Punctured Beak

[Michael]

Somehow Kili got her beak top punctured today near the cere. I have two theories of how. I noticed the hole first after she crashed into a chain link fence at the park today. However, there wasn't any blood and she seemed fine at that time. It's probably the crash that got me inspecting her more than anything.

The other time could have been while she was in the aviary with Truman. I leave the two of them in there all day long and lately it seemed like they were getting along better. Yesterday the aggression began and I found some dry blood on Truman's toe but no substantial harm. I didn't notice any fighting today but you never know. It's possible that she was asking for it and bothering Truman and he did that.

The hole is pretty big (especially compared to her size). Also it's not clear in the picture but a bit of beak is dented inward in that area from the same impact.







So the main reason I am posting is to find out how bad this is, does this heel normally, and has anyone had parrots get injured from fighting and recover? I didn't spot any bleeding and Kili seemed to be pretty normal so I did not rush her to a vet when I discovered this.

Another thing I'm curious about is for people with parrots who don't get along. How often do you find minor injuries on them? Is it a reality that they are going to get hurt like this from time to time or is it happening disproportionately too much with mine? Thanks.

[pchela]

My red belly has hurt all of my other birds more than once each. Some birds just will not get along. So I don't think it's abnormal with Kili and Truman. As far as the wound, I've never seen a beak puncture. I would assume it would grow out with time but I don't really know for sure. Also, infection might be a concern. Sorry I'm not more help.

[kaylayuh]

I would call the vet and see what should be done. I'd be concerned about infection. I wonder if you could perhaps put some antibiotic ointment on it over night when she's not going to be using her beak so that it can prevent any infections from occurring?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

I'd consult the vet, personally. The location of the damage appears to be right where the beak grows out -- I have no idea if beak growth works like hoof growth in a horse, but in a horse damage to that growth area can result in permanent weakness to the structure. That's probably what would drive me to consult the vet. That and the possibility that there was additional damage I'd somehow missed. YMMV!

[Michael]

I have already contacted my vet and will likely be taking her in tomorrow. Just trying to see if there is anything else I can find out on the forum. If the hole wasn't so big/deep or in such an important place, I wouldn't bother taking her to the vet. She's in a good mood and eating fine. Wouldn't think for a minute that there is something wrong with her judging by behavior. I dunno why my birds gotta keep getting hurt so much. Is it just me?

[entrancedbymyGCC]

Could just be luck of the draw... my current horse has had more vet experiences since I had him than all my previous horses combined, plus at least one of my friends! I'm sure birds vary in their accident-prone-ness.

[RhondasAviary]

If your two birds aren't particularly fond of eachother now, it probably will only get worse. Truman is getting older/more mature and no doubt your senegal is jealous of you anyways. Senegals can be VERY jealous of thier loved one. I have never had a cape parrot, but if they both want to be with you and they just tolerate one another now, the fighting will continue or get worse. I have a female senegal who will attack another bird, if I just talk to it. fMany breeder pairs of birds do this too. If you talk to one, the other one gets jealous and attacks it's mate. (and those birds love eachother) There is such a size difference, than the smaller one is likely to get hurt. Just my two cents. Every situtation is different. I hope all works out well at the vet.

RhondasAviary

[CheekyandMalolo]

I would definitely be visiting the vet ASAP, it's such a vital part of her body. And I'm inclined to agree with Entranced, beaks are made of the same thing as nails/hair/hooves right? And I can only imagine they grow in a very similar way, so it's very much a part of my birds bodies that is high on my priorities list. There's a saying 'no hoof no horse', I reckon there should be one that says 'no beak no bird'. I'd also be interested if your vet could recommend some kind of supplement to promote her beak growth to help grow out the puncture wound as quick as possible. I assume a biotin supplement would be best, the question is if a biotin supplement is made for birds, I've only ever seem them for horses for hooves and hair.
As for the fighting, I would say that they may not learn to get along, but Kili may learn to run quicker. Truman is just expressing his place in their flock, and in time Kili should learn that she isn't top anymore and learn to get out of his way. Our flock of 4 (2x Tiels, Red Wing Parrot and a Princess Parrot) at my parents house have had their pecking order screwed up just over the past few months. One of the Tiel's belongs to my sister, and he is the biggest bully you've ever seen. It used to be that Tim (Red Wing) was top bird, closely followed by Prince (Princess Parrot) and ruled onesection of the cage, the Tiel's would then live in the bottom end of the cage (cage is L shaped with a roof ontop) and all was happy. Unfortunately when Chicken arrived he decided he would live in the top and Tim lost the plot, things have improved since we've been stepping in when needed, Chicken gets removed from the cage (and from his gf) and put into the travel cage when he's being particularly obnoxious, but since he's only meant to be here short term (and if he doesn't go soon I'm going to find him a new home!) we've not really tried too hard to fix things.

[patdbunny]

My jenday put a big honking hole in my CAG's beak worse that your pic when the CAG was a baby. Neosporin and making sure the wound stayed clean and it healed right up. There was a little dot scar that was visible even 6 years later.

Their little altercation's what caused me to have the no attacking rule in my house.

people with parrots who don't get along. How often do you find minor injuries on them?

Not often anymore after the rule's been in place. I've seen too much damage from interspecies interactions, even when there wasn't outright aggression. So, while in a perfect world all our birds could interact, squabble, but ultimately no one gets seriously hurt; reality is not necessarily that.

Murder, death, kill happens when you mix animals even if they've gotten along for years. My friend has our old goffin too. She also has other birds. The goffin had never shown aggression towards her tiel. One day the goffin decided to walk over to the tiel and tore its beak off. The tiel had to be euthanized.

I personally don't let my animals freely interact with each other, especially if there's a significant size difference. Similar sized birds, I'll let interact, since I can probably intervene before one actually gets hurt. In the wild they have a chance of getting away from an aggressor, but not when we keep them in a small area like our homes.

Even in an aviary unless it's very large, say, over 12'; preferably over 20'; I'd worry about aggression and serious injury. I have a 10' indoor aviary that houses 4 female bourkes, 3 finches, and 2 button quail. A couple of weeks ago, 3 of the bourkes ganged up on the 4th one and beat the snot out of her. Her back was bloody and devoid of feathers, her face was bloody, one eye was swollen shut. And bourkes are known for being very docile birds. I had a pic of it, but I can't seem to find it right now.

I personally wouldn't keep Truman and Kili together unsupervised knowing they don't get along.

[TheNzJessie]

i also agree on the vet trip if it was the chain link fence there could be hazardous chemicals or metals like led or the fence might of had rust on it, better to bet safe and go for the vet trip