Not an energency, but need to put mind at ease

[lilaccrownmom]

I have a question, and am hoping an expert could put my mind at ease. You see, I am a worrywort when it comes to my baby. My lilac crowned amazon is 5 years old. He's in good health, very active, eats well, etc. Just today I happened to notice that on one side of his beak (not exactly the tip, but off to the side just a bit) there is a very small piece which has chipped off. It doesn't seem to be bothering him at all, and he's eating fine and active. It sort of resembles a fingernail when a small piece has chipped off. He has plenty of wood type bird toys to work his beak on, but I'm wondering if the small piece of beak was chipped off due to excessive play/chewing???

Has anyone else experienced this with a parrot, and if so my question is: will that little portion of chipped off beak grow back as it was before??? Also, should I not give him hard chew toys until that small chipped piece grows back?

P.S. I should also mention he's in the midst of a molt right now as well.

 

[birdlady]

I think he should be fine....I have had two of my birds fall and chip their beaks so badly that there was a lot of bleeding...one finally stopped on its own with little intervention from us...the other had to go to the vet. The beaks were painful for a while so we offered soft foods.

Does the area seem to be bothering him at all? Can you get a pic to post so we have a better idea of what it looks like?

 

[lilaccrownmom]

Thanks so much for the fast reply! To answer the question, no it doesn't seem to bother him at all, he's eating normally and active as usual. I've taken a close up pic which I have posted (hopefully it will show up). As you should be able to see, it's a slight chip off the side of the beak.

By the way, when your bird chipped its beak, did the chipped portion it grow back after awhile? Thanks again!

 

[birdlady]

Awe what a cutie!! And really it does not look bad at all....and yes, it should grow back over time...

He is really gorgeous!

 

[birdlvr466]

He is beautiful. I think he will smooth it out on his own. Do you have a pedicure perch in his cage?

 

[Sharpie]

It seems that when parrots are molting, many of them develop more beak flakiness than normal too. Your bird is also growing up and will likely lose the perfectly smooth baby beak as he gets more years on him.

You can see some flakiness here, no big deal according to our vet. Age, health, time of year and chewing/rubbing activities all contribute to a birds normal flakiness level. She'll use a dremel to smooth the beak if there are really jagged bits or thick ledges, but says it's mostly just cosmetic unless there's something traumatic and it chips/breaks enough to bleed. Look for some of Stevo's posts about his Danny- he's got some good baby beak pictures and young adult pictures. Jasper's 24 so he's an older guy.

 

[lilaccrownmom]

Rico says thanks so much.

He's my little spoiled sweetheart.

 

[lilaccrownmom]

Yes, I do have a pedicure perch...one of those blue ones that are supposed to keep nails and beak trimmed. He's always wiping his beak on it.

 

[Love My Zons]

That's nothing to worry about. If you are truly concerned, your Avian Vet can smooth that out for you.

 

[lilaccrownmom]

Thanks so much for the reassurance.

 

[Birdlover]

To me it looks like the piece that chipped off is actually a bit of overgrowth. My hawkhead's beak gets like this and he will take care of it on his own much the same way

You can faintly see the line that seems to be "extra" beak - I adjusted the levels to make it a little easier to see and drew a line over what appears to be what the beak is trying to remove

 

[Love My Zons]

My Red Lored's tip gets needle sharp, so sharp one time he bit me and the very tip broke off. I was relieved that the 'dagger' was gone finally! It will get very pointy and on it's own the tip breaks off to a blunted end.........but eventually with growth and rubbing it the shape comes back again.

 

[Quest]

Wow! What a pretty bird! I agree,
that little bit of his beak will smooth out and be fine. Give him lots of wood to chew.