I need help with beak rubbing, abandoned sun conure found in street.

[flightless]

I have a cockatiel and a budgei, but for the past two months I've had a third bird living with me, a sun conure that was never claimed by anyone. We found him on the side of the road coming back from work and he was locked in a large, dented cage that looked like it fell off a truck. We've submitted photos and reports to nearly all the animal control and vet business in the area but no owner ever came.

Thankfully, the bird doesn't have any injuries, but I've been getting a little concerned with his beak rubbing. He acts normal, the vet said he didn't have any parasites or infections, but he is always rubbing his beak on stuff I assume out of fear. His beak kind of looks peeled/scarred like the one in this photo

 

[Dinosrawr]

Looks a bit rough, but no worse for wear than any beaks that are going through some peeling. Birds often rub their beaks against everything and anything, sometimes because there's something on it, sometimes because they're territorial, or sometimes because they're trying to help it peel. So long as his mineral and vitamin levels are good, I see no reason to be concerned!

You can always help him out by scratching his beak and helping him peel for the new layers coming it, or provide a rock or rough perch for him to run his beak against.

 

[Terry57]

I agree with Dinosrawr about his beak, and I just wanted to say what a change in that little guy since the first pic you posted! He looks so much calmer and happier now I am so happy to hear he is still with you.

 

[Kiwibird]

It looks fairly normals, and some birds rub their beaks more than others. Might want to provide him with a grit/sand perch to rub it on. That will smooth it out

I will say, it sounds like you've done everything in your power to find the owners, but after this long, they probably aren't going to just turn up. For all you know, they could have tossed him out of a window while driving because they no longer wanted him. People do it with dogs/cats all the time. It's about time to decide whether to keep him or rehome him. You have done your obligatory search for the owners and it's pretty obvious at this point, no one it looking for him. That said, he is cute, and sounds like he's doing well with your family, and since you ARE a bird home already...... perhaps theres room for one more

 

[flightless]

It looks fairly normals, and some birds rub their beaks more than others. Might want to provide him with a grit/sand perch to rub it on. That will smooth it out

I will say, it sounds like you've done everything in your power to find the owners, but after this long, they probably aren't going to just turn up. For all you know, they could have tossed him out of a window while driving because they no longer wanted him. People do it with dogs/cats all the time. It's about time to decide whether to keep him or rehome him. You have done your obligatory search for the owners and it's pretty obvious at this point, no one it looking for him. That said, he is cute, and sounds like he's doing well with your family, and since you ARE a bird home already...... perhaps theres room for one more

I guess I wanted to extend the search because there might have been a chance someone was maybe moving and accidentally lost their pet or something.

I agree with Dinosrawr about his beak, and I just wanted to say what a change in that little guy since the first pic you posted! He looks so much calmer and happier now I am so happy to hear he is still with you.

The above image isn't an actual picture of him, but their beaks looks fairly similar in the peeling so I was curious. This sun conure hasn't calmed down much, unlike the other birds I have, he does not trust humans at all. He sometimes likes to be watched doing stuff, but gets easily shaken up if something makes him feel uncomfortable.

I'm trying to be really, really patient because I don't know what this bird's history is and people keep telling me sun conures are easy to train, but this one is very strong willed if that's the case. And while he doesn't trust people all that much, he has made slight progress. He now only screeches once or twice a day and likes to visit my other birds under supervision. Her ehe is with my other two birds during dinner lol

Looks a bit rough, but no worse for wear than any beaks that are going through some peeling. Birds often rub their beaks against everything and anything, sometimes because there's something on it, sometimes because they're territorial, or sometimes because they're trying to help it peel. So long as his mineral and vitamin levels are good, I see no reason to be concerned!

You can always help him out by scratching his beak and helping him peel for the new layers coming it, or provide a rock or rough perch for him to run his beak against.

Even though this bird has no parasites or infections, he always rubs his beak in the same way and always has a tiny scar-like bald spot from when we first found him. He's always rubbing his beak and I think he might be doing it a little too much over territorial reasons since he still gets nervous easily.

 

[Kiwibird]

In no way suggesting you have provided a bad diet since he's been with you, but with no history or known age, he may have been eating nothing but seed for the past 10 years, and long-term poor diet can cause beak issues. Said issue take a long time to resolve, much longer than a couple months. His beak doesn't really look to be in that bad of shape, but it's a possible sign of poor diet in the past. I am NOT an avian vet, but TO ME, his beak DOES NOT look to be abnormal or showing the kind of damage associated with poor diet or disease. It just looks like a normal parrot beak. The vet can provide better insight though.
I think this article may provide some insight by giving something to compare a healthy normal beak to and the kind of beaks one should worry about:
http://www.scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/Bad Beaks.pdf

I have to say, you are really sweet person for trying so hard to find who this little guy belongs to, but something just tells me, he either wasn't being treated well to begin with and is better off not with those people or was abandoned in a most cruel way. I mean, who put their delicate bird in the back of a truck when moving, especially a far distance away? AND then the person(s) take NO notice of the crashing/clattering sound of something like a metal cage falling out of the bed of the truck or doesn't stop to check what that noise was? I've stopped because I ran over a plastic bottle in a parking lot before because it crackled, how could someone not hear that kind of noise? On top of that, they had to have stopped for gas/rest at some point within a few hundred miles and then not realized their bird was missing and checked every shelter/vet/craigslist of everywhere they drove through in that timeframe? It's not like he flew away and could be anywhere, he was in a cage, thus logic says was found within a set route of where you were driving with him within a set timeframe.

