Beak Deformity?

Hendelg · Post by **Hendelg** » Tue Mar 27, 2012 10:02 pm

Hello, this is my first posting...and I need some help.

I have one breeding pair of zebra finches. Their recent babies (only one previous) has only 2. They left the nest...not sure they really "fledged" and I'm getting a clear view of them and ones beak isn't formed properly. I added the picture below.

Has anyone seen this before? The top beak is shorter than the lower. Will he/she be able to thrive as an adult? Do beaks grow out? What kind of special diet do they need to be on?

HELP

dan78 · Post by **dan78** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:09 am

Hi hendelg, some birds have deformed/broken beaks and live a long and happy life even to breed and fledge young. By the picture I find it hard to tell how short the top break is compared to the bottom. Beaks do continually grow throughout the birds life and most birds will trim their own beaks on things such as cuttlefish bone or porous rocks. As for your zeb well its hard to tell but some might say to trim lower beak to match length of top beak but I don't believe this is the best option yet. Its still only young so I would wait a bit for it to mature to see the extent of the deformity before trying to rectify the problem. When feeding birds with a beak problem you must watch to see if the bird is/can eat seed this also means to see if husk is left as this shows that the bird can shell seed and will be able to eat the basic of their diet, if the bird is unable to de shell seed then soft foods as well as fruits and mashed veg will have to he provided so as the bird can eat something till the problem can be rectified. A picture of a side view will be more help as people will be able to see how short the top beak actually is.

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 7:27 am

I would not trim the beak, the beak contains nerves and blood supply. If you did trim it, you might be removing to much to match the size of the upper beak. I would as suggested wait and let the baby mature a bit and see how it manages on it's own. A side picture as suggested would be very helpful.

L in Ontario · Post by **L in Ontario** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:28 am

I agree to not trim the lower mandible at this time. It has been eating up to now so like Dan and Cindy said, I would suggest just watching to see if this chick can husk shells on his own. Millet spray is usually a food quickly adapted to by weanlings.

(Also, I deleted your other post as it appeared to be a duplicate).

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:39 am

If you could take a profile shot of the bird's head, it would be most helpful.

In some cases a beak deformity is due to a virus, nutrition, not saying this is the case but I would rest the parents and supply eggfoods and nurishing foods to the flock. If not using a pelleted diet you may want to add some for them for an added nutritional boost...I use Zupreem Fruit Blends for finches/canaries (Petco, PetSmart)

http://www.ivis.org/advances/harrison_2/chap43.pdf
page 1186

http://www.avianweb.com/beakdeformities ... eformities

Post by **Sally** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 10:33 am

My handfed RCCB Peanut has a similar deformity, perhaps he didn't get enough nutrition as a handfed. At any rate, I regularly have to catch him up and trim the lower beak to sort of match the upper beak. This does not seem to hurt him, nor is there any bleeding, it is like trimming a nail. I clip just a little at a time, working from side to side, till it is as closely matched as I can get it. And this seems to be an ongoing problem, one that I will always have to deal with.

Since your bird is so young, I would not do anything at this time, except to watch and make sure he can hull seed. Peanut has worked around his deformity quite well.

Hendelg · Post by **Hendelg** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 12:47 pm

Here are the best side views I have of the baby. I think it's longer now than it was when it first left the nest, which is encouraging.

My husband suggested filing down the lower beak but I agree with you all, just wait and see what happens. If I need to file it should be much later.

So what are your thoughts on the reason for this? I give the parents a very good diet to include greens, millet, eggs, apples and they have and always have had a cuddle bone. I don't add any vitamins to their water and maybe there is something I'm doing wrong.

Any advice is appreciated.

PrettyBird · Post by **PrettyBird** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 1:45 pm

It looks like the top beak is the deformed part. Its way to small in perpective to the bird. The bottom looks abotu normal size. I wouldnt even think about filing it right now. I would wait and see what happens as it gets mature. As Cindy said you could do alot of damage, since there are nerve endings.
If it isnt having problems eating and drinking then no need to do anything right now.

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:57 pm

Gloria, I do not think it is anything you are not providing for them...you can try adding a bit of a pelleted diet to supplement the diet.

A short beak can also be attributed to many different things....lethal genes, abnormalities during development in the egg, it could be something within the parents' diet, it could be viral. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why your little one has a short top beak.

The most important thing now is to watch as it starts to wean, is it able to crack seeds and eat well. You may need to boil or soak seeds for him. As he weans it is important to check his crop and chest bone, if he is not getting enough to eat his breast bone will protrude. You can grate some boiled egg for him as he weans to ensure he is getting protein, try adding some soften pelleted food to the egg...this will give him vitamins, minerals he requires.

Kepp us posted and if you run into difficulties with him we are here to help.

DanteD716 · Post by **DanteD716** » Wed Mar 28, 2012 4:20 pm

Welcome, to the forum! I agree with the others, no trimming. They gave you good advice, keep us posted

dan78 · Post by **dan78** » Thu Mar 29, 2012 6:56 am

Looking at the beak I would not suggest trimming, trimming the bottom beak to match the top will bring issues as the top beak is short and the bottom beak is at a normal size. Trimming the bottom to match the top you will hit nerves as the top beak seems to be in line with the tongue. My suggestion would be to leave the bird as is till its at adulthood and hope that the top beak may grow a bit more. There are surgeries that attach moulded plastic to the beak which will allow it to live a normal life, very extreme and expensive but something that may intrest you. My belief is that this is probably a genetic problem more than nutritional as I believe that the chick would have hatched with this issue. I have seen young that have came out with damaged beaks from parents that were rough when feeding which I don't think this is. Well has the parents ever given a deformed baby before? If this little fella grows up I would consider breeding him/her as if this is genetic it may be a trait that will go down that line. I hope all goes well for your little birdie.

Hendelg · Post by **Hendelg** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:01 pm

My breeding pair have only had one clutch prior and the parents and babies did GREAT. No complications, no deformities, all male trio. I'm looking at this as a trait that could very well be passed along, because I don't know where it came from I'm concerned about the future of my breeding pair. Maybe this is something screwy with one of them...however, they look beautiful. I'm clueless on this one.

Any thoughts?

cindy · Post by **cindy** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:21 pm

Gloria, it is uncertain if it is genetic but being cautious is a good idea. This could be a one time occurrence and it could be something that happened during incubation/development as well.

PPlease, keep us posted on this little one.

6finchfriends · Post by **6finchfriends** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 9:39 pm

The first picture looks like there is a bump on the top beak. Do you think it might be an injury from getting pecked when it was tiny? It's a cute little guy. I hope the upper beak grows out enough so it will be able to crack seeds.

Hendelg · Post by **Hendelg** » Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:10 pm

If the baby was injured I was totally unaware of anything until the showed themselves. The parents are so attentive I find it difficult to understand. For now I'm on watch and will do my best to keep them healthy and warm. Nature often takes care of itself in these matters, but there is no reason I can't help out mother nature too!

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