help? quail has been scalped

[Scgamebirds]

They have to be clipped or else they will become overgrown and make it difficult to eat. They are like toe nails. They continue to grow and become malformed after a while. I clip beaks and toes. Most not ever raised a partridge they become so bad in a month or two to look like pinochio and have to waste most of the food to get a mouth full. where not talking parrots that wear down there beaks where talking gamebirds and they should have there beaks trimmed.

 

[sammit]

if other people start piping up and saying that i need to look into clipping beaks, ill consider it. but since you are literally the first person i have ever spoken to that has ever said anything like that, ill take it with a grain of salt. the department of primary industries texts i have state that this is only done for commercial purposes in battery set ups to stop feather picking. i am neither commercial, nor are my birds kept in cages. if you read my above comment, the run that 15 birds are in is 4 METERS LONG. i have the smaller coturnix quails (not the jumbos).

and you never clip a beak in a parrot unless its for medical reasons (ie scissor beak, injury). if you had also read my comment, i said that i put neosporin on the wound which is what i do for my birds.

 

[TwoCrows]

Scgamebirds, Quail beaks can become over grown....but if you provide a dust bathing area with sand, dirt or some sort of grit, the beaks will stay worn down on their own. You can even add a small concrete block for them to clean their beaks and keep them trim.

I do not recommend ever clipping a beak. You can file them down, but NEVER clipping beaks. Beaks have sensory feeling in them. Just like your index finger. As a matter of FACT, they say that a bird can feel more with its beak than you can with your index finger. They use their beaks to feel textures, consistency and temperatures of things. And if not trimmed carefully, you can hurt or even damage these nerves. The beak also has a large blood vessel in it and if trimmed thru, will bleed.

Now, while I have never had a quail with an over grown beak, I have a chicken that constantly has an overgrown beak. Every 6 weeks, I take a paper type nail file to it and gently file the top manible down so that it does not over hang too far over the lower mandible.

Over trimmed/clipped beaks cause the bird to lose the ability to eat and drink properly. So unless you are a professional beak trimmer, I do not believe you should be messing with clipping beaks.

If you have a quail that has a beak that is really over grown, to the point where it can not pick up food, then use a nail file on it. Never trim beaks to prevent aggression. If you have an aggressive bird that you can not control, remove it, rehome it or eat it. But do not clip it's beak.

Just my humble opinion.

 

[Scgamebirds]

You obviously are new to this so I am going to leave it at that. Especially with all the things you came up with comparing a equavelent the dead cutan of a toe nail with absolutely no nerves to that of a finger. but do what you what I had only made a suggestion, the same that would have been found in any university publication. Also 35 plus years of raising gamebirds maybe I know what I am talking about. Good luck

 

[TwoCrows]

You obviously are new to this so I am going to leave it at that. Especially with all the things you came up with comparing a equavelent the dead cutan of a toe nail with absolutely no nerves to that of a finger. but do what you what I had only made a suggestion, the same that would have been found in any university publication. Also 35 plus years of raising gamebirds maybe I know what I am talking about. Good luck

You obviously ARE new to the understanding of beaks....

Beak trimming[edit]

Main article: Debeaking
Because the beak is a sensitive organ with many sensory receptors, beak trimming (sometimes referred to as 'debeaking') is "acutely painful"[114] to the birds it is performed on. It is nonetheless routinely done to intensively farmed poultry flocks, particularly laying and broiler breeder flocks, because it helps reduce the damage the flocks inflict on themselves due to a number of stress-induced behaviors, including cannibalism, vent pecking and feather pecking. A cauterizing blade or infrared beam is used to cut off about half of the upper beak and about a third of the lower beak. Pain and sensitivity can persist for weeks or months after the procedure, and neuromas can form along the cut edges. Food intake typically decreases for some period after the beak is trimmed. However, studies show that trimmed poultry's adrenal glands weigh less, and their plasma corticosterone levels are lower than those found in untrimmed poultry, indicating that they are less stressed overall.[114]
A similar but separate practice, usually performed by an avian veterinarian or an experienced birdkeeper, involves clipping, filing or sanding the beaks of captive birds for health purposes – in order to correct or temporarily alleviate overgrowths or deformities and better allow the bird to go about its normal feeding and preening activities.[115] Amongst raptor keepers, this practice is commonly known as "coping".[11


