Beak length

Awww, he’s a poppet 🥰
We can’t get cuttlefish around here (something to do with Brexit) and the tiniest bits are so expensive! I’m going to go to town in the morning to have a look and see if the situation has changed. He has plenty to climb on and some pumice toys too.

His weight is 33 grams and he’s eating well 🙂 he was also beak grinding on my shoulder earlier.

I don't think his beak is too long. I have often wondered the same thing about Kiwi but I checked with my vet once and she said it was fine.

33 grams is a hefty little fella, though. The average weight range is 28-32 grams but some birds are more "robust". Kiwi used to average out at 34 grams but she got up to 36 grams a few times - definitely too much. My vet would often say she would be better at 32 grams but not to make a big deal of it because she could just be a heavier girl. While many of us would be offended by this, Kiwi thought it was awesome. Given that she is almost 19, I don't think that extra weight hurt her too much, but she now is around 29-30 grams, which is heading for the lower side. So for your ridiculously lovely River, just keep an eye on that weight creeping up.

Hi Melanie, River is looking great! Love the pics - the last one is wonderful. Love those whiskers. He is such a good looking greenie! I think River's beak looks fine. Just keep providing him with things to chew on to keep it at a healthy length. I really recommend Bottlebrush perches for that purpose - birds love them because they are easy for them to grip on to- and they are great for chewing on because they have a soft outer layer with a hard layer underneath. I have two of them in Pugsley's cage and they are definitely his favorite. He chews the heck out of them! Amazon UK does sell them, if you are interested. Just do a search for "Birds LOVE Bottlebrush Perch" and it should come up. They are a wee bit pricey, but I think they are worth it.

Thank you Anya, he is a handsome devil 🥰

I’m definitely going to look into those perches, thanks for the tip off!

Ah River is at the upper end in weight then. Good to know he’s right on track. I have a photo of Kiwi on the scale at 36 grams. I will see if I can find it. It is her badge of honour, my badge of shame.

He is absolutely gorgeous. Those beautiful smooth green feathers and a tucked up foot. He’s one happy boy. Kiwi is a greenie too, if you hadn’t figured that out by her most imaginative name. I had never thought of them as having whiskers but yes, they do! So sophisticated. 💚

My last bird was a cockatiel, and the beak difference with parrotlets was one of the biggest surprises. As long as eating and drinking is fine, it seems fine. Unless there is an abnormality with the beak, parrotlets very rarely need any intervention with their beaks. Honestly, even their toenails seem to be self-regulating. I've only ever have Tumi's nails trimmed once, and it was so debilitating to him that I won't ever do it again. I like having a small one of those cement perches (NOT the sand-covered perches - it is just a perch made of cement) - probably a hard wood perch would do the same, but Tumi really enjoys rubbing his beak on it, and it seems to keep his nails done.

Thank you for your replies, and sorry I haven’t got back sooner, I’m trying to shake a chest infection 🤒

I’ve ordered some new perches, including an edible perch and some coconut pieces for chewing. Next up will be a bottlebrush perch.

I’d love to see Kiwi on the scale 😂

Well River had a beak trim on the advice of his avian vet; it cost around £80 😳. I then spent almost £45 on chew toys and here we are back in the same boat! He’s just not interested in his new toys. He’s more interested in guarding a small box so I confiscated it because it didn’t seem healthy to be so obsessed with it.

Any advice for encouraging him to chew his new toys? He also has new wood perches and a pedi perch. I’ll put pictures of his new toys here. Once upon a time he was all for chewing wooden toys 🫤

New toys, especially ones larger than our parrotlets, can be scary and intimidating. Tumi doesn't like to chew on colorful items like that. Is there something that River likes like tissues or crinkly plastic that would lure her to the toys? Also, it can be helpful for YOU to play with the toys to show her what to do. But yes, I buy toys and Tumi prefers the box they came in.

Rubydoo252 said:

New toys, especially ones larger than our parrotlets, can be scary and intimidating. Tumi doesn't like to chew on colorful items like that. Is there something that River likes like tissues or crinkly plastic that would lure her to the toys? Also, it can be helpful for YOU to play with the toys to show her what to do. But yes, I buy toys and Tumi prefers the box they came in.

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He’s never had a problem with large and colourful toys before and he sits on these new ones but that’s it. I have tried playing with them but he’s very much not interested 🙄

I have wooden foot toys for him and coconut shell, but it’s all a big fat nope from River.