# Overgrown beak



## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

Hello there. It's been a while since I posted in here.

My boy Curie is having a bit of an issue with his beak having grown too long. He's always been clumsy with his food, but now it's getting a bit ridiculous. Though thankfully he's a determined glutton and still eats his fill.

I'm wondering what I can do to help this problem? He's never had an issue with his beak growing out before. The only recent change has been switching foods from a mix of ~75% roudybush maintenance crumble (recommended by my vet) and ~25% hagen pigeon & dove seed to 100% crumble. El, my female who eats the same thing but lives in a separate cage, is still fine, however. Her beak is nice and short. But Curie, well, here's a picture:










So, is there anything I could change to help him resolve this issue himself, or should I take him to the vet to get a trim?

One last thing that I'm actually happy about, but may be a positive side-effect of this problem, is he hasn't been over-picking his flight feathers of late, and they've mostly grown back in now. This was an issue for him his whole life, and the vet and I were baffled at how to help, so I'm glad for that. Though I wonder if the issue will return with his beak being trim, or if perhaps it's a sign that this beak problem is just a symptom of something bigger.


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## Kukrii (Oct 31, 2017)

Sometimes, if he'll allow you to hold his head gently, you can use a nail file to gently trim it down, but the vet might be a good idea if you're not comfortable with doing that aha


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

The top beak has actually been overgrown for a while. It showed a bit of a hook in pics from June. It has gotten worse, and looks as though the bottom is over growing also, and is now growing into the top beak so he cannot close the beak. If not fixed, he will eventually end up with a scissored beak, and will really have problems picking up seed. You need to take him to the vet and have them show you the correct way to trim his beak before it gets any worse. As it is, the bottom beak is starting to turn down. Needs to be a vet who knows how to do it properly.


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

Oh that's true. I didn't realize it was overgrown, but I remember it hooking over a bit. Any ideas what could have caused it to suddenly grow out to this degree?

I'll take him to the vet as soon as I can, but I worry about finding one with experience. Every time I go, they have him see a different vet, and they never seem to be very comfortable with birds.

Are there any recommended ressources online I could use to double-check what they tell me? I want to be absolutely sure I don't end up hurting him.
So far I understand it's important to go gradually, trimming only a little at a time to avoid reaching the blood vessels, but beyond that I'd love any advice you experienced folks could offer.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Google avian vets near your area, and start calling them. You really need to be shown what you are doing, or you could cause him more problems. I wouldn't wait as it will get worse, and will then be more difficult to fix. He will need both top and bottom beak trimmed properly.


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

One of the vets in my city now claims to have full service for birds, listing several treatments such as beak trimming. This is new and I'm hopeful that they will be a proper avian vet. I'll be sure to ask them lots of questions before letting them handle Curie.
All these years we've never had anybody properly mention that they do bird treatments. My best option otherwise would probably be to go to the veterinary college one province over, but I can't travel so easily.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

You could also call different vets in the area and ask if they know of avian vets around. They usually do know.


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

That is what I do every time, and they send me on a wild goose chase where I just end up calling every vet in the area. :/ I'll be going through the same thing again this time and see if they recommend this new person's services or not.


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## FredaH (Apr 5, 2016)

If you have any bird sanctuaries/rehabbers near you they'd probably be able to do it for you, they have all kinds of birds with problems and I bet they'd do it even better than a vet. 
Lovely boy you have there and hope you find someone who can do the job properly.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Make sure they show you how to do it properly, as when a beak grows like that, it is usually ongoing, and will have to be trimmed every so often. Some grow faster than others.


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

It seems I've found a proper avian veterinarian, he's even listed in the avian vet association's directory. But the clinic tells me that, although he will do beak trims, he won't show me how to do it myself.
I'll definitely take Curie there to get his current problem sorted, but I'll have to keep my eyes peeled to see if I could learn it from someone else in time for his next trim. He really doesn't like going to the vet due to his past feather problems, so I'd rather not force him to go more than is necessary. If not, hopefully he'll warm up to this new vet since he may have to see him a lot. Wish us luck.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Don't see why they won't also let you watch how they do it. That doesn't make sense.


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

It turns out the assistant didn't specify to him that I had doves. He figured it would be psittacines, which would have been overly complicated to instruct to an owner on how to trim.

When I got there he told me there'd be no problem for showing me. I helped hold Curie as he trimmed his beak back a little at a time. I was really impressed at finally getting to see an avian vet. He gave me some little sticks for cauterizing if there's ever a bleed when I do it at home, and I bought some clippers he recommended.

Here's Curie after his trim. He didn't want to sit still for a photo so it's a little hard to see. It's not perfect, but I'll keep an eye on it. Seeing as I've had him for years now, I'm guessing this won't have to happen too often.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Glad Curie has a nice new proper sized beak. Thank you for getting him fixed up!


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Photos didn't come through. Glad you got him done though and that they showed you how. Once the beak grows like that and needs to be trimmed, it usually grows out more often after that.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Hi, glad to hear you found an avian vet who showed you how to trim the beak. 

I have an overgrown beak pigeon, Pulcino. I have to trim and to file his beak (just the upper beak) about every two weeks because it grows fast. I use a nail clippers and a nail file (you can see them in the picture). 

We rescued him when was a youngster: he had a really long upper beak, was skinny and infested by bugs.

I know that Pulcino's situation is different from the one of Curie but if you need any advice I can share my experience.

Curie is really cute


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## banndsand (Dec 5, 2013)

Little update, I've trimmed his beak a bit since this whole incident and it has been looking better every time. Thanks everyone for your help.


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Thanks for the update. Just be careful.


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## Colombina (Jan 22, 2017)

Thanks for the little update  .


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