BEAK TRIMMING
Unless you are very adept and experienced, you and your bird would both be better off leaving beak trimming to her veterinarian. Your bird's beak is a very sensitive tool, essential to her survival, and used for such diverse tasks as eating, grooming, nest building, climbing, feeding the young, defense and communication. The beak is made up of horn-like tissue that grows continually, and therefore requires periodic maintenance.
Abnormal beak length interferes with eating, grooming and other activities, and in species such as parrots and budgies, an abnormally long beak can eventually curve down and penetrate the tissues of the neck.
In the wild, birds keep their beaks trimmed through natural abrasion from climbing, perching, and so forth. In their natural environment, birds have access to substances such as rocks to keep their bills worn down. In captivity, unless the owner provides a substitute, birds will have nothing to keep their bills worn down. We should keep in mind that as pet owners, one of our responsibilities is to provide a simulation of our pet's natural environment, which is why we should furnish bird cages with cuttlebones and mineral blocks to help with our bird's beak maintenance.
Aside from providing cuttlebones and mineral blocks, you can supply her with chew sticks, tree branches, nuts, pieces of wood and similar items. This can help drastically reduce the possibility of your bird's beak growing to abnormal lengths. It is unusual for a bird that has plenty of stimulation from such items to ever need her beak trimmed.
However, just in case your bird is unable to keep her beak sufficiently trimmed on her own, you will need to consider giving her a little help. Remember, though, that beak trimming is definitely something that should not be handled by an inexperienced owner. Beaks can split or crack, and if they are cut too short, they can bleed extensively. To make a comparison, a bird's beak is as sensitive and fragile as your teeth. You certainly would prefer to have an expert dentist take care of your teeth! Your bird's veterinarian should handle beak trimming during routine visits and checkups.

I don't care HOW many years you have been keeping quail. There is NO NEED EVER to trim a birds beak unless you are a professional in the business of farming LARGE quantities of birds in SMALL spaces.

But...as you say, maybe these articles know more that we do.

 

[TwoCrows]

Another article from this website.......http://www.upc-online.org/merchandise/debeak_factsheet.html

Some poultry scientists and other poultry industry representatives say opposition to debeaking is based "more on emotion than research." In fact, debeaking was fully explored by the Brambell Committee, a group of veterinarians and other experts appointed by Parliament to investigate animal welfare concerns arising from intensive farming in the early 1960's. The committee wrote in 1965: "There is no physiological basis for the assertion that the operation is similar to the clipping of human finger nails. Between the horn and bone [of the beak] is a thin layer of highly sensitive soft tissue, resembling the quick of the human nail. The hot knife blade used in debeaking cuts through this complex horn, bone and sensitive tissue causing severe pain."

 

[TwoCrows]

another article on the pain caused by trimming beaks....

Cheng (2007) reviewed recent research on BT highlighting three areas of concern. First, BT-induced
morphological changes to beak anatomy. Cheng (2007) qualitatively noted that BT can cause inflammation,
abnormalities of beak shape and painful neuromas. The second area of concern is pain. This is categorised
by Cheng (2007) into three phases: painless, acute and chronic. As seen above in the study by Gentle &
McKeegan (2007), the painless phase immediately follows an injury. Cheng (2007) describes the acute pain
phase as the period from the painless phase until the injury has healed and the chronic pain phase as pain
lasting weeks or months beyond the expected injury healing time. Cheng (2007) included results from
studies showing BT birds displaying responses identifiable as indicative of pain, for instance, increased heart
rate, loss of appetite and reduction of environmental pecking. This is consistent with the study reported by
Gentle & McKeegan (2007) in which BT birds had lower weights and reduced environmental pecking. These
behaviours occurred in both the acute and chronic phases. Third, factors that affect pain in BT birds were
reviewed. Topical analgesics reduced pain-indicating behaviours in the acute phase, removing less beak
reduced indicators of chronic pain and performing BT at <10 days reduced the incidence of both acute and
chronic behaviours that indicate pain.

 

[TwoCrows]

I could go on for ever here.....the beak is not, and I quote you "dead cutan of a toe nail with absolutely no nerves to that of a finger".

 

[Scgamebirds]

For the sake of being polite ill just say you do what you want. I will continue to vey successfully raise all the species of quail and you do whatever you want.

edited by staff

 

[TwoCrows]

I am suggesting to you and anyone else reading this thread that beak clipping needs to be done by professionals, AND that the average quail owner does not need to be trimming beaks. Birds can be hurt or killed if not done properly.

You are welcome to raise your quail anyway you please. I am not here to tell anyone what to do, only to make suggestions that might help quail owners that have never encountered a situation like this before, and how to go about taking care of aggression. That is it. You are welcome to post your opinions as well.

edited by staff