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We recently adopted a parakeet from my cousin. We've had her about a two weeks now. I haven't had a bird since I was a little kid. She has something weird growing out beside her beak. It looks 'beak like'. She has a cuttle bone - seems like something she should file off? Anyone know what it might be, or what to do about it?

I got a couple of parakeet books at the library yesterday thinking I'd find something. they were no help, at least as far as that weird thing on her face goes. The more I look at it, it seems like something that got stuck in there. Yea, I'm gonna call a vet today.

Hi, Cricket,

Can you post a picture of it? What color is it? Does it look cheese-like?

Alice

tried to get a pic today. i've only had her a month and she's not completly hand trained yet and she's kinda shy...won't come out of her cage. I leave the door open 3-4 hours each day and she's only come out once. my camera is kinda crappy-can't take a good pic through the bars of the cage. the more I look at it the more it looks like somthing that got lodged in there that needs to be pulled out.....part of a seed???, or the end of a feather???. where the 'thing' enters her flesh is very clean. no puss, nothing swollen.

no, it doesn't look anything like that. your pic, i would call a 'mass'. what my birdy has, I'd call '....stick-like' I'll try again to get a pic. I have a friend coming over early next week to take a look. she's not a vet, but worked in a vets office for years, and had TONS of birds growing up.
thanks everyone for your interest!

I had all sorts of birds growing up, and some would get "growths" on their beaks. The vet said it was caused by parasites, and gave me something to put on the beak.

It really would be beneficial to get a good diagnosis so you can treat it properly.

wish you could get a picture.

So I don't leave anyone hanging, I just wanted to say I went and saw a bird lady in the next town. She said my 'Leslie' has scaley face. I read about that on the internet but since it kept saying the growth came out of the beak I dismissed the diagnosis. It is coming from the beak but the way it's growing it looks like it's coming from the skin beside the beak. anyway I got some med and she should be just fine in a couple of weeks.

I'm glad I saw this because I've been wondering. I looked up several sites but didn't see anything like you described. Scaley face is something that can be easily treated - right?

easy to treat for us, but the poor bird doesn't like it much. She's not really hand trained yet so we have to hold her body in our hand, keep her beak shut (med can't be injested) and apply with a cotton swab. I think by the time we get her scaley face healed up she will be hand trained though. ha ha and poor thing has a nick name now of scaley face!