Raccoon Attack - Injured Beak

[Naino]

Hello! My buddies chickens were attacked by a raccoon Saturday evening. His Polish lost a wing and has some damage to her beak. The nub where the wing was appears to be healing. The lower part of her beak is cracked on one side and the top is broken off. I have attached a few pictures and can take more if needed.

He has been giving her fluids through a syringe. Her crop feels empty, I would assume her last meal was Saturday.

He’s leaving the country and lucky me I get get to nurse this little gal back to health….hopefully!

Does anyone have any advice for feeding and watering the chicken? Also any advice on treatment for her beak would be appreciated. I assume her beak will grow back?

I don’t feel confident tube feeding.

Anything else anyone can add would be appreciated! Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor thing.

Are you planning on trimming the feathers away from her eyes so she can see?

The beak will not grow back.
The bottom portion may mend on it's own, hard to know. Some may suggest trying to mend the lower beak with a tea bag and super glue, but since it's so damaged, I'd be afraid the mend would just seal in bacteria and risking infection.

The wing loss, can you see any bone?
Are you giving antibiotics to help with infection?

If vet care is an option, that would be a good idea.



Tube or crop feed is likely going to be your quickest and easiest way to get nutrition into her.
Good video of how to tube feed
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/need-to-tube-severely-molting-hen.1437023/post-23839502
How to crop feed
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/



Threads where chickens have lost their beaks
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/plese-help-chickens-beak-got-bit-off.848424/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-has-no-beak.73534/

 

[Naino]

Thank you for the direction.

I did trim her face.

I did the torpedo method of feeding this morning and she seems to be in much better spirits. .

As for the vet he does not want to take her in. Her wound seems to be healing fine. I’ll keep an eye on her and if she starts going south I may take her in and foot the bill.

Thanks again!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you for the direction.

I did trim her face.

I did the torpedo method of feeding this morning and she seems to be in much better spirits. .

As for the vet he does not want to take her in. Her wound seems to be healing fine. I’ll keep an eye on her and if she starts going south I may take her in and foot the bill.

Thanks again!

I had a reply all typed last night and was hitting post reply when my internet went down!

So! I'll try to remember what I said.

Good idea torpedo feeding her! You may still need to syringe fluids into her to make sure she's getting enough liquids. Let's be hopeful she can adapt and be able to learn to eventually eat and drink on her own. Chickens can surprise you!

I'm glad the wounds are healing and you don't see any signs of infection. Keep up with what you are doing. I hear you on the vet, they can be expensive! Sometimes even an antibiotic is not necessary when dealing with injuries and wounds. If you feel you may need abx, then if you are in the US, you can order them without prescription. Amoxicillin is a good choice for wounds. Dose is 57mg per pound of weight given orally 2X a day for 7-10 days. You can order Here.

Keep me posted on how she's doing.

 

[Naino]

I had a reply all typed last night and was hitting post reply when my internet went down!

So! I'll try to remember what I said.

Good idea torpedo feeding her! You may still need to syringe fluids into her to make sure she's getting enough liquids. Let's be hopeful she can adapt and be able to learn to eventually eat and drink on her own. Chickens can surprise you!

I'm glad the wounds are healing and you don't see any signs of infection. Keep up with what you are doing. I hear you on the vet, they can be expensive! Sometimes even an antibiotic is not necessary when dealing with injuries and wounds. If you feel you may need abx, then if you are in the US, you can order them without prescription. Amoxicillin is a good choice for wounds. Dose is 57mg per pound of weight given orally 2X a day for 7-10 days. You can order Here.

Keep me posted on how she's doing.

Thanks for the advice and information.

Today while I was feeding her she tried to eat the torpedos out of my hand but was short with her bite due to not having a beak…poor girl. She did try to drink out of a bowl of water but that was prior to the beak clipping. Maybe she’ll have better luck tomorrow.

She was more active today than she was yesterday and I feel like her attitude is improving.

I have been using a syringe to get her water. I left some mushed up food out too but she wasn’t very interested in it.

Are there any signs I should be looking out for regarding infection? Should I put her on an antibiotic as a prentice strike?

One other thing I noticed today is that I think her nasal passage be blocked. Does anyone have any suggestions on clearing it? I’m not sure if blood from the attack is clogging it or if it’s an injury. Her breathing does not appear to be labored it just sounds like she’s stuffed up.

Again, thanks for the help!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the advice and information.

Today while I was feeding her she tried to eat the torpedos out of my hand but was short with her bite due to not having a beak…poor girl. She did try to drink out of a bowl of water but that was prior to the beak clipping. Maybe she’ll have better luck tomorrow.

She was more active today than she was yesterday and I feel like her attitude is improving.

I have been using a syringe to get her water. I left some mushed up food out too but she wasn’t very interested in it.

Are there any signs I should be looking out for regarding infection? Should I put her on an antibiotic as a prentice strike?

One other thing I noticed today is that I think her nasal passage be blocked. Does anyone have any suggestions on clearing it? I’m not sure if blood from the attack is clogging it or if it’s an injury. Her breathing does not appear to be labored it just sounds like she’s stuffed up.

Again, thanks for the help!

Signs of infection at the wound sight would be inflamed hot tissue, bad odor, pus/oozing pus and/or lethargy.

Sounds like she's fairly perky and in good spirits. I wouldn't necessarily start on her antibiotics unless she's showing signs of infection or if she's not improving.

Chicken have very fine bones about the head and face. It would be hard to know if there's fractures/crushed bones there or not without an Xray.
Could be some dried blood or tissue causing the stuffiness. I'm not sure if you should try to clean out that upper beak area or not to be honest. If you decide it's necessary, then I would use a warm compress with saline to clean the area and see if any material/dried blood comes off.