FINCHforum

The other day, I noticed that one of my young zebra finches, Piper, had a very overgrown lower mandible. It was a significant underbite that had formed over the span of a few weeks.

The cuttle bone in that cage is like new, so it seems that they never really got into using it.
I relocated it beside his favorite perch, but no luck with Piper. (Though his sister Pippin started using it a bit.)

I was loathe to pull him out and trim his beak as he's a real squirmer and they get really frightened when they can see you trying to cut off a body part (understandable.)
So before I tortured him with a beak trimming, I decided to try a trick that my neighbor Maria had recommended. (She's a lovely older Spanish woman who's kept birds her entire life and she's just a wealth of clever little tricks and tips!)

So, I got a small volcanic stone. I believe it's used for pedicures.
I put some of Piper's favorite foods on top of the stone in very tiny bits. The idea is that in biting at the food, he'll scuff and file his beak.

It worked beautifully!
Three days later and his beak looks perfect!
I did use a small scrub brush to clean the stone and I soaked it once daily in a water and bleach solution to prevent bacteria from forming, as it's super porous.

I used egg food, but you could use anything, really.
I'll be doing that once a week now to ensure he keeps his beak nicely trimmed.

Just wanted to share for anyone else who has a finch with the same issue!

MiaCarter
Mia that's a great idea! I have a lovebird who doesn't use his cuttle or mineral bone, so maybe I'll try that so his beak will get trimmed. I'm too afraid to trim him myself as he is NOT tame. Thanks for the tip!

finchmix22 -- Let me know how it works out for him!

My only worry with a larger bird would be that he could easily move the stone (they're super lightweight) which could make it less effective.
So I might try to anchor it somehow.

The stones are super workable, so you could easily drill a couple holes and use a bit of wire to secure it to the floor.

I use one of those volcanic stones for my Greater Vasa. His nails would get so sharp and he would freak out if I tried to trim them. We purchased a volcanic rock and mounted it by his seed feeder. In order to eat his seed, he has to stand on the rock. It has worked beautifully and we have not had to trim his nails since. He has other perches available, so he only has to stand on it long enough to eat. However, he seems to enjoy it a lot!

I'm going to purchase some smaller ones for my finches. Hopefully it will help keep their nails shortened as well.

MiaCarter
My Pet Shop, was selling these oblong little blocks of something that is supposed to help with beak shaping etc (looks almost like cement with little rocks stuck in it). My birds however show no interest in it. All they do is poop on it regularly, so I have to keep wahing it. Will have to try the food titbits idea.
Thanks Mia.

~Elana~

lovezebs -- Yeah, those little edible beak filing-and-minerals bars never seem to work if you put them horizontally. Anything horizontal gets pooped on!

That's the good thing about the stones is that you can easily disinfect them, whereas something like a mineral-and-stone bar or cuttle bone on the floor will get pooped on and the urine portion of the dropping soaks into it.

They eat that and it's impossible to clean. You just need to scrape off or gouge out the icky parts, which is just obnoxious.
So the stone is a good alternative.

@Toddmin -- Super clever!! What a great idea.
They would make a nice nail file. I imagine they would also help keep the foot skin nicely exfoliated. Many birds who don't bathe full body (*cough* like all my dirty birds *cough*) get lots of dry skin on their feet and legs.
Though I'd just watch to ensure nobody forms a sore or anything like that.

Hey Elana, it can be part of your birdie pedicures! Exfoliating with the lava stone, followed by a nice foot rub with olive oil.

MiaCarter
No kidding. The guys that got the olive oil treatment have beautiful skin on their feet. I think I'll try it on some of my slightly older birds that do have dry skin.

~Elana~