Beak is off center ? Help please

[suzhouchen]

My daughter is looking to buy a Galah RB2 now that I have one.

She has been in contact with an aviary out of town as our local aviary is sold out of weaned babies until spring.

The question I have is, she was told this baby will be weaned in another week but that it's beak is off center. The mandible is off center in that if the bird was facing you the left point is on the outside of the beak the right point on the inside of the beak.

Can someone tell me what the detriment is to this condition. We have noticed the price of this particular bird is lower than others. We are wondering how much this has to do with the overall health of the bird.

We were told it was due to incorrect hand feeding by the breeder. What do all of you think? The breeders friend who also breeds is trying to sell it on consignment. The bird is within a couple hours driving distance but I want to know what all you guys have to say before we make the drive.

PLEASE COMMENT.

[Lisa B]

sounds like scissor beak

http://www.avianweb.com/scissorsbeak.html

[maggy]

Yes from what I've read it is probably scissor beak, it is caused by incorrect feeding technique. It results in the bird having to have it's beak trimmed by the vet regularly and if really bad in great difficulty in eating independently. I'm not sure but I think it is possible to have it surgically treated when the parrot is young,but it would be very costly and I don't know how succesful. Maybe you could talk to an avian vet and get some facts.
I'd be wary of buying from this breeder, question his/her rearing techniques and the health of his little ones, this might be indicative of other failings.

[Monica]

Scissor beak can be caused due to incorrect handfeeding techniques, lack of nutrition, bad genetics, injury, or even disease. Minor cases and some major ones can be fixed with the help of an avian vet - however many birds learn to survive quite well with such deformaties - and if it can't be correct the birds may need regular beak trims for the rest of their lives.

I've got a mitred conure who has scissor beak due to a beak injury - he's missing half of his lower beak. However, he's learned to survive quite well! He eats just fine, too. The biggest issue is him having to re-grind his beak after a trim since he needs both top and bottom trimmed to be kept in shape. Trimming often removes the grooves which helps him break down his food, so often afterwards he'll be grinding his beak for a while.