Abu Dhabi vets are creating a prosthetic beak for a parakeet that suffers from a condition that affects his ability to eat and drink.
The three-year-old green cheeked parakeet, which is being treated in the Khalifa City A branch of the British Veterinary Centre in Abu Dhabi, suffers from scissor beak, which means the top and the bottom of his beak do not align.
The centre has been trimming the small bird's beak regularly to ensure he is still able to eat and drink easily, but it cannot continue to do this indefinitely as he has to be sedated, which is stressful for him.
“The idea is to attach the prosthetic and leave it on for a certain amount of time until the fibres changed direction, which would be the correct way you want them to grow,” said Uzi Kamora, a registered veterinary nurse who assists a South African vet who is creating the prosthetic.
“Once that happens they can be taken off and hopefully the beak will grow back to the normal way and the bird can eat properly.”
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The bird has suffered from the condition since birth. If he lived in the wild he could die as the beak, which is made out of the same material as human nails, would continue to grow incorrectly until such time as he could no longer eat or drink.
The vet creating the prosthesis is based in South Africa but travels to the centre every few months to see special cases. He last visited earlier this week, hoping to fit the prosthesis but it did not work as the shape of his beak had changed too much.
So he took another mould of the bird’s beak and will start working on a new one when he is back in South Africa again. The prosthesis will be glued to the bottom of his beak.
“It be brought back here maybe in January with the specialist and we will attach it again,” said Mr Kamora.
“By then maybe the beak will have grown a little bit more again in the wrong direction so it will have to be trimmed and the whole process will start again until we can attach the prosthetic and leave it on.”
