Beak wiping, and possible cracked beak?

dinosaur party · Post by **dinosaur party** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 2:32 pm

I was looking around on the FIC website, and saw somewhere something about avoiding purchasing birds that are constantly wiping their beaks on the perch. I got a pair of male zebra finches on Wednesday, and yesterday evening, I noticed one of them wiping his beak on the perches. Not a lot, mind you, but considering that the other finch wasn't doing it at all, I became a bit concerned. I've also seen him sort of hitting his beak against the side of the food and water containers, and also hitting it off the perch a few times. Does beak wiping/hitting indicate a health problem? I read somewhere else that they may just do this if they are stressed.

Also, today I noticed that his beak actually appears to have a few "cracks" in it. The most obvious one is a sort of horizontal one near the top of his beak, with a smaller crack angling downwards at each end. They don't appear to be very deep at all, and there is no discolouration. He is eating and drinking just fine, and not acting sick at all. I searched and found this thread, and followed the reply and made up some egg food for them. I don't think either of them has eaten any yet though, they seem to be a bit wary of anything that isn't just regular seed. They haven't even touched the spray millet I hung in there for them yesterday!

Anyway, I was just wondering if any of you think that the beak wiping and cracked beak are related, and if anyone has any suggestions or advice for me.

Thanks in advance!

rottielover · Post by **rottielover** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 4:03 pm

I'm not sure, but I assume that finches are a bit like the hookbills in that their beaks grow a bit like an onion with layers. After a while the bird sheds the outermost layer of the beak (my Severe Macaw does this and it LOOKS bad, but it's nothing to worry about).

In fact my wife rushed him over to the Avain vet one day because a "chunk" of his beak had "broken" off. Turned out that the had just shed a peice of the outer "shell" of his beak. The Vet did "polish" his beak (apparently they do this all the time for show birds).

I would have to guess that your finch is doing the same based on the other thread.

As for them not even touching the spray millet, I have never seen a finch not relish spray millet, they usually attack it within minutes of placing it into the cage...

Hopefully somone with more experiance will chime in soon.

Post by **Sally** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 5:34 pm

Not all finches will take readily to eggfood. Try mixing some of their regular seed in the eggfood and see if they will try it that way. I'm really surprised about the spray millet--mine hardly get my hand out of the cage before they are attacking it. As far as the beak, I've not had that problem, so can't help you there.

Hope · Post by **Hope** » Sat Sep 08, 2007 11:13 am

I had bought a Gouldian from a pet store and when I got him home I noticed what looked like a crack across his beak. Looked like a layer had come off the end. After I got him on a better diet, egg food with some vitamins added, lettuce ,carrots and a good seed mix, his beak grew out and has not had a problem. I not sure but I believe having better lighting also helped.
Good luck, hopefully yours will improve also.

tursiopschic · Post by **tursiopschic** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 3:53 pm

Yes, my nun's "cracked beak" cleared up after feeding eggfood and giving him time. It didn't bother him at all.

I think beak wiping is normal...especially after they ate and may have a few hulls stuck to their beak. Mine just do two quick swipes in succession. They may repeat this, but that is it.

If they are constantly rubbing and wiping, maybe it's mites or something that is causing irritation?

SueRus · Post by **SueRus** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 6:51 pm

Excessive beak wiping can be an indication of air sac mites - but I think some birds are more prone to it than others. If it was a Gouldian finch I would be more concerned. Just keep an eye on your little bird - some beak wiping etc is normal

dinosaur party · Post by **dinosaur party** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 12:05 pm

Thank you all for your feedback! I just realised that I didn't have it set to notify me when replies were posted...

Anyhow, the beak wiping seems to have stopped altogether, and the "cracked" beak is looking a little better. I could not get them to eat the egg food I made, but I found this in the pet store and figured I'd give it a try. I've been mixing it in with their regular food and they seem to be eating it.

I'm also trying to find some sort of vitamin supplement for them... These are the only ones I can find in my local pet shop. Does anyone have any experience with these? Can you recommend something better? I can order things online, as long as they'll ship to Canada.

Thanks

cindiras · Post by **cindiras** » Sat Sep 29, 2007 2:01 pm

i use the egg food product you found with my budgies. They really like it. I also buy powdered poultry vitamins and add 1 teaspoon to 2 cups of the egg food crumble. I feed it dry, in a seperate feed cup. (I have many budgies, so 2 cups of the mix once a week just about covers them.)

albert · Post by **albert** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 4:03 pm

I buy my bird supplements from this site birdsupplynh.com

I usually mix Nekton-S with water and give them 3-4days/week and the birds like it.

During breeding season I also add calcivet to the water on the other days of the week.

Hope this helps.

Albert

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 5:27 am

Is your finch with the cracked beak the same one that is being plucked???

Perhaps this one is sick? Finches also wipe their beaks after eating and that is normal.

I try not buying finches from places likes petsmart, petco, or large pet chain companies. It's best to buy from small breeders that take good care of their finches. Make sure there is no over crowding, and it's cool when you can see the parents and know the exact hatch date.

All the finches I seem to get from big petstores or breeders that overcrowd, etc... have more problems and get sick easier.

dinosaur party · Post by **dinosaur party** » Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:40 pm

Is your finch with the cracked beak the same one that is being plucked???

Nope. He's the one that's been doing the plucking. I figure he just picks on the other guy because he's bigger than him. I think the plucking has mostly stopped since I moved them into a bigger cage though

I got them from a small-ish pet store. I don't think they're a chain, more of a small franchise? I think there's two or three of them in Ontario. I wish I knew where I could find a breeder around here though.

And to albert and cindiras: thanks for your suggestions. I'm looking into a powdered vitamin supplement now... I'm just trying to find one that's local before I order online