flaky/pealing beaks

[deds]

the beaks look flaky/pealing specially the lower part. how do i maintain/keep my parrot beaks in top and smooth condition?

i feed him with fruits and veggies, ocasionally nuts and sunflower seeds. and lots of wood toys to chew.



thanks

[zazanomore]

Is he a Great Billed Parrot?

I think you may want to see a vet. I've never seen a flaky beak like that before.

[deds]

yes, thats a gret billed parrot.

unfortunately, there is no avian vet in jakarta.

might try to add more calcium and vit a in his diet. will also try to buff his beaks with nail buffer

[Michael]

Seems pretty natural (can't rule out vet entirely) but my parrots' beaks get flaky once in a while too. Just scratch. The best thing is to scratch with a fingernail cause they love it and you can't overdo it.

[sidech]

It doesn't look right to me. I would see a vet.

[birdvet]

The discolouration is a concern however it is hopefully something as simple as he doesn't have enough hard stuff to chew on to wear down the old portion of beak. Flakiness is normal, it has to do with how the beak grows (I'm not going to get in to that here, need diagrams to explain ). Offer him so natural (non toxic obviously) branches for him to chew on and see if this helps him wear his beak down. If not the next step would be to get him checked out if you can find a vet in your region who is knowledgeable about birds. May be worth ruling out beak and feather disease, it manifests so differently in each species...

Another thought I had was that the tip looked almost dead...this could be due to an injury such as a burn...has your bird inadvertantly bitten something hot and maybe damaged the beak lamellae??

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I don't know anything about the dietary requirements of great-billed parrots, but I have heard it said for Cape Parrots that a little more fat in the diet may help a flaky beak.

[milchig]

Yes, this is definitely a Great Billed parrot. A beautiful one. Likely male. Mine have had similarly flaky beaks but my vet sanded them lightly and then applied a touch of mineral oil. I don't think this is necessary but more aesthetic. I am concerned that you feed only some nuts and sunflower seeds. They need a more varied seed or pellet diet and they love walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc. which are very healthy nuts. I would not necessarily add fat to the diet but if you can get flax seed oil and add a few drops to the water it would be helpful.

Please take good care of your bird. They are quite rare, at least in the US where I am located. I don't know where you are located but wherever you are, I wish you great luck and good health for this wonderful parrot.

[milchig]

I just checked with a friend who has a Great Billed and she tells me that her's had this problem until she gave him a calcium supplement. Now the flaking is gone. I suggest a supplement or cuttle bone or crushed oyster shells. My vet also thought that crushing some Tums would provide the calcium. Don't know if you are familiar with Tums so the cuttlebone or other supplement is probably best.

[deds]

thanks milchig

i do feed him almond as a treat maybe once a week, maybe i should do it everyday now... walnut is very expensive in jakarta

can i substitute flax seed oil with flax seed? i usually add some onto his soft food.

will try to add cuttlefish bone and crushed egg shell in his diet

yes, great billed parrot are very hard to find, even in jakarta ... not sure whether they are rare or not popular.