Parakeets beaks are getting long even with grit, cuttle bone & sandy perches.?

Question

Any other suggestions? I have a large aviary with 8 parakeets and some newly hatched babies and everyone's beaks are getting long. I'm afraid eventually they won't be able to eat. Catching them all and taking them to the nearest pet store (about an hour round trip-plus trim time) when they are caring for their babies seems mean and dangerous for the babies.

Answer 1

When all are able to eat on their own, have them all taken to an avian vet ( http://aav.org/vet-lookup ) and especially for those who have overgrown beaks, if they don't already suggest it, request a beak trim. They can safely file down the beak. You should never do this yourself, or you risk great discomfort to the birds and if you go too far, you may hit a blood vessel which can bleed to death and be extremely painful. If possible, take those who are not feeding babies first. Take the parents and babies after the babies are weaned. It may be a little easier on your bankbook to do it in a few chunks, rather than a single blow, though I believe /some/ vets may work a discount if you book and bring multiple birds at once, or at least a payment plan. It's always worth asking.

I should also mention that you should really ditch the grit and sandy perches (if you're talking about the ones that have sand coating on the outside, not the brand). This is because parrots, this being all hookbills, do not require grit. Everything they eat is digestable and especially the fortified diets humans feed captive birds, everything is undoubtedly 100% digestible. If you feed some seeds in the diet, know that the birds do not eat the hulls, but they shell the seeds and eat what's inside. Therefore grit is totally unnecessary, and I've heard stories of it doing more harm than good. In some cases, it will cause impacted crops in parrots and can cause lethargy, difficult eating (obviously), and death. It does nothing for the beak itself. In the case of sandy perches, the sand on the perch irritates birds' feet and can even cut and scar the skin and become painful. The sandy perches I've seen have all been very thin as well, so it's not so much bringing the claws down since the claws can easily wrap around it.

To remedy this and avoid future situations like this, after they've all been checked by a vet and had their beaks filed down, invest in wood chews and wood toys. They're great fun to chew and do a wonderful job of keeping beaks at a good length. Throw away the grit, or offer it to someone who has a bird that's not a hookbill (parrot), where the species does require grit for proper digestion. As for the perches, just throw away the sand perches and pick up a few cement perches. They're pretty inexpensive, and they keep nails down very effectively. They're thick enough to not allow the feet to totally wrap around and birds may choose to rub their beaks on this for the neat texture. Just make sure this isn't the only type of perch they have, because solely using cement perches will eventually lead to the same effects as sand perches (irritation).

Good luck.

Answer 2

Cuttle bone is quite soft. You may want to try a calcium block. These are a lot harder, and may trim the beak more effectively.

If the length of the beak gets out of control; take it to the vet and have the beak trimmed. There is a vein in the beak, and it is hard to see where the vein ends, I would hate to cut the vein and have the little keey hurt.

Answer 3

Wait until the babys are able to eat on own then Take your bird to an Avian vet - beaks, contact your local bird club for an experienced breeder -

Answer 4

Take your bird to your local vet, he/she will be able to trim his beak for a minimal fee.

You might want to consider getting birdie's nails done while you're there

Answer 5

Pink Dagger is absolutely right!

In addition, long beaks are sometimes a sign of other health problems. Please take them in to see an avian vet and have a full work up done to make sure they are healthy.

Answer 6

You can use an emery board to file their beaks. I'm not sure if this is good but you can trim it with small nail clippers. dont cut too close though. Congrats on the new Babies!!!

Answer 7

first of all parakkets are of the parrot family and don't need grit. about the only choice you have is to have them trimmed if those other things aren't working.