by EllenD » Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:24 pm
Welcome to the forum, and your baby is adorable! I'm assuming that you mean that both sides of his beak look like the side showing in your photo? As stated there is a blood supply in the beak, and it really does look like he bruised it. I'm also assuming you do not have any other birds, and that he hasn't been around any other birds? The reason I'm asking is because if those marks are symmetric to both sides of his beak, it would appear as bruising that is very common to another bird biting down on his beak (this is how both sides are bruised), or that he possibly got his beak stuck in something or shut in something like his cage door. Either way you definitely want to get him to a certified avian vet right away (an avian vet, not a general dog/cat vet) because if it's not a bruise then as already mentioned it's probably an infect of some kind, and as you may know birds hide illnesses and pain from injuries as long as they can, and by the time they show that they are sick or in pain they are very, very sick and it's often too late to save them. This is a function of survival in the wild, they do not want to appear weak to predators or to their flock.
While you are at the avian vet you really do need to speak to them about getting your boy on a proper diet, as what you are feeding him is not good at all. It's better to get him on a good, varied diet now when he's young and stick to it, before any long-term damage is done. The good news is that your bird eats pellets already, along with a variety of other foods, so transitioning him off of the seed shouldn't be difficult at all. Did you have him to an avian vet when you brought him home for a well-birdy checkup? You should always do this as soon as you bring a new bird home to make sure everything is going well and that the bird is free of parasites. It's especially a must if you're new to birds because they would have educated you on what a proper diet for him would be...I too am not trying to lecture you, but so many birds die young because of fatty liver disease and tons of other problems that could have been prevented if the bird had been fed properly. I would stop the cereal ASAP unless it's just one Cheerio as a treat once in a great while. The iron is horrible for them and can kill them, and too much sugar is not good either. But like I said make sure you talk to the avian vet about this, most will ask you what the bird's diet is if it is your first visit anyway, they want to correct it asap.
Good luck, and please do not wait to get your baby to the vet!
