7 weeks old alexandrine still has a faded beak

Sky1998

New member
Jun 25, 2019
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0
Hi everyone :) have any idea why my 7 week old alex has a faded beak pls ? do i have to be concerned ? Just noticed that every photo of an alexandrine i see all have a very bright orange beak .
 

SilverSage

New member
Sep 14, 2013
5,937
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Columbus, GA
Parrots
Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
Can you please post a picture? A baby at that age may have a duller beak than an adult but too faded could be a sign of malnutrition; at that age likely due to early weaning or improper hand feeding, or even an infection.


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EllenD

New member
Aug 20, 2016
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65
State College, PA
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Senegal Parrot named "Kane"; Yellow-Sided Green Cheek Conure named "Bowie"; Blue Quaker Parrot named "Lita Ford"; Cockatiel named "Duff"; 8 American/English Budgie Hybrids; Ringneck Dove named "Dylan"
At 7-weeks old you're obviously hand-feeding him formula; I don't know where you got him or how long you've had him, but as SilverSage already mentioned above, based on the fact that his breeder was totally irresponsible and sold him to you/gave him to you long before he was fully-weaned, his beak is probably "faded" due to him being Malnourished, Undernourished, etc. Usually this happens when baby parrots being hand-fed either aren't being fed an appropriate hand-feeding formula, or because they aren't being fed nearly enough formula each day based on their age and checking their Crop.

If you could post a photo of his beak it would be helpful to be able to see what you're dealing with here, but more-important is making sure that at only 7 weeks-old, you're feeding him an appropriate, COMMERCIALLY-SOLD handfeeding-formula specially made for hand-feeding baby parrots who are not weaned (as opposed to some homemade formula), that you are feeding him enough times throughout each day, that you are feeding him enough formula during each hand-feeding, and that you always have a candy/cooking thermometer in the formula throughout the entire time that you're hand-feeding him to ensure the formula is ALWAYS between 104-110 degrees F an not one degree cooler/hotter...All of these things typically cause malnourishment and/or undernourishment of unweaned, baby parrots.

I don't know if you've hand-fed baby parrots in the past and are experienced, or if this is your first experience doing so, but if you aren't aware of the proper Ambient (air) Temperature that baby parrots must be housed in all the time, the temperature based on their amount of feathering, the proper temperature-range for the hand-feeding formula at all times, how to know when your baby parrot needs another hand-feeding, what types of formula is appropriate, etc., then these are the things that you need to make sure you learn immediately. Most breeders/pet shops who sell unweaned, baby parrots are totally irresponsible and don't usually give the buyers much direction or instruction on how to properly hand-feed them, and they never seem to educate buyers about proper temperatures and feeding schedules, which is why malnourishment, undernourishment, and GI-Tract/Crop Infections are extremely common in this situation, and often end-up killing the baby parrots. So if you need any help or have any questions, or you are just now realizing that you haven't had your baby housed in a Brooder at the appropriate temperature, or haven't been making sure the formula is within the proper range at all times, or you've been feeding your baby something other than a commercially-sold baby bird hand-feeding formula, such as Kaytee Exact, Roudybush, etc., then please don't hesitate to ask for help...

***also, just an FYI, but if you've by chance been feeding your bird anything other than a commercially-sold handfeeding formula made specifically for baby parrots, you may not only be causing malnutrition, but you also may be making him very sick in other ways and with other medical conditions...A lot of people try to feed baby parrots some kind of human-baby formula or cereal instead of a baby-bird formula, such as Similac or Cerelac, and these are very dangerous and kill birds due to the very high amount of Iron in human-baby foods...So make sure the formula you are feeding your Alex is only a hand-feeding formula made specifically for baby parrots.
 

SilverSage

New member
Sep 14, 2013
5,937
93
Columbus, GA
Parrots
Eclectus, CAG, BH Pionus, Maximilian’s Pionus, Quakers, Indian Ringnecks, Green Cheeked Conures, Black Capped Conures, Cockatiels, Lovebirds, Budgies, Canaries, Diamond Doves, Zebra Finches, Society F
That is very pale; I would definitely think health condition. Did you read Ellen’s comment?


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