You have shown an incredible amount of kindness and love for this little guy, but I think the scenario is unrealistic of him ever going back to where he came from at this point. If anything, this should be the last ditch effort. Look at the facts, he was found in a cage in the middle of the road (which is a good sign the owner didn't think of their birds safety), is completely distrusting of humans (which I'm doubting is related to the initial trauma), is unresponsive to training and no one has come looking for him in what, 4 months? You've put him out there, how would a caring owner not find him? My heart goes out to this poor little baby. He may have a ways to go building trust with people, but he looks pretty happy to be around his own kind.

 

[veimar]

You know, if the people who supposedly travelled with him didn't care about him falling off he truck, didn't return and didn't post any ads searching for him, are NOT the right owners! I cannot even imagine putting an UNATTENDED cage with my bird in the truck trunk! They just didn't care at all, to put it very politely. So I wouldn't keep looking for these people - I think this bird was lead by a destiny to much better home that he/she deserved.

 

[MikeyTN]

It's not unusual for them to rub their beaks like that! Get him a concrete perch to rub his beak on. Their beaks grows like nails so they're constantly rubbing to keep them in shape so it doesn't get over grown.

Although he's been checked by a vet, it doesn't mean he doesn't have any hidden illness, should always practice quarantine!!! In order to prove he doesn't have any viruses and such, only blood work can tell.

Since you have no idea what he was eating before, get some pellets for him to see if he would eat them but if he prefers seeds then it would be time to enforce changes since he's been with you for a couple of months. Of course fresh fruits and veggies is needed!

 

[Runnergirl]

Poor little guy! If I lost my bird, (first I would NEVER have it in the back of a truck) but if I had, I would drive up and down that street every day asking if anyone found him. That being said, would you consider keeping him Really, he(she) looks pretty good for all the trauma of late, so even if he doesn't trust you he seems pretty content. Maybe you could build trust over time? Whatever you decide, he's a lucky bird to have had you find him.

 

[flightless]

In no way suggesting you have provided a bad diet since he's been with you, but with no history or known age, he may have been eating nothing but seed for the past 10 years, and long-term poor diet can cause beak issues. Said issue take a long time to resolve, much longer than a couple months. His beak doesn't really look to be in that bad of shape, but it's a possible sign of poor diet in the past. I am NOT an avian vet, but TO ME, his beak DOES NOT look to be abnormal or showing the kind of damage associated with poor diet or disease. It just looks like a normal parrot beak. The vet can provide better insight though.
I think this article may provide some insight by giving something to compare a healthy normal beak to and the kind of beaks one should worry about:
http://www.scottemcdonald.com/pdfs/Bad Beaks.pdf

I have to say, you are really sweet person for trying so hard to find who this little guy belongs to, but something just tells me, he either wasn't being treated well to begin with and is better off not with those people or was abandoned in a most cruel way. I mean, who put their delicate bird in the back of a truck when moving, especially a far distance away? AND then the person(s) take NO notice of the crashing/clattering sound of something like a metal cage falling out of the bed of the truck or doesn't stop to check what that noise was? I've stopped because I ran over a plastic bottle in a parking lot before because it crackled, how could someone not hear that kind of noise? On top of that, they had to have stopped for gas/rest at some point within a few hundred miles and then not realized their bird was missing and checked every shelter/vet/craigslist of everywhere they drove through in that timeframe? It's not like he flew away and could be anywhere, he was in a cage, thus logic says was found within a set route of where you were driving with him within a set timeframe.

You have shown an incredible amount of kindness and love for this little guy, but I think the scenario is unrealistic of him ever going back to where he came from at this point. If anything, this should be the last ditch effort. Look at the facts, he was found in a cage in the middle of the road (which is a good sign the owner didn't think of their birds safety), is completely distrusting of humans (which I'm doubting is related to the initial trauma), is unresponsive to training and no one has come looking for him in what, 4 months? You've put him out there, how would a caring owner not find him? My heart goes out to this poor little baby. He may have a ways to go building trust with people, but he looks pretty happy to be around his own kind.

Getting him to eat fresh fruits and veggies has proven to be a difficult task as well. He will either eat around them or actively toss them out of the bowl. I've been trying to work with this by providing dried fruit and veggies in his conure seed mix which he happily eats.

