Severely Neglected

[AmazonKitty]

When I received my new Amazon this past Thurs he was severely neglected. His beak is so long it touches his neck making it very difficult for him to eat anything. I've been feeding him soft fruit hoping that helps him a little. He's frustrated by this and becomes very angry.

His claws are just as bad. They are so long he falls off the perch and it's not easy for him to climb. The vet is coming here Mon to fix him up. It is sad to watch and I cannot believe someone could continue to keep him in this condition. I could not let him live like that and had to have him.

After his peek is dremmiled on Mon I am wondering if he will be happier and more comfortable, or more angry due to what he has to go through. He has lived like this way for so long he's probably use to it. Also worried about the noise again in my condo...

I will post pictures for you to see.

 

[Peeker]

Wow! I've never seen a beak so long! I hope there are no other health concerns. With neglect and an overgrown beak, my first concern would be fatty liver disease from an all seed diet. I hope your vet will be doing a health check as well and that the little guy is pronounced well.

 

[Turk]

That is a very overgrown beak!

It is great that you are giving Kitty a better life!

This forum is just filled with extremely caring, knowledgable and helpful folks that can help you through any situation.

Best of luck!!

 

[wenz2712]

Welcome to the forum

Thank you for rescuing him

I have never seen such a long beak either

Hopefully the Vet will be able to sort all these issues.

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Wow! That's awesome you have a avian vet who does house calls.

Are they also going to do a check up? Overgrown beaks can be a sign of a hoard of medical problems, including fatty liver disease

 

[Devann]

Wow! I didn't know a beak could get that long! poor baby Youre a wonderful person for taking him in and giving him a better life

 

[Kiwibird]

That is a really overgrown beak! I'm sure it won't be the highlight of his day when the vet works on him, but I'm sure he will feel MUCH better afterwards being able to eat and climb normally again. Poor little guy, I'm sure he's so happy you've rescued him!

 

[AmazonKitty]

I don't think he's that happy here. He's turning into quite an angry bird. When he came he was much more peaceful. Thank you all for the compliments It's not actually a vet. We have a place here called First Flight, they specialize in exotic birds. I'm hoping they will be able to tell me a lot more. I'm nervous now with all the possible health problems he may have. They're charging $100 for the house call and $40 for the beak and nails.

Years ago I had a hedgehog and a mobile vet use to come for him. I guess I should try to track him down if he's still around. Otherwise Kitty looks pretty healthy...

 

[julya]

For some reason, I can't see your photos, but if he beak is really that long he won't be able to get a good grip to bite. So maybe you can get used to handling him a little bit. His nails will probably be really sharp though. When I first brought my amazon home, his beak was really long but he wore it down and broke off the tip after a few days. Good luck!

 

[Featheredsamurai]

Don't be put down, birds are very different from our other pets and it can take a while to live in harmony with them. You have brought a wild animal with wild instincts into your home, not a domesticated dog or cat. Birds do what they want, and few are out to please their humans.

Unhealthy birds can be grumpy, they don't feel good. Get him to a certified avian vet to make sure he is 100% healthy. Also work on his diet, a bird who eats bad food isn't going to feel good. Just imagine if all you ate was McDonald's burgers & fries for a month, you'd feel bad too. Try your hand at making a chop mix.

 

[henpecked]

Thanks for giving an older zon a new home. Yes i'm sure you'll have several health issues in your future. It may take awhile but hopefully a good diet and a good parront can turn things around. i saw you posted trimming his beak with a dremel tool, be very careful and only trim a small amount at a time, dremel tools will build up heat very quickly and severely burn the sensitive the beak/nails. very similar to the quick of your finger nails.

 

[MonicaMc]

I trim my mitred conures beak using a dremel. It's a two person job and *should not* be done alone. The only reason I do it myself is because it is far easier for me to trim my own birds beak than it is to take him to an avian vet to have it done. An a-vet could only do a partial trim, and stressed him out. Had to have an assistant wrap him in a towel while the a-vet did the trimming. When I do the trimming, Charlie sits in my lap as I hold his beak and trim it. He doesn't like it, but he puts up with it. Believe me though, if the experience wasn't so traumatic, I'd rather have an a-vet do it!

If you were to try this with an untame bird that's not trusting and doesn't know what a dremel is, you could cause more harm than good.


I really think that you need to get blood work done to determine the cause of the overgrown beak and nails. The sooner you can catch potential health problems, the better!

 

[Kiwibird]

Don't be discouraged if he doesn't seem "happy" right away. Remember, he has no idea what's going on, why his environment changed or if you want to hurt him at this point. Plus, he must be terribly uncomfortable with his beak/talon issues (and god knows whatever other health issues), so you have to have a little understanding of where he's coming from attitude-wise. I think once he gets those issues cleared up, gets on a proper diet and has time to acclimate to his new environment, he will start to cheer up. Any major life change is stressful to a parrot, but zons are hearty birds and I'm confident a year from now he will be much healthier and happier!

Kiwi was a very sad and sick parrot when we got him. He was found at his initial vet visit to be suffering a URI, and was underweight. On top of that were the much more difficult to correct behavioral issues from years of neglect. It took him about a year to even "settle in" and finally (it's been 5 years), he is starting to initiate friendly behavior by his own choice towards my husband and I. He has been spoiled rotten since we brought him home, so it can and does take them quite a while even in the best home you can give them. Just keep on persiting with your handsome little guy, and remember, a few years to get him on the other side of his behavioral issues will still leave you many decades with a happy, healthy bird