Normal beak length?

[Dan&Rozie]

We adopted our SIE, Bibi, about 6 months ago, and in that time her beak seems to have gotten pretty long. We’re both first time Ekkie owners so not sure if it’s normal to have their beaks trimmed on a regular basis? Here are some before and after picks about 4/5months apart. Thanks for any advice you can give!

 

[Emeral]

Warm welcome, beautiful photos....very interesting observation...she is very lovely and is so very lucky to have you.

I am taken by surprised. The time between each photo is shocking, 4/5 months?
While we wait for experienced members to help, you might find this an interesting read. It's about What causes an overgrown beak and remedies at home.

Parrot Beak Trimming and Grinding for Overgrown Beaks

Causes of overgrown beaks include not having hard objects to chew on, trauma, lack of light and also diet. Medical beak trimming can solve this. Species that commonly need beak trimming include cockatiels, macaws and parakeets. Great care needs to be taken if doing this procedure.

www.herebird.com

 

[Littleredbeak]

I have a lovebird who's beak grows quickly especially if he gets un spprouted seeds. When I give him sprouted seeds his beak growth slows down. He has suspected fatty liver disease. This is what he looked like when i got him. At the time Luvy was literally starving to death (his beak was so long he couldn't feed himself no matter how hard he tried). So make sure your guy can successfully eat (the storel I got Luvy from thought he was eating because he was always in the food bowl trying to eat- unfortunately non of the seeds where actually eaten)
When I first got him I took him to get his beak trimmed - a dremel and nail clippers were used. I now do the beak trims myself with a glass nail file. The dremel, I felt was too rough on Luvy (his little p]brain!) And I was worried about infection ( while the tools do get cleaned the place had alot of clients whose beaks had chronic fugus infections)

Luvy is a different species than yours so I'm not sure if the beak growth is due to diet like Luvy's is. Diet change has made a big difference in Luvy's life and you can add liver supporting food in their diet to help. There has been success in reversing chronic liver disease.

 

[saxguy64]

Seems like some pretty substantial growth in that timeframe. Several possible causes from diet to cage/perch/toy situation. I'd recommend a checkup with your avian professional to help figure it out, and trim it back. As mentioned above, too much overgrowth can cause difficulty eating, so best addressed sooner than waiting. They will likely ask questions about her environment and make recommendations for various perches and chew toys, etc. to help keep it under control. Also, if you haven't already, consider blood work to see if there's a nutritional/blood level component causing the rapid growth. Good to do as a baseline anyway, to have comparison in the future if things change.

 

[chris-md]

Well said above.

it’s not terribly rare for some individuals to have to get regular beak trims. As much as I’d like to blame diet/environment, I think there MIGHT have a genetic component too, as many of these people who need to get their birds regular trims know what they’re doing with their birds.

but always start by looking at diet, environment/enrichment, and especially starting with a vet visit and full blood panel as my friend wisely advised above is definitely a must since some health conditions can cause this as well.

 

[Dan&Rozie]

I have a lovebird who's beak grows quickly especially if he gets un spprouted seeds. When I give him sprouted seeds his beak growth slows down. He has suspected fatty liver disease. This is what he looked like when i got him. At the time Luvy was literally starving to death (his beak was so long he couldn't feed himself no matter how hard he tried). So make sure your guy can successfully eat (the storel I got Luvy from thought he was eating because he was always in the food bowl trying to eat- unfortunately non of the seeds where actually eaten)
When I first got him I took him to get his beak trimmed - a dremel and nail clippers were used. I now do the beak trims myself with a glass nail file. The dremel, I felt was too rough on Luvy (his little p]brain!) And I was worried about infection ( while the tools do get cleaned the place had alot of clients whose beaks had chronic fugus infections)

Luvy is a different species than yours so I'm not sure if the beak growth is due to diet like Luvy's is. Diet change has made a big difference in Luvy's life and you can add liver supporting food in their diet to help. There has been success in reversing chronic liver disease.

Thank you, that’s really good information! I will look into her diet more and see if it helps.

 

[Dan&Rozie]

Seems like some pretty substantial growth in that timeframe. Several possible causes from diet to cage/perch/toy situation. I'd recommend a checkup with your avian professional to help figure it out, and trim it back. As mentioned above, too much overgrowth can cause difficulty eating, so best addressed sooner than waiting. They will likely ask questions about her environment and make recommendations for various perches and chew toys, etc. to help keep it under control. Also, if you haven't already, consider blood work to see if there's a nutritional/blood level component causing the rapid growth. Good to do as a baseline anyway, to have comparison in the future if things change.

Thanks for your input

 

[Dan&Rozie]

Well said above.

it’s not terribly rare for some individuals to have to get regular beak trims. As much as I’d like to blame diet/environment, I think there MIGHT have a genetic component too, as many of these people who need to get their birds regular trims know what they’re doing with their birds.

but always start by looking at diet, environment/enrichment, and especially starting with a vet visit and full blood panel as my friend wisely advised above is definitely a must since some health conditions can cause this as well.

Thank you

 

[Littleredbeak]

Thank you, that’s really good information! I will look into her diet more and see if it helps.

I'm not familiar with your Elkies but lafaber Senior berries has Lglutiathion and milkthistle as ingredients. Both of those ingredients help the detoxing. I also add Dandelion greens to Luvys diet.

 

[chris-md]

I'm not familiar with your Elkies but lafaber Senior berries has Lglutiathion and milkthistle as ingredients. Both of those ingredients help the detoxing. I also add Dandelion greens to Luvys diet.

Unfortunately pretty much anything lafaber is not appropriate to feed even a healthy eclectus.

 

[kme3388]

I adopted my Ekkie back in June. He had his beak trimmed then, then in August, and then he's getting his beak trimmed again in 2 weeks. I did ask my vet this question because I've had my conure for 10+ years, and have never had to get her beak trimmed. My conure demolishes toys with her beak is the only difference. I was informed to work with my ekkie to get him playing with toys so he can naturally keep his beak shorter. So far I've found 1 toy that my ekkie preans. Other then that no luck in the toy deparment. Hopefully this helps you.

 

[Dan&Rozie]

I adopted my Ekkie back in June. He had his beak trimmed then, then in August, and then he's getting his beak trimmed again in 2 weeks. I did ask my vet this question because I've had my conure for 10+ years, and have never had to get her beak trimmed. My conure demolishes toys with her beak is the only difference. I was informed to work with my ekkie to get him playing with toys so he can naturally keep his beak shorter. So far I've found 1 toy that my ekkie preans. Other then that no luck in the toy deparment. Hopefully this helps you.

Very helpful to hear you have to get his beak trimmed regularly- thank you!

 

[kme3388]

Very helpful to hear you have to get his beak trimmed regularly- thank you!

My ekkie does have some health issues I will mention. At this rate I'm getting his beak trimmed about every 3 months. What saxguy64 said is 100% accurate about a vet. Vets can further determine if there is a medical condition contributing to beak/nail overgrowth. If there are preventative measures that can be taken such as chewing on toys. I myself am not comfortable trimming my ekkies beak just because I'd have to towel him, and he's a fighter. It's easier making the vet the bad guy for me.

 

[Littleredbeak]

Randomly came across this thread look at photos https://www.parrotforums.com/threads/help-i-need-tips-of-giving-meds.34420/