Thank you, I guess I just really wanted to find the owner if he had one. I was really hoping against all odds that maybe the owners weren't familiar with this area and that was why they never responded. Although they can be a little nervous around each other at times, the conure will always fly to them and doesn't like to separated.

You know, if the people who supposedly travelled with him didn't care about him falling off he truck, didn't return and didn't post any ads searching for him, are NOT the right owners! I cannot even imagine putting an UNATTENDED cage with my bird in the truck trunk! They just didn't care at all, to put it very politely. So I wouldn't keep looking for these people - I think this bird was lead by a destiny to much better home that he/she deserved.

I have had many people posing as the owner calling me, so I always ask them if they can describe in detail the cage he was in when he fell off the truck including cage color, toys, etc.

None of them could answer that question so I denied handing over the bird, I just hope he will be happy with me at some point and not be so afraid. I'm trying to be really patient because after all this animal has been through, I would probably be scarred too for awhile.

Poor little guy! If I lost my bird, (first I would NEVER have it in the back of a truck) but if I had, I would drive up and down that street every day asking if anyone found him. That being said, would you consider keeping him Really, he(she) looks pretty good for all the trauma of late, so even if he doesn't trust you he seems pretty content. Maybe you could build trust over time? Whatever you decide, he's a lucky bird to have had you find him.

I'll be honest, I'm not sure how long it will take for him to trust me if he ever does, someone had a theory that he may have been a flea market bird as there is a truck that ships different birds that sometimes goes down that road and the flea market isn't too far from the found location.

The only argument I could make is that the cage had some toys in there with legit water and food bowls and usually I hear the flea market is very poor in care with their animals.

It's not unusual for them to rub their beaks like that! Get him a concrete perch to rub his beak on. Their beaks grows like nails so they're constantly rubbing to keep them in shape so it doesn't get over grown.

Although he's been checked by a vet, it doesn't mean he doesn't have any hidden illness, should always practice quarantine!!! In order to prove he doesn't have any viruses and such, only blood work can tell.

Since you have no idea what he was eating before, get some pellets for him to see if he would eat them but if he prefers seeds then it would be time to enforce changes since he's been with you for a couple of months. Of course fresh fruits and veggies is needed!

I've had some trouble with the fresh fruits and veggies, he will either eat the seeds around them or actively toss them to the ground. I tried to cope with this by getting conure seed mixes with dried fruits and veggie mixed with them and he likes to eat fruit dried, just not fresh for some reason.

 

[Kiwibird]

Kiwi was outright FRIGHTENED of fresh produce when we first got him, but he too would accept the dried stuff. So do many other birds who will not eat fresh. It's a good stepping stone to introduce a cautious bird to the joys of fresh food. It takes time and patience with rescue birds. And lets face it, this poor guy fell out of a truck in the middle of street, has no trust in humans or concept of a healthy diet- he qualifies as a rescue to the truest extent. It could take a year or more before you get him on an ideal diet. Slow progress is better than no progress though If you ever come across a used one for cheap at a thrift store or flea market, dehydrators are GREAT for bird homes, since you can ensure everything you've dehydrated contains no added salt or sugar. Also check and see if given you're working on getting him on a good diet, if the AV suggests he be on any vitamins at this point since he is not eating fresh foods yet.

Also, it may be good if you have a good relationship with your other birds to teach him by example. Let him watch them step up and get a treat, or get their head scratched or hang out on your shoulder. If he sees his new 'flock mates' trusting you (and getting rewards from you), he may be less fearful of you

 

[flightless]

Kiwi was outright FRIGHTENED of fresh produce when we first got him, but he too would accept the dried stuff. So do many other birds who will not eat fresh. It's a good stepping stone to introduce a cautious bird to the joys of fresh food. It takes time and patience with rescue birds. And lets face it, this poor guy fell out of a truck in the middle of street, has no trust in humans or concept of a healthy diet- he qualifies as a rescue to the truest extent. It could take a year or more before you get him on an ideal diet. Slow progress is better than no progress though If you ever come across a used one for cheap at a thrift store or flea market, dehydrators are GREAT for bird homes, since you can ensure everything you've dehydrated contains no added salt or sugar. Also check and see if given you're working on getting him on a good diet, if the AV suggests he be on any vitamins at this point since he is not eating fresh foods yet.

Also, it may be good if you have a good relationship with your other birds to teach him by example. Let him watch them step up and get a treat, or get their head scratched or hang out on your shoulder. If he sees his new 'flock mates' trusting you (and getting rewards from you), he may be less fearful of you

The food dehydrator is a pretty good idea! My cockatiel and budgie both have their own preferences, neither like their head scratched really, but they love getting attention and being held. My cockatiel especially is always running up for flying to me to be on my shoulder when I get home, my budgie was not hand raised so he doesn't like to be held in a traditional sense, but has really come to like attention and will always join us when I get home haha.