Baby's mate Lucky!

Another wonderful member of Baby's flock would be her mate, Lucky. Lucky was purchased in Central Florida roughly one year ago. He was sold to me by a breeder who said he had only had Lucky for a year and that the bird was only about two years old. LIE LIE LIE. Lucky has an aluminum I.D. leg band on his leg that identifies who he is and what parent's he comes from as well as his HATCH DATE.



The person who sold Lucky to me didn't know that I was as into the bird world as one generally can get, so he blurted out the name of the breeder to me. Lucky's breeder is a wonderful guy by the name of Richard Cusick. This guy is the top of the top when it comes to breeding rare color mutations in many species of parrots.



I knew that I was going to buy Lucky regardless of his age and background just by looking at his wonderful demeanor. Lucky was found to be 6 years old and happens to be one of the first Turquoise Green Cheek Conures produced in The United States!!! Like I said a remarkable little bird.



Lucky was born with a condition called scissor beak. His upper beak crosses side ways over the lower beak creating a scissor effect. He always needs to have his beak trimmed down because unlike a normal parrot who would rub the lower beak against the inside of the upper to keep it trim, Lucky can't. If you can get past his awkward beak you will be able to see one of the most beautiful birds.






The bird to the left is Lucky. This photo was taken with a cell phone the third day after I had brought him back from Florida. You can see how his beak is over grown. He looks like a rhinoceros. It is very important that his beak stay trimmed or else he can impale himself with his own beak. In the future I am going to take him to a really good veterinarian whom I found in Gaithersburg, MD. She believes it is possible to remove his upper beak and replace it with a prosthetic which would allow for the new beak to grow in at the correct angle. This way Lucky would have the full use of his beak and be able to climb like a normal bird would.


P.S. If you have a bird who has scissor beak please research the veterinarian whom you intend on taking the bird to for treatment. A lot of vets say they take care of birds when in reality they learned how to take care of birds but they are not certified! A bird can drop dead on you with just the smallest amount of medication or stress. Do not allow your birds to succumb to an early death or life long injury due to an inexperienced veterinarian out to grab a quick buck. DO YOUR RESEARCH!