Bizarre pheasant beak?

[KayTee]

Hi everyone.
Dedicated chicken keeper here - currently with a flock of around 20 free-ranging birds, but a bizarre wild game bird problem.

A couple of days ago I noticed an extra bird in the garden and around the areas where my girls eat. Upon closer inspection I believe it to be a juvenile pheasant, but there is something very bizarre going on with its beak.
Obviously as it is a wild bird I can't get very close to see, but today I managed to get a couple of photos before it ran off. The beak appears greenish in colour, soft, rubbery, and swinging as the bird moves.

I can't decide if it is a diseased beak, or if the bird has managed to get something stuck around its own beak. Either way, it seems to be something that will stop the bird eating if not dealt with. I know nothing about game birds and their possible diseases, so I really want to know if this is something contagious that could be transferred to my chickens, or if you think this is a foreign body stuck on the beak?

Sorry for the picture quality, but it's hard to get up close !

 

[007Sean]

That hen has been in a confined space, most likely on wire....definitely not a wild bird....nothing to rub it's beak against to keep it from getting over grown. The greenish color, I have no clue as to why it's green?

Even in birds that don't show this condition, it's fairly easy to tell by the shape of the beak if it is a wild bird or a confined bird.

 

[KayTee]

Update - you are 100% right 007sean - it’s a bird that has been raised in captivity. I got a lot closer this morning and saw her eating - it’s a plastic beak protector that pushes up out of the way as she eats. Online research found that they’re used to stop feather pecking and cannibalism. I’ve seen chicken peepers before but never a full beak guard!
At least I’m reassured that it’s not a disease to pass to my birds and that she’s able to feed properly. Now I can just enjoy having her in my garden for as long as she’s around.

 

[007Sean]

Update - you are 100% right 007sean - it’s a bird that has been raised in captivity. I got a lot closer this morning and saw her eating - it’s a plastic beak protector that pushes up out of the way as she eats. Online research found that they’re used to stop feather pecking and cannibalism. I’ve seen chicken peepers before but never a full beak guard!
At least I’m reassured that it’s not a disease to pass to my birds and that she’s able to feed properly. Now I can just enjoy having her in my garden for as long as she’s around.
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I haven't seen one like that!!!! I don't use blinders, peepers, on my birds, so.....but I have seen their beaks grow like that because they don't have anything to rub their beak on to keep it worn down.
Thanks for doing the research, I couldn't even imagine why the beak was green!

 

[ColtHandorf]

You could definitely tell in the last picture that there was something foreign on the beak. It's an interesting design. I'd be sorely tempted to find where she roosts at night and catch her and take it off. You might see if anyone in the area is missing one.

 

[LRH Farms]

As for type and age: Its a female Pheasant (Chinese ringneck) and id guess the ag at about 12-14 weeks