Im thinking clip too, but Im hesitating. His beak is VERY vascular! Im afraid I might cause a stress crack.

Just a thought here, Leigh.......if he likes to scoop moist food using his upper beak, how about feeding him such stuff on a rough surface? Not sure what would work, it'd have to be rough enough to abrade the beak, but also be able to be cleaned. Either that or be cheap enough for a single use. Anyone got ideas along those lines?

Good idea Nate!!!

Ooooh I didn't think about it cracking if you clipped it. YIKES! Perhaps try clipping LITTLE bits at a time?

Good idea Nate! Best just send that sweet beak to us! His eyes are just tooooooo sweet!

He definitely needs a trim, Leigh, that beak is way too long. And, if I were you, I would have him vetted because ekkies are not big on chewing so his beak should not be that overgrown. It could very well be a liver malfunction or a diet too high in protein (ekkies are so very difficult to feed correctly).

I trim the deformed beak of a lovebird with a large toe nail clip but you can't compare the size of a lovie to an ekkie and, besides, it does leave the edges quite uneven and could cause a crack or peeling so filing or dremeling is a better option.

I think vetting can be an unnecessary stress on a bird. I will have him dremeled by an experienced person after all his stress bars grow out. I have to be able to separate the two issues. If he has a problem to spite the healthy diet he is on the stressbars will hang on. So thats why Im waiting. He's almost all green right now, so it wont be long before I decide to go for the trim. It hasnt grown much more in a while so I dont think its an emergency. He has no problems eating or playing and its grown straight so I doubt he is sick. I would know. I monitor every poop, sound, meal, and cage mess. His room and cage are kept clean. I know there are things I cant see that could be wrong, but I think there would be more signs IMO.

I think that would be totally fine! It really is not THAT over grown. I've seen so much worse just skimming through people's ekkie photos on Flickr. The important thing is that you have plans to take action when you need to. You know him the best!

Good to hear he is improving. Hope you can get it trimmed soon as well.

A friend of mine rubs her bird's beak with a flat file hidden in her hand - kind of a regular aspect to their interaction. She rubs the beak all over while murmuring sweet nothings. The bird loves it. The beak looks like a polished shoe & very nice too. When she got the bird it wasn't used to beak trims although it needed it.

Let's get one thing clear, guys: healthy parrots do NOT need beak trims. Never, ever, ever. If a beak that is not deformed is overgrown, there is ALWAYS and most definitely a cause for concern. Pet stores people that do bird grooming will tell you differently but it's simply not true. This is from Clinical Avian Medicine by Greg Harrison DVM, Dipl ABVP-Avian, Dipl ECAMS: "Beak trimming is not necessary in birds unless the beak is overgrown due to underlying health problems or malocclusion". But don't take my word for it, do your own research and you'll see.

Eclectus are known for rhinotheca for the simple reason that it's very difficult to feed them correctly. They require a large amount of fiber and low protein, low fat in their diet, something difficult to provide for a companion parrot (we tend to give them way too much protein and ekkies really suffer for it) and this is usually the reason for this problem. And, no, Leigh, stress bars may or may not be present with liver malfunction (the most likely possibility for overgrown beaks) and, no, you would not see any symptoms like bad poop or different behavior or anything like that. As a matter of fact, you might not even see an off result in liver enzymes because it's a fact that liver values are only off when the bird has a liver that is only working at 35%.

Vet visits might be a bit stressing to the bird but they are absolutely necessary. Mind you, I am not for taking birds to the vet all the time but if there is any kind of symptom you bet your booty I will be on the phone asking for an appt. asap. And, Leigh, that is a very abnormally overgrown beak you have there and, if that was my bird, I would have taken him to the vet the first time I noticed it.

I know you don't live close to me, Leigh, but, if you don't like any of your local vets and you are interested, I know of a good avian vet that I could recommend. I will even make the appointment for you and go with you, if you want. I beg you, don't overlook this. That beak is not normal and there has to be a reason for it... most likely dietary.

I appreciate the offer for you to attend the vet with me Bea. We do have a few vets not too far away so I can get to one if needed. I appreciate your concern and knowledge, however I dont agree with you on the urgency. Ive seen many Ekkies with long beaks, and I dont feel his is terribly over grown, just slightly. I do plan to get it trimmed soon. If it grows again after a good dremel, I will take him to the vet. Please rest assured my birds are in good care with me and I would not neglect a problem. Occy is on a good diet but its impossible to replicate what they would get in the wild. So all I can do is my best. But thatnks again!