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How to prevent bird beak overgrowth

Submitted by Michael Adams on January 8, 2010

A pet bird’s beak grows up to three inches in length every year but since it wears off at an equal rate, there is no observable increase in the length of its beak under normal conditions. However, sometimes the rate of growth of the bird’s beak exceeds the rate at which it wears off, with the result that the beak becomes unnaturally long, which can make normal activities like eating, preening and climbing difficult for the bird. Usually it is the upper beak that suffers from overgrowth.

The primary reason behind this problem is the lack of adequate opportunities for the bird to use its beak, which results in minimized wear and tear. The deficiency of vitamins A and D in the bird’s diet may also be responsible for overgrowth of bird beak. Ailments like metabolic bone disease and cancer may also lead to overgrowth of the bird’s beak in a few serious cases.

Species like budgerigars and parrots are among the birds that are most prone to this problem.

There are a few simple ways in which you may prevent bird’s beak from growing too long. You should include nuts and sprouts in your bird’s diet, as these provide the creature a good opportunity to exercise their beaks. Do not make the bird’s food unnecessarily soft as this produces very little friction between the beaks while eating and may lead to overgrowth of the beak. Besides, you should include green vegetables in the bird’s diet as they are rich natural sources of A and D vitamins that help prevent overgrowth of the beak. In addition, place a few soft wooden toys inside the bird’s cage that it can gnaw on. Replace these toys as and when necessary so that the bird does not get bored and stop taking interest in this activity. You should also choose a perch made of soft wood for your bird so that the creature can nibble on it occasionally too. Also, encourage the bird to preen itself daily by showering it with water using a bottle spray. This makes the bird use its beak more and prevents overgrowth. You should also let the bird out of its cage for some time every day and encourage it to play with toys so that it uses its beak more. If you observe any crusting on the bird’s beak, take the creature immediately to an avian veterinarian to get it treated otherwise this might lead to beak overgrowth.

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