Nuts in the Shell?

[LittleWing]

My black capped caique has a beak that needs trimming every 2-3 months. The avian vet suggested that I give him hard nuts like walnuts or almonds in the shell to help with the beak overgrowth. I've only ever fed them nuts that I eat from trail mix or what not. I suppose they are roasted or something, I don't really know. Anyway, I was wondering what to look for at the store. I know they should be unsalted, but other than that, I don't really know what is good for them and what is bad for them. Roasted or raw? I don't want to feed them something that will harm them.

[ParrotsForLife]

I just get natural nuts that you find where all the healthy stuff are or you can get them from a health store.

[liz]

Put untreated wood near them and they will chew it. I don't give them walnuts in the shell because they waste more than they eat. My Amazons love almonds in the shell. You have to make sure there are no marks on the shells. I can only find them in the stores around Christmas. This time of year I get them from Fosters and Smith. I also have the calcium blocks that they like the taste of that are banana or strawberry flavored.

[LittleWing]

Put untreated wood near them and they will chew it. I don't give them walnuts in the shell because they waste more than they eat. My Amazons love almonds in the shell. You have to make sure there are no marks on the shells. I can only find them in the stores around Christmas. This time of year I get them from Fosters and Smith. I also have the calcium blocks that they like the taste of that are banana or strawberry flavored.

What do you mean by no marks on the shell? I might just get a few from the health food store to try out. I have Caiques, and their little beaks seem too small for a gigantic walnut. Maybe they will surprise me!

[ParrotsForLife]

Put untreated wood near them and they will chew it. I don't give them walnuts in the shell because they waste more than they eat. My Amazons love almonds in the shell. You have to make sure there are no marks on the shells. I can only find them in the stores around Christmas. This time of year I get them from Fosters and Smith. I also have the calcium blocks that they like the taste of that are banana or strawberry flavored.

What do you mean by no marks on the shell? I might just get a few from the health food store to try out. I have Caiques, and their little beaks seem too small for a gigantic walnut. Maybe they will surprise me!

My African grey probably wouldn't crack a walnut she gets them without the shell

[Wolf]

The largest bird I have is an Amazon and she has problems with walnuts. Almonds are about the largest nut that my birds seem to be able to open on their own.

While I can't argue that opening nuts or chewing on wood helps keep my parrots beaks trimmed and in good condition, I think that more of it happens while they clean and hone their beaks, so I provide perches that have pumice on the sides and are smooth on the top to help trim the sharp points on their nails as well as to clean their beaks on. If my birds beaks are growing too long, I tend to look at their diet and in particular how much protein is in their diet.

[liz]

I sort through the nuts to make sure they are a perfect color. If they have any black or brown marks or are not the right color I do not give them to my birds. It may be safe but I cannot take a chance with my little beings.

[LittleWing]

I sort through the nuts to make sure they are a perfect color. If they have any black or brown marks or are not the right color I do not give them to my birds. It may be safe but I cannot take a chance with my little beings.

Ah, ok.....that makes sense. I generally do not feed my babies anything that I would not eat myself.
except for the pellets not sure I'd like the taste of those.....

[LittleWing]

The largest bird I have is an Amazon and she has problems with walnuts. Almonds are about the largest nut that my birds seem to be able to open on their own.

While I can't argue that opening nuts or chewing on wood helps keep my parrots beaks trimmed and in good condition, I think that more of it happens while they clean and hone their beaks, so I provide perches that have pumice on the sides and are smooth on the top to help trim the sharp points on their nails as well as to clean their beaks on. If my birds beaks are growing too long, I tend to look at their diet and in particular how much protein is in their diet.

Yeah, I was kind of wondering if something in their diet could be causing this. The vet said it could also be caused by a liver problem, or by beak trauma in the past. Sort of like how if we smash a toe, the nail might grow kind of weird after that.
We got blood work done and his liver seemed fine. I got him from a rescue in June, and it looked like he had recently had a beak job. It was kind of blunt at the end and looked as if they had clipped it off. I could tell it was going to get long and need to be trimmed again at some point, but wasn't sure how long it would take to grow. It took about 3 months before he needed another trim.
The people at the place I took him did a really good job. They shaped it into a natural looking beak instead of just clipping off the point. I'll see if I can find some before and after photos. It really makes a huge difference in his appearance, like getting a really good haircut or something!
I will look for some pumice perches. I'm not convinced that he will be able to break into a nut in the shell. He does love to chew on wood, particularly toys made with popsicle sticks! Although I'm not sure those are hard enough to help with the beak. He can shred a popsicle stick toy in no time!

[Pajarita]

If the avian vet just got an avian chem panel, it is entirely possible that he has liver damage which doesn't show on the values they look at. I had a bird that showed normal values until one month before he died from liver failure and that's how I learn that the 'regular' test is no good (there is no single value in it that is liver specific and it only shows advanced damage and not malfunction). You need to do a bile acids test. It's the ONLY test that shows actual liver function. Please ask your vet to do one on your bird because, in my personal experience (24 years and hundreds of birds), the only reason for an overgrown beak if there is no visible deformation is liver malfunction and giving the bird more nuts is actually bad for it so you really need to find out what is causing this before you add more protein to his diet.