Advice on beaks

Brownshaver

In the Brooder
7 Years
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Hi there. I have a "rescued" hen whose beak was snipped carelessly during her factory days, and her lower beak juts out considerably more than the top beak. This means she has trouble picking up food in the usual way. It's okay if its layers of mash, but any seeds or other food items on a flat surface are extremely hard for her to scoop up.
My question is this: Would it make sense to file away - or cut - the lower part of the beak to match up more with the top part? Or would this procedure cause pain and anguish?
This hen has been disadvantaged in life, but has a lot of pluck, so to speak. Her neck is a bit odd, presumably because of the way she was crammed into the crate for her first 18 months, she has one half-closed eye, and her feathers have never fully grown back more than a year after I was given her. But she really tries hard to get what she needs to stay alive, and despite being bottom of the pecking order amongst our eight girls, she has a nervous energy that puts the others to shame, and often will steam a tasty food item straight out of their mouths.
Anybody got any advice? Thanks!
 
Her beak wasn't snipped carelessly she was deliberately debeaked as are most commercially maintained hens. In the life she was intended to have all she would have been fed was mash so picking up seeds would not have been an issue. Cutting back her lower beak may make it harder for her to eat not easier. I'd recommend just making sure ehe always has mash available.
 
Thanks for the advice. What I meant by "her beak was snipped carelessly" is that the other rescued (former inmates of factory egg farms) hens I own have much more evenly snipped beaks. Hers is way out of alignment compared to the others, so she's really disadvantaged, not just eating seeds, but also when trying to grab bugs or worms or break a snail shell. I do make mash available, but feel sorry that she can't participate in a varied diet like the others. She also loves greens, but can't even tear a leaf, or get stuck into some broccoli... we do chop up veg for her, however.
 
I have some birds that won't stop pecking their eggs. If I check 3 times a day sometimes I can save one or two but that's it. I"m actually thinking about snipping the top beak a little. I've already tried the golf ball thing and that doesn't work. I'm feeding them the best feed money can buy, but I feel like I'm just throwing money down the toilet at this point.
 

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