A parrot in Brazil received a second chance at life after being rescued with a severely damaged beak. In fact, most of its beak was completely missing. Birds rely on their hard beaks for eating, defending themselves, and building nests, using their mouths much like humans use their hands, while their feet are engaged in walking or holding objects.
Birds also don't have much dexterity with their tiny legs, which is why they often appear to move around like peg-legged pirates, even though they do have knees (I’m not a bird expert, though!).
Fortunately, the parrot found refuge at Renascer ACN, an animal rescue center in Planura, Brazil, where a skilled doctor knew exactly how to help – by creating a prosthetic beak.
Bird beaks are made of bone, covered by a shiny keratin sheath, similar to human hair and nails. Unfortunately, since beaks are made of bone, they can't regenerate if damaged.
According to PetMD, birds missing portions of their beaks often struggle to survive, which makes this parrot's rescue even more remarkable. While many veterinarians might have recommended euthanasia, this parrot was given a chance thanks to a creative veterinarian.
When the bird was first found, its upper bill was nearly gone, and its lower beak was broken. Paulo Roberto Martins Nunziata, the founder of Renascer ACN, collaborated with veterinarian Maria Ângela Panelli Marchió, a specialist in animal orthopedics, to create a prosthetic.
Marchió reconstructed the lower beak with polymethylmethacrylate and shaped it to fit the remaining bone. For the upper beak, she crafted an entirely new prosthetic using the same material, attaching it with metal brackets to the bird's existing beak. The resin material is incredibly durable, closely resembling a real beak and expected to last for years.
Though the reconstruction was successful and nearly identical to a natural beak, returning the parrot to the wild would be unsafe.
“It now has a normal life, but it can't be released back into the wild,” Nunziata explained. “The prosthesis is durable, but there's still a risk of it falling over time since the bird uses its beak for everything.”
Incredibly, the entire procedure only took one surgery, thanks to the quick-setting nature of the resin. Now, this lucky parrot can live a full life, though as a pet rather than in the wild.