Beak trimming killed beloved Lorikeet

[twistof8]

Last year I took my Lorikeet in for a regular beak trim and groom. The staff at the bird shop who groomed my bird was new but with the shop being a respected bird shop, I assumed they would have qualified staff to perform the grooming.

During the beak trim my bird "Birdie" screamed more than usual and I attributed this to their staff being young and inexperienced, and not as gentle as the experienced staff.

Next evening (Tuesday) I notice that Birdie has not eaten much all day and thought it kind of strange. I called the store and they attributed it to Birdie stressing over the previous days' trimming, and told me that it was quite normal for birds to temporarily stress after a beak grooming.

By Wednesday when I got home from work, I noticed that Birdie was not well and I rushed him to an emergency bird veterinarian ....who thought he had a virus and gave him an anti-biotic and sent him home with me after taking some blood tests.

When I woke up Thursday morning Birdie had gone into shock and was completely unresponsive. I once again rushed him to the emergency vet and they told me he had to be put to sleep due to kidney failure.

I called another vet for a second opinion, and for the first time I was told that trimming the beak was too dangerous for a bird store to perform. When Birdie died later that morning due to kidney failure, the second vet performed an autopsy and determined that a nerve had been exposed during the trimming of Birdie's beak on Monday, and because it was too painful to eat, his kidneys failed due to lack of food and water. MY precious companion essentially died of starvation in front of my eyes!!

I found out since, that most veterinarians do NOT recommend trimming a bird’s beak, but many bird stores still continue the practice as it brings traffic to the stores and helps with merchandizing toys etc. I have stopped in at several bird stores who confirmed that beak trimming should be performed by veterinarians in extreme circumstances only.

If I knew this, my Birdie would still be alive today. I requested the bird shop to put a sign up warning people of the practice, but they refuse as they say beak trimming is not dangerous....just stressful on the birds for a day or so. They also pointed out the girl (about 18) who performed the grooming had 2 months worth of training before being allowed to groom. 2 Months training!!!

Beak trimming killed my bird. He was the love of my life!!! They essentially killed 2 lives...Birdie and mine...as I will surely never be the same without him.

Not a day passes that I do not miss him...

[Buteo]

Our deep condolences.

[Bonesy]

Poor wee mite :( my heart goes out to you.

I always do my own birds and with great care. I had a budgie with a malformed beak as my first bird & quickly got adept at doing it with lots of cornflour to hand in case any minor bleeds did occur, though I always made sure both that bird who has sadly since passed away and all my current birds get lots of emery boards & raspy things to chew at so they trim their own beak & only really need a quick file every month ending.

If I were you i'd take some further action towards the store. It's wrong that they should put an animals life in danger & ignore veterinary advice. Maybe you could spread the word with bird owners in the area & put up some flyers warning not only about the practice but what happened with your bird?

It's dreadful they never even apologised! :(
*hugs* I'm so sorry for you and your poor bird :(

[habs71]

First my condolences for your loss.

Second, by naming the business on an open, public forum I hope you have irrefutable proof of the cause of death and the medical personel you consulted are prepared to state such in a court of law.

IMHO it would have been better for you to post the tragic story sans the business name, and offered to share that with interested parties in a PM.


Skip

[Bonesy]

Very True. However when you're that angry, especially when someones killed a much loved pet, I know myself you don't much worry about naming names. :/ I con only hope they can do something about it, and In a way at least people know know to avoid that exact chain for beak upkeep. :(

[Sally]

So sad. Our vet just talked to our bird club last night. Some beaks get SOOO long and look like elephants! So, some birds do need trims, but only, ONLY by an avian vet! It is tricky and should be done by a vet with experience.

I am so sorry.

[maddyfish]

Sorry for your loss, seems like an awful way to die, starving and in pain. Nothing wrong with naming the name of the buisness that did it. If a buisness puts it's name on a building, then it should not be scared to have it discussed in a public forum.

[Valo's Moirana]

i'm very sorry for your loss - thanks for posting the story though as it might prevent the tragic event from repeating itself....

[Monica]

It's not a good idea to mention names due to the fact that it can cause flame wars, and may even cause problems... for this reason I have removed the name of the store from the post...

I'm sorry for your loss... beak trimming should not be done unless it is needed... I trim both of my conures beaks, using different tools for each one... and I've had no major issues with either. Charlie is by far the one with the most beak issues, do to an injury inflicted by a macaw. Here's a recent pic before the clip and I do have a new one afterwards, however I haven't uploaded it yet... beak still needs a tad bit of work too....

[kathleen]

The bird store I bought my quaker does beak trimming but when I asked about it, they told me that it's not necessary nor recommended. They said the same thing about removing the ID band.