# Bird fight = missing lower beak... What to do!?



## TehLizardKing (Sep 29, 2013)

I'll try and keep this as short as I can...

This morning when I went down to the aviary to feed the birds, I found a tiel huddled up in the corner of the aviary with blood all over her face. I figured she must have had a night fright, but on closer inspection the whole lower half of her beak is just... Messed up... It's broken, some is hanging off, I think some is missing... It's impossible to tell because restraining her means she tries to bite me and I can't get a good look at her actual beak because it's plastered with blood and feathers. She's incredibly weak and she's obviously lot a lot of blood.

I'm especially worried because she was an impulse buy on my part from a pet shop a few months ago. All of her toes had been bitten off at the first joint and she had a broken wing that had healed in the wrong position she she can't fly, only glide lopsidedly down from things, which was exacerbated by her never having learned to fly anyway since she was kept in a tiny cage all her life so her flight muscles were almost nonexistent... I wanted to give her as good a life as I could because I knew no one else would ever pick her, and I thought my aviary was the right place to do that... The aviary is about 35ft square, with a third of that being heated inside space (like a shed type thing), and 8ft high. The birds are fed fruit, veggies and salad in the morning and seed just before dusk. There are platforms, square and round wooden perches and lots of natural tree branches, and every Saturday they get hawthorn and dog rose cuttings to chew on. She had just become accustomed to life here, hanging out with the other birds on the high perches, foraging on the floor, preening her buddies, etc, and now this! It's 100 times more awful for her because not only can she not fly, but she can hardly grasp a round perch so unless she's sat on a square piece or a platform she's constantly steadying herself with her beak when she's moving. She also has to climb everywhere, and because she has very little movement in her toes, this is a accomplished almost entirely by hauling herself up with her beak.

Yesterday I finished my GCSEs and I thought life was all fine and dandy, and now something else has just been thrown this way. Fun times. Obviously I would not deny a bird medical care, but I would like some advice on whether it is worth treating her - not because she is of little value to me... All lives are important, and she is in my care, so I have a duty to keep her alive if it's within my power, plus she's a really sweet little bird... But what is her life going to be like, say, if her beak is in fact amputated and doesn't grow back, with all her present disabilities anyway. I might be able to syringe feed her a few times a day but I physically won't have the time to spend much time playing with her, especially because she isn't comfortable with human contact anyway, and I would not be happy to leave her languishing in a small, warm, boring cage in the house with no toys to chew and no mate to interact with because of her beak.

Would she be better off being put to sleep? I hate asking that question, because I have had birds pull through the impossible so many times... But I think for once this may actually be the kindest thing to do. I'd just like some opinions, really. This is the part of living with animals that I hate.

Oh, and I don't know how she broke her beak but I'm assuming it was in a fight with another bird or a collision. That doesn't matter to me right now though, I just want to know what to do and it seems like whatever decision I make I'm just putting her through so much pain. There are no avian vets anywhere near our area (Lincolnshire, UK) in fact I've never been to one because all of the difficulties with the birds so far have been solved with antibiotics or a leg splint. I've also got a dress rehearsal for a show in about an hour that will be going on until about 5pm, and my parents are adamant that they 'won't let me miss another opportunity for the sake of one bird'. I'm not even gonna start on that. 

Ugh... Thanks guys xx


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## Vickitiel (Oct 10, 2012)

I'm so sorry that this happened to your sweet girl, poor thing  I would be getting her to a vet asap, avian or not, to see what they can do but honestly I think she may have to be put to sleep if the injury really is very bad and she is unable to eat on her own and unable to get around. It would be the kindest thing to do if you believe she is going to be miserable and unable to function properly. Poor girl, please let us know how she is doing and keep us updated. Sending love and hugs your way for your sweet 'tiel.


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## ParrotletsRock (Oct 8, 2013)

Oh my, that is horrible, poor girl, you try to do all the good things for her and something else happens, I agree the 1st step is to get her evaluated by the vet to see if there is anything that can be done for her. As stated above if her life is never going to have any quality to it due to the injuries she has had then the kindest thing is to gently relieve her of her suffering. So sorry you and her have to go thru this. I wonder if she crashed hard due to not being able to fly properly and landed on her chin... Just speculation... I hope you are doing ok and you can get her the treatment she needs soon.


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## JoJo's Mom (Oct 20, 2012)

I am so sorry...I tend to agree with the rest. A vet visit will tell you if anything can be done, and if not, then gently let her go. Sorry you have to go through this. I am praying for her.


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## tielbob (Mar 25, 2013)

I believe the beak is always growing (unlike, say, our own teeth), so if you are able to use something like baby bird formula to give her nutrition in the meantime, perhaps that would be workable (hopefully she would ingest it without handfeedings). I don't know how practical that is or if/when someone could expect the beak to grow back (if that's even possible.)
I hope you get some answers from the vet and also hope that someone else more familiar with beak trauma on the forum would reply. Birds with all kinds of disabilities or hardships (temporary or long-term) can do surprisingly well with a determined caretaker, in many cases.
Sorry you have to go through this.


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## Vince (Feb 18, 2014)

With a lot of good care I have heard of birds surviving similar, and the beak growing back okay...
From what I heard the bird was fed with a crop needle & given metacam for pain relief, along with antibiotics for infection. 
But it would mean a dedicated effort from the owner....but I know I would try for each of my wonderful friends.
Good luck...I hope there has been a positive outcome...


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