parakeets beak

Question
We are worried about our parakeet.  It looks like the tip of her beak may be cracked and it looks like there is blood in her mouth.  She is moving her mouth and it is making a crackling noise.

Answer
Hi, Colleen,

Did the bird fall or run into a wall or something...how did the beak crack?  It would be helpful to know this.  Otherwise, you need to have this bird seen by a certified avian vet ASAP who can assess the damage, if any.  The presence of blood doesn't sound good.  There's a vein that runs down the beak and if the crack reached this vein, this is the likely cause of the blood.  However, could be an injury inside the mouth, sinuses, etc.  This is why a vet needs to examine the bird.  The crackling noise might be related, however, when birds are content and in a sleeping/relaxing mode, they grind their beaks, so this could be the noise you are hearing.  Depends on what's going on at the time you hear this noise.

Chrys