Sun Conure Twitches Head and Crunches Beak

Piperj_005

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Aug 16, 2022
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Hello! My 2yr old sun conure will consistently twitch his head and make a beak crunching noise whenever he is sleepy. Is this normal? Or is this something i should be concerned about?
 
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Piperj_005

Piperj_005

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Sun Conure
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Do you have a video? Sounds like beak grinding to me which is a sign of contentness/happiness
Yes i do! Not sure why I can’t attach it though, is there any other way i can send it?
 

Owlet

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Yes i do! Not sure why I can’t attach it though, is there any other way i can send it?
You can either upload it to youtube and link that or you can click "attach file" and go from there
 

LaManuka

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Yes i do! Not sure why I can’t attach it though, is there any other way i can send it?
There is a limit on the size of videos that can be uploaded directly from a device into a post, but if you upload it to a platform like YouTube first and link it over from there, the video file can be any size at all. I hope that the following tutorial helps you upload your video :)

 

Owlet

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hmm doesn't quiet look or sound like the typical break grinding which you can see here:

I'm not quiet sure what is going on with your bird, he could just be being silly but has he been to the vet recently? it kind of looks like something may be bothering him. Like mites or something
 
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Piperj_005

Piperj_005

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hmm doesn't quiet look or sound like the typical break grinding which you can see here:

I'm not quiet sure what is going on with your bird, he could just be being silly but has he been to the vet recently? it kind of looks like something may be bothering him. Like mites or something
Yeah that’s exactly what I’ve been saying! He does do typical beak crunching like that, but he tends to do his twitchy crunches whenever he’s sleepy and under a blanket. He hasn’t been to the vet in a hot minute. Should i consider getting him a checkup? What would the mites look like if he had them? I’ve never seen anything suspicious crawling on his feathers/skin/etc.
 

Owlet

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Yeah that’s exactly what I’ve been saying! He does do typical beak crunching like that, but he tends to do his twitchy crunches whenever he’s sleepy and under a blanket. He hasn’t been to the vet in a hot minute. Should i consider getting him a checkup? What would the mites look like if he had them? I’ve never seen anything suspicious crawling on his feathers/skin/etc.
I've never really experienced a bird with mites but they tend to go unnoticed really easily from what I've heard. It doesnt hurt to get him checked out just to be safe.

Theres the common scaley mites that's mostly seen on budgies, you would see their cere and beak and what not looking pretty crusty which I dont think that's the case with your boy.

Have you noticed an extra itching or preening?
 
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Piperj_005

Piperj_005

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I've never really experienced a bird with mites but they tend to go unnoticed really easily from what I've heard. It doesnt hurt to get him checked out just to be safe.

Theres the common scaley mites that's mostly seen on budgies, you would see their cere and beak and what not looking pretty crusty which I dont think that's the case with your boy.

Have you noticed an extra itching or preening?
Just scheduled an appointment with the vet, i want to be 100% save than sorry before i go on vacation in a couple weeks. I wouldn’t say his preening/itching is very unusual or anything compared to normal, but now that you say that he does tend to get itchy a lot whenever he does that too.
 

clark_conure

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A crossover Quaker Scuti (F), A Sun conure named AC, A Cinnamon Green Cheek conure Kent, and 6 budgies, Scuti Jr. (f), yellow (m), clark Jr. (m), Dot (f), Zebra(f), Machine (m).
Looks fine to me but I'd never say no to an AVN visit.

Birds disguise injury's and discomfort. But I'd say just on the video it's just content.
 

SunConureBaba

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Looks like something is irritating him. This is not beak grinding due to comfort.
My red sun does beak clicking to get my attention or when he plays with me.
But yours is twitching and eyes half closed - that's not normal.
 

Owlet

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the only thing thats throwing me off is that is only happens at certain times in the day. With mites it would likely be constant I would think. Its possible that hes busy all day and just ignores them but now that hes sleepy and winding down they start to irritate him. but I just dont know.
Still think a vet visit is good just to be safe and rules out any conditions.
 

Laurasea

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I really don't think you have to worry about mites at all, especially in a solo burd you've had for years not exposed to other birds, or in an outdoor aviary.

Vet exams are always a good idea. As are keeping track of weights. As with most ( not all) health issues tgey will drop weight. Let us know how it goes.

To me , kind looks like he is thinking of preening or mock preening. Could just be a self soothing activity.
Possibly crop irritation that only bothers him at end of day when no distractions. If you've experienced pain, like many of us have at some point..its often worse at night when we aren't distracted.
 

Dani08

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Nov 9, 2016
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Hello! My 2yr old sun conure will consistently twitch his head and make a beak crunching noise whenever he is sleepy. Is this normal? Or is this something i should be concerned about?
Hi! My 22 year old Amazon does the crunchy beak thing also! Always while he's about to fall asleep. Not sure about the twitching, sorry.
 

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