# Baby Cockatiel showing signs of scissor beak?



## Manny79 (Jun 1, 2012)

Hello everyone,

I was given this baby cockatiel as a gift and I noticed that it kind of had a crooked beak. I was wondering this was possibly a scissor beak? If yes I was wondering if there is anyway to fix it? Thank You


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## bjknight93 (Nov 13, 2011)

Scissor beak is where the bottom beak grows apart..your baby looks like his beak is just crooked. You can hold the upper beak in the correct position for a few minutes each day to "train" the muscles to hold the beak right.


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## WendyBeoBuddy (Dec 12, 2011)

Is he hand fed? it is not scissor beak because the lower mandible is solid and not split.
A lot of breeders that are inexperienced will shove the syringe down the throat the wrong way, the beak is just a little off is all  Like bjknight said, you can train the muscle around to put it back in place


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## tielfan (Aug 31, 2008)

It's my understanding that scissor beak is a misalignment of the upper and lower beak, so that the parts of the upper and lower beak that normally close down directly on top of each other are side by side instead, like scissor blades when they open and close. A split in the lower beak might be present but it's not an essential part of the definition. 

Here's some more information on it:
http://www.avianweb.com/scissorsbeak.html
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2752

According to the second link, "In young birds with mild deviations, simply applying finger pressure to the appropriate side of the beak for several minutes 2-3 times daily, may correct the problem."


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## Manny79 (Jun 1, 2012)

Thanks for all the help! I am going to try that and see if it helps. Thank you again for all the help!


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