Scabs on beak?

I am a long-time reader of BYC but a first-time writer! Despite circumstances for writing the post, I am excited to officially join the community!

I recently adopted 2 four-month-old pullets (Ameraucana and Rhode Island Red) from a coworker's backyard flock. The first week I separated them from my 3 Ameraucanas, who are almost two years old. The new birds seemed healthy and had no visible problems. Everyone could see each other through some chicken wire and on multiple occasions I saw my older birds being quite aggressive - charging at the new girls behind the fence, squawking loudly, fluffing up their feathers, etc. Now everyone is together and the 5 birds have free reign in my large backyard. I'm still seeing signs of aggression, three weeks after bringing the new pullets home, and two weeks after combining the flock. I know this is normal behavior when establishing a new pecking order, but I am worried about the physical damage to my two new girls' beaks.

I've noticed that both new chickens have various scabs (?) on their beaks. This is a new occurrence which I believe is the result of being pecked at by the older birds, but hoping for confirmation from someone who has seen this in their own flock. I don't think it's pox or canker, but not 100% sure this is what a beak scab looks like.

Please tell me: Is this a scab from an injury? Will the beak heal normally? Any necessary steps to take to prevent permanent beak damage? Timeframe for recovery?

I would also love any tips for soothing the tension between the older girls and newer girls. They all free range all day in a large backyard with grass, trees, etc. I have multiple waterers and feeders at different locations. I'm not sure what else I can do to help.

Can you post some pictures? That would help

First post so it's taking me a minute to figure out how to upload LOL thanks chickluvinfreak!! Beatrice (Ameraucana) has them on the top and bottom corners of her mouth, and where the beak meets the nose. Cinnamon (RIR) has a big bump under her beak and some on the top side of her mouth.

That's kind of bizzare, never seen anything like that before. If only your pullets have it then I'm guessing it must be an injury. Maybe try some no pick lotion on the scabs to deter the older hens. Sorry, I can't be much help

Thanks chickluvinfreak. I hope someone else can give me some reassurance that this isn't a big deal. You know how us crazy chicken people worry about our birds!

mf1sh said:

Thanks chickluvinfreak. I hope someone else can give me some reassurance that this isn't a big deal. You know how us crazy chicken people worry about our birds!

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Your welcome, and I'm sure someone will be able to help answer your questions soon

Two weeks is still when I've found my chickens to be establishing the pecking order. There are some occasions where it will get a little violent, but scabs on the beak from the pecking order are just minor. You might be able to rub some oil on the scabs to help moisten them and like chickluvinfreak said, try some no-peck lotion. How violent do the pecking order battles get? Is it fighting for blood, until one bows down, or is it attacking until the very end? If it does start to happen too frequently or too violently, then I would definitely suggest either separating the troublemaker temporarily or breaking up the fights if you notice them.

If scabs on their beak is all they have, it should be alright. Yes, us chicken mamas do worry about our "babies", but a chicken is actually a very tough animal.

Cluckcluckgirl, Did you see my photos of the girls' beaks? Do they look like scabs to you?

Thankfully there hasn't been a ton of violence between old girls and new. The new pullets can't put up much of a fight and seem to just try to defend themselves. I am mostly worried about the damage I'm seeing to their beaks, and want to confirm that what I see is scabs and not something more serious.

Thanks for your advice!

That is weird, I have not seen anything like that before. I am following because I am curious if someone will come along and enlighten us!! That does not seem like a place where a true scab could really form. It almost reminds me of a wart. Sorry I have no advice, but I would like to know what this is for future reference!

The formation on the bottom of Cinnamon's beak looks very abnormal. Has it been there since you got her? Beatrice's beak looks slightly odd too. While I don't know what either of these could be from now that I was able to get a better look at them, perhaps you might try rubbing some coconut oil on these spots and see if that helps at all. If that doesn't seem to help, my next best (blind) guess would be to maybe apply some essential oils there.