Worried about Chubby's beak - pics

[paper_lantern]

A few weeks ago I noticed Chubby's lower beak was getting a bit long. He has a ton of different types of toys but doesn't seem too keen on chewing them. I assumed this was the reason for the growth, although his top beak is fine. So, I called the mobile vet. She isn't an avian vet per-say but she does the beaks and nail trimmings of all my friend's parrots and she came highly recommended for simple beak trims. She did a small trim, but Chubby was very stressed so we didn't get much done. A few days later I came home from work and chubby had chipped a piece of his bottom beak. Not a huge piece, and it was a piece of the overgrown part so he wasn't bleeding and it didn't bother him. I called the mobile vet again and she trimmed and smoothed his beak down a bit more so the chip was gone. Again Chubby seemed very upset so we didn't trim the beak down to a normal length. The vet noticed a small crack down his beak. His bottom beak isn't separated or anything, and it's only in the overgrown part. It doesn't seem to hurt and he is eating fine. She said not to worry, it will grow out.

For some reason I'm imagining that the crack could somehow spread down to the actual live part of the beak. I called the avian vet (the only one in the area, four hours away) and made an appointment for August 2. Now I'm starting to get paranoid and wondering if I should take a day or two off from work sooner and try to get in sooner (maybe they will have a cancellation and he can get in). I posted pictures of his overgrown beak and the crack.

I'm also planning on getting blood work done because I don't understand WHY his beak is overgrown in the first place. I feel like crying, I feel like such a bad bird mom. What is his beak splits in half and it has to be amputated or something?

[Wolf]

How old is chubby? What does he eat? Is his cage painted or powder coated and if yes, are there any chips missing? How long have you had him?

[paper_lantern]

He is 2 years and 7 months old, he is on Roudybush pellets every day as well as an assortment of fresh fruits, veggies, and grains. He is a very good eater and I try to get a good balance of produce high in vitamin A. I weigh his pellet dust at night to make sure he is actually eating the pellets and not just grinding them up. He also gets one veggie nutriberry daily as a treat. I've had him since he was finished being handfed, so since he was a few months old. His cage is a good quality King's Cage, powder coated but he doesn't tend to chew the coating at all. It's a really durable coating. The cage is 36 1/2" x 27 3/8" x 63 1/2" with 5/8 bar spacing.

[Michael]

Good call on going to the vet. Don't freak out about it and wait for a convenient appointment. If there's a problem, it's a long term one. A few days or weeks shouldn't make a difference with the kinds of problems that lead to overgrown beak. Hey, to get overgrown, months of development had to take place. However, do get it looked at. Sometimes it really is as simple as not chewing enough stuff but other times it can indicate a nutritional deficiency or organ problems.

[paper_lantern]

Thanks Michael, I really hope it's just as simple as him not chewing enough. Even a nutritional deficiency (although still horrible) would be pretty simple to deal with I'm assuming. I just really hope it's not an organ problem. Of course I'd do any treatment necessary, but I assume an organ problem in a bird is pretty much a death sentence, right?

[Wolf]

Not always, although some do require long term treatment. I am glad that he is on a good diet and that he is not chewing on paint that helps. I am still checking through my medical references to see what I can find that might help, but nothing that I can find will be as important as seeing a good avian vet.

[Pajarita]

In my personal experience, it's never because they don't chew enough. Healthy birds never have overgrown beaks whether they chew or not. But just because a beak is overgrown, it doesn't mean that there is liver problems (it's always the liver). It could be that the 'bite' is not as aligned as it should be and, because the top part does not 'rub' enough or evenly on the edge of the bottom part, it just keeps on growing (I have a quaker that requires periodic trims of both her beaks because of this). The beak is overgrown but it seems to me that there is a bit of a deformation there (the lower beak seems to be not quite 'placed' exactly right under the top). Taking him to the vet is what you need to do (ask for a bile acids test to make sure it's not the liver) but, if I were you, I would not use somebody who is not experienced in birds to trim anything because the problem could have been caused by a bad trim to begin with (sometimes birds get a large chip on one side of the top beak making the lower beak grow more on that side and, if this is not trimmed correctly, the top will grow unevenly and, in time, will cause the lower beak to shift to one side). Slightly misaligned beaks can also be made to align right with expert trimmings so it never pays to go with somebody who is not an avian vet for these things.

Don't worry about the crack, it's only at the tip. They might not be able to cut the entire split off when they trim it right (that was a real shabby job of a beak trim!) but it will grow out in time. Beaks can be permanently split (I had a couple of birds with this problem) but it means splitting all they way down where the matrix of the beak is and that means bone so it requires huge trauma for this to happen (cockatoo breeders split the beaks of the males on purpose).

I am not 100% sure but I don't think this is a liver problem (but check it just in case because this is very young bird and, if there is something there, you can treat it with diet and supplements). Having said that, I would urge you to re-evaluate his diet because free-feeding protein food (pellets, seeds, nuts, nutriberries, etc) is not recommended for GCCs.

[paper_lantern]

Thanks Pajarita, that helps. I realized I wont be able to stop worrying and being paranoid until he actually sees the vet. For my own piece of mind, and for his health, I decided to take a day off on Monday and I got him in with the avian vet.

Chubby has never been in a car for more than 20 minutes at a time. Is there anything I should keep in mind for the 4 hour ride? I'm going to bring him in his carrying cage with water and fresh veggie snacks of course, but I'm wondering if I should bring anything else. Is there anything I should think to ask the vet for other than the beak trim and blood work?

[Wolf]

Shade1 Although you will be with him for the trip their colors also soak up the sun in ways that our skin does not as well as the risk of sunburn so bring something to protect him from too much sun.

[cml]

Shade1 Although you will be with him for the trip their colors also soak up the sun in ways that our skin does not as well as the risk of sunburn so bring something to protect him from too much sun.

I wouldnt worry about sunburn, glass takes away nearly all UVB and alot of the UVA making sunburn highly unlikely, carglass is better still with UVA which makes it nigh impossible to get burnt whilst in a car .
However, as they are more more colorful they do indeed get warmer, so a little bottle with water in their travel cage isnt a bad idea for a long trip .