Chips and breaks to the beak are a common injury in birds. In the wild, a damaged beak can mean that a bird will be unable to eat or hunt, but at the National Aviary, a quick response from the medical team means that in short order the injured bird is not only eating comfortably, but also looking good in front of his friends.

Beak repairs are made using a specialized process that incorporates the same dental acrylics used for human teeth. At the National Aviary, our veterinary hospital staff go a step further by mixing pigments with the acrylic to match the color of the beak so that the repaired area is not obvious. If the damage is too severe to be corrected with acrylic, then bridges or even prosthetic beaks are made.