# Baby cockatiel, deformed beak.



## pearce (Jul 20, 2008)

Hello everyone.
My baby cockatiels are 33 days old now and one of them has a deformed beak. Here he is:


















Can this be cured? He is still alive so he must be able to eat... What should I do? I will book a vet appointment but I would just like a little advice until then. Thankyou.


----------



## *Tiel_Heart* (Feb 19, 2008)

Can he eat ok?? I had to laugh a little at first but then i almost cried. The poor thing!! The only thing i could think of is trying to file them or something or maybe the vet might reconstruct the jaw or something...Sorry I am not good at this type of stuff


----------



## Renae (Feb 9, 2008)

I googled it and couldn't find anything. I don't think there's much you can do until you see a Vet the main thing is s/he is eating OK and not having any problems. I think there's a special food you can get for things like this (deformed beaks). Poor little thing.


----------



## atvchick95 (Sep 17, 2007)

Was it hand fed?

Deformed beaks are often caused by the hand feeding formula not being cleaned out of the beak when they're done eating and it builds up and then their beaks don't grow right. 

But i'm with the others only a vet would know for sure if it can or can't be fixed


----------



## allen (Aug 25, 2007)

i would make sure the vet is an avian vet


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

This is called scissor beak and it is often curable. It's easier to cure a baby and the younger the better, so please get him to a vet as soon as possible.


----------



## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

tielfan said:


> This is called scissor beak and it is often curable. It's easier to cure a baby and the younger the better, so please get him to a vet as soon as possible.


Yes that is scissor beak, Big Maggie has an adult case of it, his was caused by malnourishment, it can also be caused by handfeeding as atv had said as well as liver or kidney problems (I can't remember which) as well as a genetic defect (a fluke). Only a vet can tell you for sure!


----------



## pearce (Jul 20, 2008)

HI EVeryone

Thankyou for all the help.

I have been to the vet and he told me the baby has a case of scissors beak. He seems to think if I massage the beak 2 times per day it can mould itself back into place.

The baby is 39 days old and is still with his parents as I dont know if he can eat by himself or not.
If I leave this baby in the parents cage for the rest of his life, will his dad feed it?
Does it look like he can eat on his own to you?


Thanks


----------



## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

No parents will not feed babies forever. Even if they can't feed themselves.


----------



## Cannuck2007 (Feb 29, 2008)

pearce said:


> HI EVeryone
> 
> Thankyou for all the help.
> 
> ...


I don't know with baby tiels, but our amazon Maggie has fairly severe scissor beak and can still manage to eat as normal.


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Have you been giving him the opportunity to try to feed himself? I don't know if he will be able to crack seeds, and even if he can it may take him an extra-long time to figure out how. He might be able to manage soft foods without too much trouble, but like all babies he needs the opportunity to experiment with food so he can figure out how it's done.


----------



## pearce (Jul 20, 2008)

Hi everyone.

He is 35 days old at the moment so he has not left the breeding cage yet, although he did leave the nest box 6 days ago. I do not know if he can eat by himself yet because I have never seen him eat... I have seen his father feed him though. Should I put him in a seperate cage to see if he can eat by himself? His brother is 35 days old aswell and I am yet to see him eat yet.
The cockatiel cage has 2 seed dishes, cockatiel seed mixed with canary seed.
A water dish.
Calcium and iodine bells.
Cuttlebone.
Every day they get soft food. eg - egg/silverbeet/carrot and many more vegetables.
They get sunflower seeds twice a week and millet twice a weak.


----------



## sweetrsue (Jul 8, 2008)

No he's still too young for that. 8 weeks would be an early weaning. He's got a way to go yet. I hope what your vet suggested works! Their beaks are very pliable when they are young.


----------



## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

You don't want to remove him from the breeding cage, but you can provide soft mushy foods for him and the other chicks to experiment with. The chicks will beak the food for a while before they actually start eating it.

The egg is the softest food on the list you provided. The other veggies might be difficult for a chick with a deformed beak, although he might have a reasonable chance with corn kernels that are cut off the cob. Try offering some really soft foods like cooked oatmeal or small bits of fresh bread.


----------



## Bea (Jul 26, 2007)

If it turns out that he is unable to crack seed i would think that he could manage a pelleted diet in the crumble form, you often see it sold for budgies or canaries but the ingredients are usually the same as in the larger pellets.


----------



## Jiggers Mommy (Sep 2, 2008)

It almost looks like he is sticking out his tounge at you...  He is a cutie though thats for sure..


----------

