Humans bruise parts of their bodies all the time but how about birds? This article is a look into whether birds can bruise their beaks.
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Can birds bruise their beaks?
Birds can indeed bruise their beaks and many birds do at some point in their life. Birds can bruise their beaks when fighting, if they fly into something, or if they fall onto their beaks
A bird’s beak is made up of mostly bone and keratin, the bone is on the inner part of the beak, and the keratin is the exposed part of the beak.
The keratin on your bird’s beak is the same keratin that makes up our fingernails and our hair, and, it is always growing.
There is a blood vessel layer between the keratin layer and bone layer and if force is applied to the beak then this force can damage the blood vessels and cause the blood to pool between the two layers forming a bruise.
The pooling of blood may look black, green, or purple depending on the color of the bird’s beak.
If the bruise is bad enough then it can cause the surface layers of the bird’s beak to start to flake off.
What to do:
What you’d need to do in this situation will be dependent on how the bird is acting. If the bird is eating normally and doesn’t seem to be in any pain or distress then you can let the bird be.
The bruised area will grow closer and closer to the tip of the bird’s beak and will be ground away as the bird goes through its life as normal.
Home treatments include icing the bruise and gently massaging the bruise but this must be done very gently if at all, however, doing this isn’t necessary.
You can also give the bird foods that are soft and mushy, this will be easier to eat than the harder foods that the bird is likely used to.
If the bird is clearly in pain because of the bruise, and if the bird can’t eat because it is in so much pain, then you’d need to take the bird to the vet.
The vet will prescribe some pain medication for the bird to help it feel better and help the bird eat.
Also to note:
Your bird’s beak may also develop what looks like a bruise if the bird is suffering from fatty liver disease.
Fatty liver disease can develop in birds who eat a diet that is seed based.
This condition causes birds to form blood clots in their body and one of the places that these blood clots can develop is in the bird’s beak under the keratin layer.
This blood clot can make the bird’s beak look as though it is bruised
What to do:
Taking your bird to the vet for an examination and a diagnosis is recommended.
The vet will run bloodwork on the bird and will run bile acid tests as well (these give a good indication of the condition of the liver). Doing this will help diagnose the bird.
If it is found that your bird does have fatty liver disease then your vet will likely prescribe a special diet to help your bird recover from this condition.
If needed, your vet will also give your bird supplements and injection which will aid in recovery.
Your pet should be given a diet of 80% pellets. Fruits, vegetables, and seeds should make up the rest of the bird’s diet.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Budgie Cere Turning Black, Budgie Cere White, Why Is My Budgie’s Beak Red?, Can Budgies Bruise Their Beaks?, Can Birds Get Beak Burn?,