# Beak abnormalities, should I be worried?



## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

Today I noticed Petey's beak really doesn't look too nice. Leading up to today too, I've been noticing some days he's got a red tint inside the beak, and I'm tempted to think is blood. Here's some pictures:




























Another oddity is he hasn't grown new feathers in quite some time, and always has these wispy white ones hanging off his bottom. I'm quite worried, does this happen normally or should I see an avian vet?


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

Here's a shot of those weird wispy feathers:


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## morla (Aug 15, 2011)

I could be wrong, but i think it looks ok. 
He is so cute!


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

*always has these wispy white ones hanging off his bottom.*
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You have a couple health issues going on and it might be best if you seek an *avian* vet.

Click on the pix's for a larger view....do the abnormal down feathers you see look like this? If so there is a high probability that he may have some impaired kidney function. It must be corrected or you will eventually lose him from renal failure.

When I first saw your last posting he did not look so yellow in the first pix posted. But if he has this deep yellow coloration there is a strong possibilty if the yellow coloration has not been a normal color from the time he was a baby then it is an indication of developing liver issues.

He would need a vet checkup and tests/blood work done to check liver enzymes and also uric acid levels and kidney function.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Can you also post what his diet is? Many times if there is excess protein in the diet this can be problematic to some birds. Also post some clear pix's of his droppings....thanks


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

As to the beak this time of year in FL the humidity is low and can affect and dry out the beak and feet. If he is inside running a humidifier will help. The red could be a bruise....if he banged his beak on something.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

May I have permission to save this pix's. I thought I had one of my own showing the location of the abnormal down feathers. Also you should pluck all of them out because they can (rare, but can happen) abscess at the root. Keep him out of any drafts because where the abnormal feathers are located the kidneys are right below their roots. These feathers stay cool and can chill this area of the body...which is another reason to try and remove them.



PC9850 said:


> Here's a shot of those weird wispy feathers:


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## xxxSpikexxx (Jul 30, 2007)

Spike has fluffy white thread like down feathers. When we are in the shower I try to be sneaky and pull them out. It is eaiser because they bunch together. His breeder says that Spike does not preen properly because he should be pulling them out when he preens himself.
Has your tiel always been this yellow, have you noticed any grey feathers turning yellow. This could be a liver problem and a vet visit would be good.


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

First off, my apologies for not originally posting this in the proper forum 

I just gave him a nice warm rinsing in the kitchen sink, and plucked the abnormal feathers. They just look like normal dead (?) feathers that he's been lazy on plucking himself; thankfully they're nothing like those yucky feathers in srtiels' photos. Check em' out (they're still wet from the bath):










As far as yellow coloring, I cannot honestly say I've seen any radical changes in hue. When I took those photos, the little lamp next to his cage was on so maybe that messed with the lighting? I took a bunch more after the bath with different lighting:























































You can see in those last few that the bath stimulated a nice long vigorous preening session, which is good I'm assuming. I also noticed his beak is looking better. I guess it is indeed just the weather, but I'll still keep an eye on it.

Now for diet, he's eaten this brand of seeds all his life:










Like I said in my other thread, for a decade I was ignorant to the fact that these birds really should have more than just seeds. Currently I'm trying to get him on Nutriberries. Here's his droppings (I changed the paper yesterday):





































Hopefully this all looks normal. Oh and yes, feel free to save any pictures you need for reference.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Petey does seem to have exceptionally rich yellow tones, but for some birds this is genetic and normal - it's called "primrose". But increases in yellow color can also be a sign of illness, and it's best to get a vet's advice. 



> They just look like normal dead (?) feathers that he's been lazy on plucking himself; thankfully they're nothing like those yucky feathers in srtiels' photos.


Birds aren't actually supposed to pluck their own feathers, and it's a problem when they do. Molted feathers fall out naturally, and it's common to see one of these loose feathers come out while the bird is preening, which can make inexperienced people think the bird is plucking. All fully-grown feathers are "dead" in the sense that they are just sitting there, not growing or actively involved in performing their function. You probably pulled some feathers that weren't actually ready to come out yet, but it's not a big deal. Pulling big feathers can be painful but the bird might not even notice when a small feather is plucked, and new feathers will replace the old ones soon. It will be interesting to see whether the new feathers grow in the same or different.

