A peeling beak?

Mare Miller

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sierra foothills of central California
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13yr. old male umbrella cockatoo,
we call him Amigo!

7yr. old Goffin cockatoo, she IS Sassy!!
I've not seen this before, Amigo's beak is losing it's outer bottom section, of his upper beak. About 1/4 to 1/3 inch from the tip. Looks like there is new beak under it, kind of like when you injure a toe or finger nail and a new one grows back under it. Do beaks do this?

I tried to pick it off and it made him none too happy.
 

QuackQuack

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My bird has a similar situation on her upper mandible from a beak trauma when she was little. It seems to be growing out and disappearing. Diet can cause issues with beaks, but I couldn't really comment on your situation. You should post a picture.
 

kc_y0

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I've been reading lots about pealing beaks and some people say its normal and others say its not. I guess it depends on the degree of pealing. Do you have a photo? My birds beak is slightly pealing but I've rounded it done to her beak growing out and turning black. It can also be from Vitamin deficiency or lack of grooming the beak etc
 

roxynoodle

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I've been reading lots about pealing beaks and some people say its normal and others say its not. I guess it depends on the degree of pealing. Do you have a photo? My birds beak is slightly pealing but I've rounded it done to her beak growing out and turning black. It can also be from Vitamin deficiency or lack of grooming the beak etc

Could be any of those though it sounds like Amigo does chew stuff up, so I'm going to say he's doing fine grooming it. He even chewed a hole in a tree to make a nest hole.

Mare, I would continue trying to sneak pellets into Amigo, the more the better. And give him other foods high in vitamin A like carrots, sweet potatoes, orange squash, mango and leafy greens.
 

HalfInsane

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Is it maybe possible that in the process of chewing (especially if he's chewing through trees lol!!) That he might have just chipped his beak?
 
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Mare Miller

Mare Miller

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May 14, 2011
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sierra foothills of central California
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13yr. old male umbrella cockatoo,
we call him Amigo!

7yr. old Goffin cockatoo, she IS Sassy!!
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When my son comes home next week end, I'll have him help me post a picture of Amigo's beak, (I don't know how, I'm really computer illiterate).

Thanks for the input, everyone, and I know Amigo needs to eat more orange foods. He's up to 12 - 15 pellets a day, (do you think that is about right, or should he be eating more?), but can still be finicky with his veggies, that comes and goes.
 

roxynoodle

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What size pellets? Rowdy probably eats about 25 of the ML Zupreem. Pete and Merlin probably eat close to the same of the Harrison's for large birds (the big cubes). Although if you can get him to eat more veggies, then that number of pellets is probably ok. Try hiding baby food carrots in his oatmeal as well as the pellets.
 
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Mare Miller

Mare Miller

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May 14, 2011
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sierra foothills of central California
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13yr. old male umbrella cockatoo,
we call him Amigo!

7yr. old Goffin cockatoo, she IS Sassy!!
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You know?, I was thinking that he could have injured it with all the chewing he does and maybe new beak was growing back under the injury? Checking him out this morning and most of what I attempted to pick off, yesterday, is gone. It was like a hard shell that was covering his point. Just the very tip is still covered.

Thanks Roxy, I'll try baby food carrots in his oatmeal, he's pretty observant when it comes to his food, hopefully the color change won't throw him off. Also, I'm giving him the large Zupreme pellets. I'll be picking up Harrison's next time I'm close to my vet's office.
 

roxynoodle

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He might notice the color change. You don't need to put a lot of baby food in it. Remember he only weighs about 1lb. Much smaller than human babies when they start eating baby food:)
 

Pedro

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I've not seen this before, Amigo's beak is losing it's outer bottom section, of his upper beak. About 1/4 to 1/3 inch from the tip. Looks like there is new beak under it, kind of like when you injure a toe or finger nail and a new one grows back under it. Do beaks do this?

I tried to pick it off and it made him none too happy.

It is normal for a Cockatoos beak to sometimes peel & if the bird is having a balanced healthy diet I see no reason to worry. Please take note in the link below what foods a cockatoo needs to be healthy. Fresh foods as close to what he would be eating in the wild is a good place to start. I really don't think human baby foods are the way to correct this if indeed it is a problem

Feeding Birds

The outer layers of the beak are continuously being replaced by normal wear and tear. Many bird owners wrongly believe that the upper beak grows from the cere and continues to the tip (or edges) where it is then worn off (likewise with the lower beak). On the contrary, beak tissue grows continuously outward (towards the surface) over much of the beak. As the keratinized epithelium reaches the surface, it is either worn off or may move distally a short distance before it is lost. Only towards the edges and tip does the beak tissue truly move rostrally.

The surface of the beak in juvenile parrots is smooth because the growth is new. However, as the bird reaches its first year and older, the beak takes on a more irregular appearance. This is a result of the normal wearing off of the outer keratin layers. Sometimes these layers flake off or peel, leaving behind ledges on the beak’s surface. These ledges are what make the beak look rough and scaly. These ledges can also be misinterpreted as cracks, which they are not. How irregular a bird’s beak appears can also be related to diet. A diet low in vitamin A (seeds lack Vitamin A) can lead to hyperkeratosis, which clinically causes the beak to become thickened and overgrown. Such beaks can appear very scaly. The beak can also appear rough if the bird does not adequately rub it on hard inanimate objects, such as a lava stone or concrete and sand perches, as well as natural tree branches on which they can chew.

I have taken the above extract from a link i posted awhile ago.
 

roxynoodle

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Pedro is probably correct that is the old layer wearing off, but I also know you've had trouble getting him to eat healthy food, so adding some extra vitamin A to his diet can't hurt anything. The baby food carrots and sweet potatoes have a LOT of it. My crazy BCC would not eat anything orange ever. I've never seen a bird have such an aversion to a color. So I hid baby food into other things to get it in her.
 
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Mare Miller

Mare Miller

Banned
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May 14, 2011
1,260
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3
sierra foothills of central California
Parrots
13yr. old male umbrella cockatoo,
we call him Amigo!

7yr. old Goffin cockatoo, she IS Sassy!!
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Amigo's beak isn't thickened or overgrown, so I'm hoping I can rule out vitamin A deficiency. Thanks for the info on the beak, Pedro, helped a lot, sounds like normal stuff is going on.

Amigo looks healthy, the vet didn't seem concerned about anything a couple weeks ago, although I was a bit embarrassed when she commented on him being dirty! I called him out of a tree that afternoon and didn't think about spraying him off before his doctor's appt.! I'll definitely work harder on getting him to eat his orange foods.
 

roxynoodle

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Since the vet was pleased with him just 2 weeks ago, he is probably healthy:) I wouldn't let it worry you then. But, if you can sneak him other healthy things here and there, that's always good.
 

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