Scissor Beak

[Aimee72]

Is it possible for greys to get a scissor beak from improper trimmings? My CAG Gracie never had a problem until one year ago when I took her to a new vet. The vet tech took her to another exam room to trim her nails and feathers and when she brought her back she told us she had also filed her beak. My previous vet had never thought she needed her beak trimmed and so it had never been done before. After this trimming her beak started growing back crooked on the bottom and now has to be trimmed on a regular basis. I can't figure out how she could suddenly develop this problem at four years of age.

At the beginning of last summer she needed a beak trim and the vet couldn't get her in for over a week. Before the appointment she broke off the piece of beak that was sticking out somehow and her beak looked perfect so I didn't take her into the vet. The beak stayed straight for the entire summer but when I took her into the vet to have her nails trimmed they filed her beak and the cycle has started all over again.

She went to yet another new vet last week and the person filing it couldn't even get it straightened back up so I had to pay them $84 for NOT fixing her beak and now I'm going to have to take her to the Avian Specialist to get it straight.

I guess this could be a coincidence but tonight I am giving Owen, another one of my CAG, a bath and guess what?!? His is growing in the same way! It was straight until he had it trimmed a few weeks ago.
Is this odd or what?

[Tobysmom]

i think its timefor a new vet...take the greys to a avain specialist like u said and see what he says..
patti

[The Outlaw]

Something is dreadfully wrong. I've never heard of trimming a grey beak UNLESS it was to correct a deformity. I'm wondering if your birds may have picked up a bacterial infection or fungus from unclean tools. Could you post before and after photos? Are your greys related? If so, it could conceivably be genetic, but HIGHLY unlikely at that age to now present.

[Lisa B]

no, Owen and Gracie are not related.
Owen is the bird BABY that she has been tending to with some health issues.
My vets dont trim beaks unless they really need to, and in all my years, I never had to have one done. Some "newer" vets feel beak trimming is part of the grooming process, tho it really unless medically necessary does not need to be done.
It does sound like the vet has done something wrong. Let them grow a bit and see if it breaks the way it should so you dont have to get it groomed again.....keep corn starch handy in the event it breaks and bleeds. Try not to let the vet file any more unless nothing else can be done.

[Monica]

I wonder if an improper beak trim may have caused nerve damage within the beak? Thus causing the beak to grow crooked?

Both my conures here I need to trim their beaks... One cause she doesn't properly wear down her beak via destroying toys, the other cause he has scissor beaks due to a beak injury, that the only way for it to be fixed is to get a prosthetic beak where he's missing part of it...