Timneh beak is crooked/strange looking

[adamtron]

Well PETCO did not have any specific Calcium supplement to shake on food or in liquid form, so I ended up getting High Calcium grit and it says to give him a teaspoon full in a bowl, once or twice a week. I also got him some liquid vitamins, which I know doesn't have calcium but just in case he is lacking vitamin A or some other nutrient. I'm also going to see if there's any calcium supplement I can order online that might be better. I want to wish everyone a Happy Holiday and thanks again for everyone's support. BTW: Griffin learned to say "Hi Bud!" So he says "Hi Bud!" to all.

[Machelle]

I am so sorry you've been having these problems. I know how frusterating it can be. I have to say, though, I dont believe grit is good for them. That can do more harm than good.

[featherduster]

Hi Bud! :)
For calcium I use cuttlebone. I scrap it with a fork and put the powder right onto their seed/pellet mix. I also break small chunks off and put those right into the seed/pellet dish.
If I give my two a whole cuttle they crumble it to bits in a matter of hours. So the scraping and chunks works better for me.

Good luck!

[Asta]

I use Calciboost by The Birdcare Company which I order online from www.justbirdstuff.com . It's very potent being in liquid form but once a week I dose my birds' water with it. A little goes a long way. You can also put it in soft food, which might be better for your Timneh. There's also a new powder version of it, I see, having revisited their site.

I've been very happy with this product and I can tell a big difference in just 3 months in the quality of my birds' plummage. (Joonie finally has tail feathers.) And CalciBoost is not expensive. You might also consider a pro-biotic supplement to fight the yeast infection. I use Bio-Plus, it contains essential bacteria and trace minerals. This page has the product list and prices:

http://www.justbirdstuff.com/home.php?cat=251

There's a very good discussion about critical calcium here:

http://www.allbirdproducts.com/artic...alcalcium.html

I really hope your bird improves. JustBirdStuff is not shipping orders until Dec. 26 (holidays and all) but I really believe a liquid supplement would be more suitable in this situation.

There's more information about the company that makes these products at

http://www.birdcareco.com/English/Ar...ts/AsGood.html

They're located in Great Britain, JustBirdStuff is in the US. If you do a web search, you might find a retailer close by who carries these products. I'm not trying to promote any particular company, this is just my testimonial.

(For you 'too owners, CalciBoost helps prevent plucking.)

[Lisa B]

Originally Posted by adamtron

High Calcium grit

just to clarify. If its an actual grit in a box...(like 8&1)..dont give that to him.
Hookbills dont need the grit. Grit is for softbills that can grind thier foods.
Grit is hard to pass, and there are alot of necropsies that show a buildup of it leading to actual death. So, I just wanted to pass that info along.

[adamtron]

Thanks all. Per the Dr. instructions, I am continuing to give him the anti-fungal medication and antibiotics, since there is a very slight improvement- at least it's something. I am also giving him two drops of parrot vitamins diluted in his water. Then then owner of the parrot store gave me a good suggestion: since Griffin was not using his mineral block the way that my Eclectus is, she said I could just take a knife to the mineral block and shave the block so that the calcium powder covers his food and then stir it up. So we are trying these things and we will see what happens. His beak looks a shade lighter where it is growing in, so I'm hoping that he is getting better. He continues to be upbeat and full of energy, so that is good. I go back to the vet again in 2 weeks to check on Griffin's progress.

[Lisa B]

Thank you for the update. You and Grif are never far from my thoughts...

Make sure to change his water a few times a day......

[Tallabred]

I raise horses that get ALL KINDS of fungal skin problems. There is a product called Equiderm that works wonders on their skin. The stuff is like a lotion and very smoothing. I thought that I would mention it because it is the only thing that has cured my dry skin problems along with any problem that our cats or dogs have had. It is very mild but even can eliminate ring worm. Like I said - just a thought.