Information required on how to clip lower beak overgrowth/deformity.

[Chickadan]

Hi, have a juvenile developing a considerable overbite. Have read it is possible to clip regularly to control. Amy advise appreciated. Thanks.

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[catw]

I had a parakeet whose upper beak kept growing. Every so often I would have to clip it. I happened to have a clipper for cats' claws and that worked fine but any small scissors might work. Hold the bird in your hand so your finger is on one side of his head and your thumb on the other to steady his head.

It's great that there are books and things on the internet now but when I started with parakeets there was nothing. I learned a lot from "Diseases of Birds" by Stroud, the birdman of Alcatraz. I know he only dealt with canaries but birds have a lot in common. I learned about mites from that book.

 

[catw]

My gosh, I almost forgot. Don't cut too far back or you'll have lots of bleeding. Start by cutting off a little bit and try more later. Maybe someone else can tell you a way to tell where the blood vessel starts. I can't tell.

 

[Poultrybonkers]

An overbite could be Caused by mites if not its the lack of chewing things. If you need to trim it just trim the tip dont go any deeper as it will cause bleeding. Getting a cuttle bone should help keep her beak down.

 

[TwoCrows]

You can always use a nail file to work the beak down. I have a chicken that every 6 weeks, I have to file her beak down because it just keeps growing longer than the other birds. As suggested above, a cuttle bone helps keep beaks filed as well. But work it down slowly as there are blood vessels in the beak that will bleed. As you work closer to the blood vessel, over time, it backs off and you can file the beak shorter and shorter.