How do I best help this baby Boy?

[Sparkles83221]

Hey guys. I made a probably not intelligent decision earlier this month. This boy was overlooked because of his beak and I was all "I'll take him!" I was told if he has trouble eating 'they'll take care of it'(cost wise for me I assume)...and he's obviously still in the process of being handfed and eventually weaned.
I'm assuming he'll be totally fine and be able to eat proper food, is there anything special he would like in the cage? Is there a point to getting him toys that he can shred(or would the stainless steel toys be the way to go)?
I'm planning on trying to get him used to some softer foods(sprouts)..but other than that I have no idea what I'm doing and most of the posts I'm finding are asking if their baby is scissor beaked or not. So I'm still searching in this section..
Thanks for any help!

*I do have experience with Budgies, I do not have experience with special needs ones.
I will say he seems really adventurous and has no fear(of course, that's how it goes, right?)

 

[Zara]

I hope when you say ¨in the cage¨ you mean, in the future?

@webchirp @Monica may be able to help with tips RE the beak.

 

[Sparkles83221]

Yea I thought I made it clear when I said he's still being handfed and has to be weaned that he's not with me yet..but I guess it wasn't.

 

[taxidermynerd]

While I didn't have a baby budgie, I did have a budgie with a similar beak to your little guy. Although his was breaking over time due to a mass (possibly cancer), rather than being born with it or sustaining an injury.

I kept his cage relatively low (less than 3 feet tall), and padded the bottom so if he fell it wouldn't be as bad (due to reduced grabbing ability).

I also had to feed soft foods, so he could scoop them up with his beak (and so they wouldn't harm his beak further). I used 1 tbsp of Zupreem Natural budgie sized to 1tbsp of water, then added things like veggies or grains.

It's still worth getting toys, if nothing else he might like to feel them in his beak. My budgie played with toys up to the very end, even when he hardly had a top beak anymore.

Most of the time the birds don't even know they're special or different. I think we worry more about it than they do!

I've included links to my threads about how I accommodated my little boy, Chirp. He's over the Rainbow Bridge now but he had a good happy life. Hopefully you can find something applicable to your situation

Beak issue
How to accommodate for a messed-up beak

 

[Sparkles83221]

Thank you. I'll get a wide and low cage. and get prepared to prep food each day for him. Or meal prep for the week. I will provide a variety of toys then, I wasn't sure if the normal variety would be worth it but I'll get him taken care of.

 

[Monica]

I would honestly recommend treating him (or her!) like a normal budgie! The beak could change as the little one grows and matures, I don't really see any reason to treat the little one any differently than one with a normal beak. At least, not at this point in time. that could easily change of course!