I'm also afraid that tiny Pixie wouldn't be able to survive giving blood.

She just looks plucked to me. I'm not sure what you mean about the beak though. In the first picture it looks pretty smooth.

She just looks plucked to me.    I'm not sure what you mean about the beak though.  In the first picture it looks pretty smooth.

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Well, when I first got her the beak looked a bit dull. Not that it had growths or anything, just dull. The scissors beak was what worried me most. If you look closely you can see that the bottom part of her beak is actually sticking out to the right instead of being pointed straight.

 

And yeah, she seemed plucked to me as well. And she just seemed so fearful of the other birds that were with her that I imagine she took some battering from them.

 

I'm still worried about underlying causes of her beak though. I wish I could get her to the vet sooner. Do you have any idea if bloodwork is the only way for them to test for diseases like PBFD or Polyoma?

I see what you mean now - I thought that was feathers! Hopefully the vet will be able to trim it to the proper length with a minimal of trips back there. I don't think I'd let them do it all at once. And I think bloodwork is the only way to test for those diseases. It don't think it requires much blood, I think the big worry is if she is healthy enough, as I think it is the stress of being caught, held, poked, and prodded that causes more problems than the actual taking of the blood sample. I'm sure you know from experience some budgies are easily stressed. When's your vet appointment? Is your vet in the same city as you, or do you have to travel far?

I see what you mean now - I thought that was feathers!  Hopefully the vet will be able to trim it to the proper length with a minimal of trips back there.  I don't think I'd let them do it all at once.  And I think bloodwork is the only way to test for those diseases. It don't think it requires much blood, I think the big worry is if she is healthy enough, as I think it is the stress of being caught, held, poked, and prodded that causes more problems than the actual taking of the blood sample.  I'm sure you know from experience some budgies are easily stressed.  When's your vet appointment?  Is your vet in the same city as you, or do you have to travel far?

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I can't get her there until the end of the month, unfortunately. The vet is in another city in Indiana (a different state as I'm from Kentucky) but it really isn't that far compared to the distance a lot of bird owners have to travel. I guess it's really a little over an hour. My biggest problem is that I can't drive that far at night (I have horrible vision and night is just terrible if I have to drive in unfamiliar areas and areas with no streetlights) so I have to get there in the morning. Also, I'm responsible for getting my nephew to preschool every day and picking him up so Fridays (and weekends) are the only times I have free mornings to make the trip.

 

I am worried about the stress Pixie would go through with not just bloodwork, but the vet all together. The car trip, everything. He's very small and very skittish. He's just very easy to stress out and I've heard horror stories of budgies having heart attacks and dying of stress. God... I'm scared that the beak trim would be too much for him! You're right, they probably shouldn't trim too much at once. I wonder how long it takes? Does it hurt them? It seems like it would be painful. I don't know... I guess I'm thinking of a beak more like I'd think of a tooth as far as how it might feel. It seems like such a sensitive part of their body (unlike the flight feathers that we clip or toe nails.)

I'm in KY too! Small world, isn't it?

 

There is blood supply to the beak, but an avian vet would know how much or little to file off. I don't think it hurts them, unless you hit the blood vessel or a nerve. I don't think they will file all that off in one visit. You're vet will probably be able to look at how Pixie acts in the exam room and know whether it will stress her too much or not. My vet usually will watch them in the cage first, and I get them out. If there happens to be a problem during the filing, the vet's office is where I'd want my bird to be anyway. Since you don't go until the end of the month, maybe whenever you have extra time, give your bird some extra taming practice. She may feel a bit calmer by the time you have to go.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot. The new feathers will begin to grow in whether your bird is in the molt or not. Rainbow picked at the second clutch I had some, as he was anxious to breed for the third time, and wanted them out of the box. The feathers grew back in before they had their first molt.

Edited March 15, 200520 yr by Rainbow

I'm in KY too!  Small world, isn't it?

 

There is blood supply to the beak, but an avian vet would know how much or little to file off.  I don't think it hurts them, unless you hit the blood vessel or a nerve.  I don't think they will file all that off in one visit.  You're vet will probably be able to look at how Pixie acts in the exam room and know whether it will stress her too much or not.  My vet usually will watch them in the cage first, and I get them out.  If there happens to be a problem during the filing, the vet's office is where I'd want my bird to be anyway.  Since you don't go until the end of the month, maybe whenever you have extra time, give your bird some extra taming practice.  She may feel a bit calmer by the time you have to go.

 

Oh yeah, I forgot.  The new feathers will begin to grow in whether your bird is in the molt or not.  Rainbow picked at the second clutch I had some, as he was anxious to breed for the third time, and wanted them out of the box.  The feathers grew back in before they had their first molt.

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Thanks Rainbow. I found a vet here in town that actually does beak trims. He's not an avian vet, but he is experienced in the basics beak trimming and such. I can probably get my bird there sooner than the end of the month so I might do that. I'm a little worried that he's not an avian vet though. :/ Sounded like he knew what he was doing but I dunno... I guess waiting a while won't hurt Pixie. I have to also report that she is looking fantastic lately. I think her head will be full-feathered in no time. I'm so thrilled.

 

And yeah, now that she's getting so much better I'm going to really work on taming her down so that the vet will be a little less stressful.

 

Oh! And what part of KY if you don't mind me asking?

Edited March 15, 200520 yr by devvle

if ur worried that she'll stress herself in the car journey, try taking her the the end of the road n back so she gets used to it all.

 

Claire

xXx

casper had a large bald patch on the back of his head when i bought him and yes it was due to bullying by other birds. the new feathers grew back suprisingly quickly, but the vet did check for mites anyway. the new feathers started to come through about 2 weeks after we got him, but i dont know how long he was bald for in the pet shop.

 

your vet will probably just trim the beak down to an even size. best to check for any possible digestive tract infections though. if you have to travel just make sure the bird is in complete darkness - this should keep stress to a minimum

Having his beak trimmed shouldn't hurt if it's done properly. It's just like us trimming our fingernails!!! A regular vet should be able to do something simpla like trim a beak no probs. I take my birds to just a regular vet unless they look to have something really wrong with them.

Well I have a Dremell

Hommer says to Marg ?O no don?t do that? Marg Replies Hommer no worries Marg I will fix it Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Doe

Hommer says "Marg" How do you glue a bird?s beak back on

 

Yes the vet is the only choice

Well.... that was confusing...

Well it worries me that people think they can fix an important part of the a budgie by just using clippers or worst a Hand file

There is heaps of nerves in a birds beak and a little tongue behind all that so please if you best little feathered friend is sick or has a major problem with a part of there anatomy then the vet is the only choice I would make

The price of the visit to me would not be a problem and if it?s a long trip I would put the bird in a covered cage or a box with lots of ventilation

So there you have it anyway I hope your bird gets well and all the best