Blind chicken, beak issues

[BlessedCountry6]

i don't know if I am posting in the right place. I have a chicken who is blind. She makes it around ok but I have to feed her separate from my flock or she doesn't get enough feed. I free range my chickens but feed them morning and night to keep them trained to see me as their feeder.
Her beak is getting more square and starting to crack. She doesn't rub her beak to sharpen it like the other chickens. I am looking for help in how to file her beak or trim it in a natural curved shape like my other chickens. Thanks for your help.

 

[BlessedCountry6]

Bump

 

[rides2far]

If you go to the search engine for BYC, type in trimming a beak, you'll get quite a few threads you can read to help with beak trimming. Good luck with your girl.

 

[BlessedCountry6]

Thanks I'll look it up.

 

[lala4578]

I too have a blind chicken, and I noticed both her upper beak and her toe nails quickly got too long. She occasionally makes this funny cracking sound with her beak that is like the equivalent of us grinding our teeth! I found a pair of small dog toenail clippers on Amazon that I use on her nails and beak. I have not filed her beak yet though, not sure if she would like that very much, but clipping it is super fast.

 

[BlessedCountry6]

I too have a blind chicken, and I noticed both her upper beak and her toe nails quickly got too long. She occasionally makes this funny cracking sound with her beak that is like the equivalent of us grinding our teeth!  I found a pair of small dog toenail clippers on Amazon that I use on her nails and beak. I have not filed her beak yet though, not sure if she would like that very much, but clipping it is super fast.

Thanks for replying. My girl scratches a lot so her nails seem to be ok. I took nail clippers to her beak finally. Just to trim off the rest after the crack. I found a small nail file I will be trying to trim a little off to get rid of the crack. She is eating easier w it trimmed. It was hard to get her still for the trimming idk how I will get her still for the filing.

How did you notice your chicken was blind? Mine was not thriving. Since feeding her separate she is stronger and her feathers r shiny plus her comb has turned a red color from a pale pink. She follows us like a little dog and does better away from our flock.

 

[lala4578]

Thanks for replying. My girl scratches a lot so her nails seem to be ok. I took nail clippers to her beak finally. Just to trim off the rest after the crack. I found a small nail file I will be trying to trim a little off to get rid of the crack. She is eating easier w it trimmed. It was hard to get her still for the trimming idk how I will get her still for the filing.

How did you notice your chicken was blind? Mine was not thriving. Since feeding her separate she is stronger and her feathers r shiny plus her comb has turned a red color from a pale pink. She follows us like a little dog and does better away from our flock.

Sounds like she is doing well! How cute that she follows you around! I don't think I will ever be able to incorporate my girl back into the flock, there are a few ladies I just don't trust with her. Of course they are angels when they know I am watching LOL. Mine was attacked by a raccoon, I posted about it at the link below. I have not found a lot of resources about keeping a blind hen so I want to share my experiences as I go for anyone else that may need help.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1024494/keeping-a-blind-chicken