Beak broken??

[SbeckTraditions]

This morning I noticed one of my Barred Rocks with a twisted beak. Is it broken? Will she be able to eat and drink sufficiently? She did look like she was eating but could tell if it was enough.

 

[BuffOrps32]

Looks like Scissor Beak, wait for an experienced member I don't know a lot about this.

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

Things you can do.

-Filing the ends of the beak down with an emery board can help it to close more properly.

- Filing the beak every few weeks with a Dremel is sometimes suggested, but that can often terrify a young chick. A better option might be a pair of dog nail clippers. Regardless, any time you attempt to trim a chick or chicken's beak, be sure to have cornstarch handy, as the beak can easily bleed if you cut into the quick.

- Feeding crumbled feed and moistening the feed with warm water, raw egg or some yogurt to make it easier for the chick to scoop the feed instead of pecking at it.

- Feeding some foods that are high in protein such as scrambled eggs, mealworms and sunflower seeds can help the beak grow normally.

- Raising the feeder to the level of the chick's back to make the distance it has to get the feed from the feeder to its mouth shorter.

- Since a chicken's beak is constantly growing, chickens normally will swipe their beaks from side to side on the ground to keep them trimmed. Chickens with scissor beak will have a hard time doing that, so putting some pavers or rocks in the run can help her to sharpen her beak.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

It does look broken to me. OUCH!!
Possibly filing the corner of where it’s broken will help pull it into alignment better. This area...

Maybe super glue it once you get it aligned.

@staceyj @casportpony @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[staceyj]

I was just looking at these pics a few minutes ago.

Yes it’s out of alignment.
No is not scissor beak.
Yes it’s an injury.

Here are the questions I’m mulling over:
how loose is it?
Can she close it? I don’t think so.
How much would it hurt to attempt a realignment?
Would it make the whole beak crack off?

Then I answer myself by saying
Well, we can’t just leave it like that because if it does heal, it’ll be wrong forever.

So I’m going to say you’re going to have to wrap her up in a towel with the help of another pair of hands and do some closer inspection.
Maybe if you pinch her wattles up close to her chin you can sort of maneuver the bottom jaw free of it?

I wish it weren’t so darn close to her nostril. A patch made of coffee filter and crazy glue would work great otherwise.
Maybe try to fashion a splint from a piece of the sticky part of a bandaid or a sterile strip.

This is all I’m coming up with so far. But I’m still thinking.

Most importantly , separate her for a while today and put her somewhere that had a soft bottom ( like towels or fabric) and provide wet feed so she doesn’t peck and make it worse.

 

[sourland]

I agree that the beak appears to be broken at the base on the right side. At this point in the game I would not file or clip it. If she loses the entire upper beak she will be unable to eat. I like @staceyj's suggestion about crazy gluing the beak. With someone's help (a bird holder) gently try to realign the beak, and crazy glue it in place. Such injuries that far back frequently result in the loss of the beak. Good luck with this.

 

[Mimi13]

It is broken and will grow out, but you will need to stabilize her beak until then. I have had this happen many times.

Get your materials out: tweezers, gel super glue, tea bag, scissors, towel. Wrap her in a towel to secure her. Straighten her beak, then using the material from a tea bag, cut into a tiny strip, out a dab of gel super glue on it and place across the beak break. Be careful not to place over the nare, or nostril, and not to use too much glue. The smell is quite strong and can harm her. Smooth the strip down so all edges adhere to the beak. If there is any that hangs over you can trim it with scissors.

Keep a check on it for a week to 10 days. You will need to feed her mash (wet feed) because any kind of pressure (resistance) she feels while pecking for feed will hurt her and may cause her to stop eating.

Good luck. It is not that difficult a procedure to do.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It is broken and will grow out, but you will need to stabilize her beak until then. I have had this happen many times.

Get your materials out: tweezers, gel super glue, tea bag, scissors, towel. Wrap her in a towel to secure her. Straighten her beak, then using the material from a tea bag, cut into a tiny strip, out a dab of gel super glue on it and place across the beak break. Be careful not to place over the nare, or nostril, and not to use too much glue. The smell is quite strong and can harm her. Smooth the strip down so all edges adhere to the beak. If there is any that hangs over you can trim it with scissors.

Keep a check on it for a week to 10 days. You will need to feed her mash (wet feed) because any kind of pressure (resistance) she feels while pecking for feed will hurt her and may cause her to stop eating.

Good luck. It is not that difficult a procedure to do.

Good instructions @Mimi’s 13 !
https://the-chicken-chick.com/repairing-chickens-broken-beak/

Hopefully the OP will be able to fix it. I do recommend having an assistant to help hold, wrap her in a towel too to have better control.

Look around the run and coop to see where she may have injured her beak. The ones I have had injure a beak usually stuck in it wire (hardware cloth) or on the metal feeder which I no longer use.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry I am late and just saw this. You have received good advice from the others. I would say too that if you have an avian vet nearby, and can afford the large bill, they probably would have experience fixing this. Of course I would not do this unless they have experience. Here are some articles to read:
https://www.petmd.com/bird/conditions/traumatic/broken-and-injured-beak-birds

https://www.beautyofbirds.com/brokenbeaks.html

 

[Mimi13]

Look around the run and coop to see where she may have injured her beak. The ones I have had injure a beak usually stuck in it wire (hardware cloth) or on the metal feeder which I no longer use.

Yes, I agree. Every time it has happened to one of my birds, the break is the result of my birds trying to peck at a bug or something in the HC, a danger we can’t live without.