What can I put on injured bill?

GoudaBirds said:

Never been a part of this forum before, I just successfully hatched my first batch of 2 eggs about 2 months ago and am now raising some wonderfully spoiled Embdens...so hi!

Anyway I got home this afternoon to find one of them had managed to find a stray soda can in the barn and get the bottom half of his bill lodged in the opening on the top. He'd obviously been trying to get it off for a while because he had some blood on his feathers from the sharp edges of the hole cutting into his bill. I pulled it off as gently as I could and examined it, and it's not lacerated very deep and it's not bleeding on it's own, but it's obviously quite sore and he's been pretty quiet so far and not wanting to run around too much not that I blame him. I am concerned with it getting dirty and infected....or is that something I should not worry too much about? Is it ok to dip his bill in a mild salt water solution (my cure-all for everything)? is there anything else I should do to speed healing?

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Miss Lydia said:

Mild salt water would be okay as long as he didn't drink any, when my geese hurt their bills I use Apple Cider Vinegar in their drinking water, they like the taste and it has antibacterial proprieties it's also a great tonic for our flocks and ourselves. 1-2 Tablespoon to 1 gallon of water.you could try putting something like triple antibiotic and neosporin but you'd have to do that of an evening when you put them to bed so he didn't wash it off in the water.

Welcome to BYC!

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livininbrazil said:

About 10 days ago, one of my yearlings came up to greet me with her bill all bleeding and scratched, scraped, etc. I´ve no idea how she did it, but I popped her in another run with some ACV in a plastic pot of water. Can hardly see the marks now, all healed beautifully.

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