I'm not qualified to judge the plucked feathers or the quality of the poop. Good luck getting him to eat the Nutriberries - birds are naturally cautious about new foods, but Nutriberries have a "seedy" look so it usually doesn't take too long.


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

He's had those wispy white ones hanging off his bottom for months now. Combined with the fact that I haven't seen any feathers at the bottom of the cage for months as well (this was a a regular sight before), I was a bit concerned there might be something wrong with his molting process. He definitely didn't show any signs of pain when I plucked them. His bottom looks a lot nicer now 

Thanks for the info on feathers. This is all starting to sound like it's not what I thought, but this bird never has seen an avian vet so I will go ahead and find my nearest one for a checkup.


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## enigma731 (Aug 12, 2011)

Whereabouts in Florida are you? We might be able to recommend a vet.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

I am in Ft. Lauderdale. If you are north of me north of Sample Rd. many years ago there was a breeder that bred yellow (golden) pieds like yours. Many of the local breeders used the term 'Grand Pieds' when referring to a pied colored like yours. Your location helps to know if there is a possibility that your bird is from those bloodlines, which then his color is fine. If not then I would be suspect of liver issues causing the additional yellow. A friend had a Grand Pied that she recently lost, he was 34 years old when he died.

Thats great that you plucked the string/feathers out.


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

I am located in Port Charlotte, which is about 3 hours north of Ft. Lauderdale. Petey has been brilliantly yellow his entire life and that would be absolutely awesome if he's this special kind of breed. 

I'll have to ask my uncle specifically where he originally got him from back in 2001.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

If he has always been the golden yellow color then he may be from the Grand Pied bloodline. It was in the early 1990's when I learned about them and the original breeder had retired from breeding. But there were still a few of the bloodline occasionally seen locally then, but I have not seen them for years.

Below (click for a larger view) is one golden pied I had years ago, and another breeder bought him from me, and alot of his bloodline got sold in central FL. The Grant Pieds were out-crossed every other generation with lutino, and each generation inherited a deeper shade of yellow. Any normal greys that carried the Grant pied, and lutino splits would have a olive green cast to the plumage after the first molt.


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

Thanks a bunch for the photo. Until seeing that one, this was the only other photo on the internet I could find that was remotely close to Petey's coloring:










Even in that one, the bird appears to have white on the body. The only white Petey has at all are very small spots under the gray on his wings. This seems pretty supportive of the possibility that Petey is a "Grand Pied". Like I said, he has definitely been that way his entire life.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Petey has the coloration of the Grand Pieds. Grand was used 'descriptively' to describe the color and was locally attributed to the breeders name that worked to get the golden yellow color.

The white you see below the grey on his sides is called the 'wing bar' which is on all mutations, it is just harder to see with pieds and lutinos.


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

Grand Pieds are gorgeous! The yellow in the pictures is so strong and rich that it's hard to believe it's real.

Edit: I just googled "grand pied" hoping to see some lovely cockatiel pictures. Unfortunately it turns out that "grand pied" is French for "big foot", and none of the images that turned up had anything to do with cockatiels. Adding the word "cockatiel" to the search didn't help either, it turned up some bird pictures but not a Grand Pied.


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Tielfan...they were called Grand pied in honor of the local breeder which many of us locals at the time coveted and admired the birds.

If you do a Google image search of a yellow mandevilla flower they were the same color.


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

Right now these photos are the best examples of his rich coloring that I have (if he looks ticked off in any of them, it's because he seems to hate the sight of my red camera):














































In that last one you can actually see the wispy white feathers still on his bum. These were taken many months ago.

Anyway, I am truly excited to have gotten this info. Thanks so much again Susanne! And everyone else for all your help


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## PC9850 (Feb 22, 2012)

Oh and tielfan, do a Google Image search for "Primrose Pied". It brings up a couple of results that look like Petey. There was one or two on Susanne's website too, in the section for Pieds.

BTW Susanne, would you consider Petey "dirty-faced" due to the bit of gray between the cheek patch and the beak?


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## srtiels (May 1, 2009)

Yes...he would be a dirty faced pied (again just a descriptive term)...but he is a curie 

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