5 yr. Hen injured, now has dislocated beak

[slukeplass22]

I can try tomorrow and I’ll let you know. I haven’t noticed anything crusty so far though, just that sometimes food gets stuck in her lower beak, in the front.

 

[slukeplass22]

UPDATE: She’s doing okay right now. I mixed a small amount of turmeric in her egg tonight to help with any pain she’s in. She also ate some watermelon that I mashed up (I took half of one, scooped out the very middle, mashed it, then poured it back in). Her crop was the least full of the hens’ before the eggs, but you could still see it so I know she’s eating at least most of what she needs.

 

[AmyJane725]

I'd imagine time is about all that you can do, other than making sure she stays hydrated and is eating in the meantime.

You could try giving her a little tiny jaw massage on the spots where the lower jaw connects to the skull.

If you have a vet that could give you some Meloxicam that could help with pain and any inflammation.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would just make sure that she has access to soft or mushy food. Add water to many things, even chopped eggs to get more into her until you see her drinking normally. The pain may be a problem, but hopefully, she will get better. Aspirin 81 mg twice a day could help with pain, or you can put 325 mg in 8 ounces of water daily. I don’t think I would massage or try to maneuver her jaw and put vet wrap on it. I would see how she gets along with the injury if you are unable to find an avian vet, and then go from there. She may survive, or you may need to put her down if she cannot eat or starts to lose a lot of weight.

 

[slukeplass22]

I’ve been filling up a few gallon sized bags with layer mash and distributing them on plates in their yard. She eats the mash. She also loves peanut butter so I put some peanut butter apples in their run. I’ll try to put water in things and see how she does without any repositioning of the jaw.

 

[slukeplass22]

Can you get a photo of her from the side?
Have you noticed if she has anything inside the beak like a crusty buildup?

Here are images. One from each side. I’ll check her again this evening. Nothing crusty looking except for the dried feed stuff on the outside. There’s some wet food inside her mouth.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can get a weight on her by holding her on some scales and substracting your own weight, or by using an inexpensive kitchen scales, you can monitor her for any weight loss. She looks pretty good in the pics, so I hope she gets better with your good care. You might need to check her beak occasionally to wipe any stuck food away with a QTip if it sticks there.

 

[slukeplass22]

UPDATE: She’s doing good right now. I think her beak is starting to re-align and she’s drinking like her non-injured friends do (beak motions are the same). She prefers to drink from an empty watermelon rhind, but that’s probably because her head is wide. I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing to ensure a strong recovery and update if anything important takes place.

 

[slukeplass22]

UPDATE: She’s basically acting normal at this point and is drinking out of the waterer. Her beak’s grip is almost normal now (I feed the egg mash from my hand, otherwise she ignores it. She grabs my skin a lot.) so I think she’s gonna be just fine.

Thanks for all the help and have a nice day.

God bless.