Crusty beak. Overgrown beak.

JamesR · Post by **JamesR** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 7:56 pm

I have a question.
Firstly id like to add, i love my birds and dont neglect them with anything as far as enough room, food, water, perch covers and light is concerned.
But i cant fathom why on earth my zebra finches have what seems like a crusty beak. Its right at the top, its dull white in colour and has been there for a couple of weeks now.
Also. My java finch has a perfectly gorgeous beak, that lovely red into pink almost like campino sweets, lol. But on one side theres an overlap of the upper beak over the lower beak. Ive got plenty of cuttlebone in there for him to peck and perch covers which i sometimes see him swiping his beak over and at one point it had gone but its come back....

Any help or ideas would be brilliant.

Thanks.

James.

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 8:53 pm

How old are your finches?

JamesR · Post by **JamesR** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 6:36 pm

The female zeb (most concern) is nearly 2 years now.
The java is about 9 months.

Geordie · Post by **Geordie** » Sun Dec 16, 2007 11:03 pm

Well my theory is out the window, but it sounds like mites, don't worry not air sac mites. Anyway you should be able to see them using a magnifying glass. They are tiny little spider-like things and can affect the beak, face, legs and wingtips Scientific name is Cnemidocoptes). It is very contagious so it may be that your birds are all infected, The mite can also burrow into perches so you may want to replace those. The mite can take up to 12 months to make its presence known.

Easily treated but I would consult a vet for advice. (Oh, and don't quote me in case I am wrong)

Geordie

EmilyHurd · Post by **EmilyHurd** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 6:23 am

Do you have pictures?

TammyS · Post by **TammyS** » Mon Dec 17, 2007 5:46 pm

Something similar to what you describe came up on one of the Yahoo forums a few months ago. Here is a copy of that message. If it is not mites, you might try this approach:

Question:
"Hi I would like to know if finches can get a fungus on their
beaks that would cause them to be rough and sort of humpy looking ,
like people get nail fungus. I dont know a lot about bird problems. If
someone knows anything about this, please tell me what to do. My bird looks o.k. otherwise, but I am concerned about her. Thanks"

Does that sound like what your bird might have? Here was the response:

"Hello,

I used to think that the flaky, scaley looking white crust on the beak of the Gouldians was caused by insufficient protein in their diet, but recently someone told me that a pathology report on one of their birds indicated that it was a yeast infection. Well I wasn't sure about that, but I decided to try an experiment. I had one older bird that had had this condition for years. I didn't want to give him any Nystatin by mouth since the flaky scales were on top of his beak and I thought that it might work faster if I applied something directly to his beak. I had a tube of Animax Ointment which contains Nystatin-Neomycin sulfate-Thiostrepton-Triamcinolone acetonide. So I applied some of it 3 days each week for about a month to the top of his beak on the flaky scales with a Q-tip. And I am happy to report that the beak is now smooth and clean.

This is the only time I have tried it, so I don't know if this is just a lucky guess with this one bird, or if it will help this condition with all Gouldians that have that crust on their beak."