scissor beak!

[rkbhjk10]

My poor Coco has scissor beak pretty bad. It has been getting worse over the past couple months. But she seems to be pretty healthy! She is almost 5 months now so I am hoping it doesnt get any worse. Is there something I can do to help her? I put her food in a deep dish so she can scoop the food.

 

[nchls school]

As the beak grows you may need to clip the ends to keep the beak from getting overlong.

 

[mbphotos09]

My rooster, Peeps, has a cross beak too! What I do is mix his feed with warm water in a bowl to make a mush. The mush sticks to his beak and help him get food. When his beak gets too long, we trim it back using nail clippers and sandpaper. It helps to have a partner holding the bird's head while you do it. Here is a picture of my little roo!

Hope this helps! :cd

 

[rkbhjk10]

As the beak grows you may need to clip the ends to keep the beak from getting overlong.

Both top and bottom?

 

[rkbhjk10]

My rooster, Peeps, has a cross beak too! What I do is mix his feed with warm water in a bowl to make a mush. The mush sticks to his beak and help him get food. When his beak gets too long, we trim it back using nail clippers and sandpaper. It helps to have a partner holding the bird's head while you do it. Here is a picture of my little roo!

Hope this helps! :cd

Awh, your roo is too precious! How much do you trim off? I am terrified to do this wrong... thank you for the tips!

 

[nchls school]

Both top and bottom?

When top and bottom don't line up there isn't anything to wear them down. Quite likely it will be top and bottom that need to be trimmed. It is an easy and quick job much like clipping a toe nail. It kind of scary the first time, worrying about hurting the bird, but there isn't any pain as long as you don't clip too short; and if you do, the pain is short-lived. He does not need trimming yet. You may wish to read up on it and watch some youtube videos. Doing so will remove many of your concerns. After a few times clipping his beak you will wonder why you were worried about it.

Work with your rooster so he becomes used to being handled as that will make clipping even easier. It takes very little time to tame a rooster. The picture below shows, Wart, who allows himself to be handled in any way and seems quite happy when he is handled.

Three month old serama

 

[mbphotos09]

Thanks, your girl is super cute too!
You trim just the tip off. Beaks are like dog's nails. You can see the "quick" in it (the darker part of the beak). Just trim/file the top beak back as much a possible without getting too close to the quick. If you cut into the quick it will bleed so having cornstarch or flour on hand will help the bleeding to stop. There is no need to trim the bottom beak back too far as it helps them scoop food. I just filed the bottom beak down to make it smooth.
No need to be worried! It is actually a lot easier than it sounds!
Good luck!

 

[rkbhjk10]

OK, thank you so much! How often do you normally need to trim?

 

[nchls school]

...

OK, thank you so much! How often do you normally need to trim?[/quot

There is no definite answer; each animal/bird is different. The little guy below has his teeth trimmed every two weeks. Others, parrots, have needed clipping as seldom as twice a year. It's a matter of checking the beak and clipping when it is necessary. My guess is that this rooster will be more often as the upper and lower do not match up at all

 

[mbphotos09]

X2 On what nchls school said
I trim my roo's beak every couple of weeks.