Hi, I've just got some new budgies and the bottom of one's beak seems to kind of go over the top, it looks like it might be infected as well. I wondered if anyone knows what it is and what I should do? I'm trying to add a picture.

It's underbitten, it can sometimes be corrected by clipping the lower mandible, but i'd suggest you go to a vet to get it corrected if you've not done it before. I wouldn't say it's infected, the green looks like it's been eating poop to me.

 

I noticed this is your first post, welcome to the board :bluebudgie:

Welcome :bluebudgie:

I agree, Its an under bite. It is caused by a build up of food getting caught in the beak as a chick.

Thre is nothing exactly you can do. This was caused when the budgie was in the nestbox as a baby and food got stuck inside the top beak. It built up heat due to the food decomposing and the top beak didnt grow right.

However, now that you have this budgie it will require its beak trimming every 2 weeks.............bottom beak. Costly if you have to take it to the vet every two weeks.

Thanks, so will she be okay if the vet does that, and will she be able to eat properly until I take her?

Thre is nothing exactly you can do. This was caused when the budgie was in the nestbox as a baby and food got stuck inside the top beak. It built up heat due to the food decomposing and the top beak didnt grow right.

However, now that you have this budgie it will require its beak trimming every 2 weeks.............bottom beak. Costly if you have to take it to the vet every two weeks.

 

 

here's another like yours but showing how the bottom beak keeps growing...

I have kitch who has an underbite and i have been taught how to trim the beak by my vet. I had to do it every 3 days at first, but now i have noticed he is starting to grind the lower mandible himself :bluebudgie:

Thanks, so will she be okay if the vet does that, and will she be able to eat properly until I take her?

She may be a HE, and it may have adjusted to eating. But you will need to know how much the vet will be charging you as this will need to be done every 2 weeks. If not, the top beak becomes damaged further

Yes, I was just guessing with the "she." Thanks for your help.

Yes, I was just guessing with the "she." Thanks for your help.

Recessive pieds can be hard to sex :bluebudgie:

Yeah, I'm okay with adult birds in breeding condition, but otherwise I've no idea. I'm going to post pictures of all the budgies later in another section, i've put them to bed already tonight.

If you are in Brisbane area, I can clip the undershot beak with chiropody pliers or nail clippers and show you how to maintain it and over time with corrective shaping of the beak and removing any debris under the beak with a glass or ceramic nail file you can reshape it gently back to normal configuration. It takes patience, persistence and daily care. Although, that one doesn't look too bad. Kaz's bird looks a bit more dramatic, but I've fixed worse. Alternatively, find out a local budgie club in your area, there may be someone to help you.

Hi, just to let you all know, we've been to the vet and it turns out that he has scaly face mites, that have been causing abnormal beak growth. So the vet gave him some ivermectin. Because he can hull his seeds she said that his beak doesn't need trimming and just to make sure he still can and in a few months his beak should grow back in the right shape. Thanks.

Hi, just to let you all know, we've been to the vet and it turns out that he has scaly face mites, that have been causing abnormal beak growth. So the vet gave him some ivermectin. Because he can hull his seeds she said that his beak doesn't need trimming and just to make sure he still can and in a few months his beak should grow back in the right shape. Thanks.

 

Was that an avian vet or a normal vet...??

The reason I ask is there seems no evidence of scaly face mites...which always show up on the cere and top beak first, and the bottom beak is outside the top beak...very evident of food build up/heat/malformation in the nestbox. Not to put too fine a point on it...but I think the vet is wrong. Is he a real bird vet with qualifications ?

I have to agree. that is not caused by scaly face mites

This is what a deformed beak looks like from scaly face

It was an avian vet, I took a bird to a normal vet and wasn't that impressed so I was careful this time. She showed me where there were these little squiggly kind of bumpy bits on his cere and said that was from them. Does that sound like mites?

I have been breeding and keeping budgies for 15 years and i am sorry, if that budgie has scaly face, then its VERY VERY mild and would not cause that beak deformity

 

Here is my Kitch who has an under bite from food caught in the beak as a chick.

I am sorry you dont know us very well here yet, but with time you will find that sometimes there is a whole lot more budgie experience and sometimes better advice here than "some" vets can dish out.

The bird has a beak deformity due to a baby in the nest. It is not due to scaly face.

Edited March 10, 200916 yr by KAZ

Do you think I should wait for a while and see if there is any difference with the beak? He's eating well and seems happy.

Do you think I should wait for a while and see if there is any difference with the beak? He's eating well and seems happy.

If one section of beak is out it causes more problems with the rest of the beak. DrNat offered her assistance and I would take her up on it if you can.

I dont think giving ivermectin to him will hurt, but I agree with the others. I do not see any signs of scaly face. Casperose has an excellent picture on the starting of scaly face, I will see if I can find it for you.

I just took these of Kitch to help show you the difference between an under bite and scaly face

(sorry they are dark, he was sleeping and i didnt want to flash him)

 

 

 

(not my birds below)

With mild scaly face

 

Moderate scaly face

 

severe scaly face

Edited March 10, 200916 yr by **Liv**

I'm in Tasmania so I can't get him up there, what do you think I should do? I did ask the vet about trimming the beak, she said if the beak got any worse she would but she didn't think it was necessary like it is now. She also said to make sure he had cuttlefish.

I'm in Tasmania so I can't get him up there, what do you think I should do? I did ask the vet about trimming the beak, she said if the beak got any worse she would but she didn't think it was necessary like it is now. She also said to make sure he had cuttlefish.

I am so sorry you have got bad advice....would have been good to find a good vet..... and here we are telling you something else to confuse you even more. I also find that too many people have so much faith in cuttlefish to trim beaks etc etc. Quite frankly I dont...it something they play with and rip apart more than a beneficial item to keep a beak in shape.

Where's Dr Harry when you need him :budgiedance:

Edited March 10, 200916 yr by KAZ

His beak is fine at the length it is at at the moment. You don't want it to grow too long. I am trimming Kitch's beak tomorrow. So what you see in the picture is about the length it gets to before i give it a trim.

 

Trimming is easy and your vet (a DIFFERENT vet) will be able to show you how to do it so you dont have to keep going in every 2 weeks.

Edited March 10, 200916 yr by **Liv**