Beak issue

[davidhw]

Astrid, one of my Brahmas (and my daughter’s beloved pet) has an issue with her upper mandible. It’s grown with a split down from her nostril. There seems to be a bit of debris in there which I assume needs carefully clearing out.

Astrid is a young hen - we got her as a puller in March this year. Going through photos this seems to have progressed over the past few months. I’m kicking myself for not spotting it sooner.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any recommendations about how best to help?

Thanks!

 

[coach723]

I've never seen one quite like that before, may be something congenital. My concern would be that as it wears and grows the split will make the beak weaker and more prone to breakage and problems. I'm going to tag a couple more people to see if they've seen one like this before.
@Eggcessive , @Wyorp Rock

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I've never seen one quite like that before, may be something congenital. My concern would be that as it wears and grows the split will make the beak weaker and more prone to breakage and problems. I'm going to tag a couple more people to see if they've seen one like this before.
@Eggcessive , @Wyorp Rock

I have not seen anything like that either.

 

[Eggcessive]

I have not seen any beak deformities before in my flock, and I haven’t seen one like that even in reading threads. What does the inside of the beak look like? Is there any bad odor or white/grey material inside?

 

[davidhw]

There is no smell in her beak, though there is definitely some debris in her her beak - I'll have a look in more detail in the morning. She's otherwise seemingly healthy and a much loved, active friendly chicken. Like coach723 my concern is that it's going to become vulnerable as the last 'joined up' bit of her mandible wears out.

 

[coach723]

I think for now I would just watch and wait. Rather than trying to do something and cause another problem. Usually with any kind of crack or break that needs to be stabilized, the recommendation would be to use a gel superglue (gel doesn't run like liquid) and a bit of teabag to stabilize. I would be reluctant to do that here at this point since I couldn't be sure I wasn't going to interfere with her nares. I've no real idea if that's a deformity or could have been caused by an injury early on, but it doesn't at this point look like it will grow back together. Makes me wonder how the quick is inside also, if it has split and has an upper and lower as well. It also could be two grooves on the outside edges but the center may still be attached and whole. I would just watch it, see what happens, and not try to intervene unless something happens to make it necessary. Just my thoughts.

 

[davidhw]

Thanks coach723 - that sounds sensible, and I'll go with that approach. In the meantime I'll make sure I have some gel superglue in my first aid kit.

In terms of injury that I'm aware of - the tiniest tip from her upper mandible broke off shortly after we got her (2mm at most), but it was so minor I disregarded it.

Should I be looking to clean the debris from her beak or is that more likely to aggravate her nares (and get dirty again after 5 mins. when she scratches around...)?

 

[coach723]

I personally would leave it unless it appears to be a problem. Wouldn't stress her out, and so far it seems to be OK, nares look clear. I'd just keep an eye on her, make sure all is well, and intervene if it becomes a problem. If things change in the future, try to update this thread with pictures. Will be interesting to see how she gets on and how it does with time.

 

[davidhw]

I personally would leave it unless it appears to be a problem. Wouldn't stress her out, and so far it seems to be OK, nares look clear. I'd just keep an eye on her, make sure all is well, and intervene if it becomes a problem. If things change in the future, try to update this thread with pictures. Will be interesting to see how she gets on and how it does with time.

Will do - thank you for all your help!

 

[davidhw]

Quick update: I’m just back from our vets who gave Astrid a thorough exam. A promising outcome:

- they hadn’t seen anything like this either (they work on most of the farms in our area and have links with Scottish vet schools)
- she’s otherwise a very healthy, handsome chicken. Her palette etc. is all fine.
- their diagnosis was that she doesn’t have the tissue in her upper mandible below her nostrils that would normally join a hens beak together, hence the way it has grown. As a fix, they suggested giving her a ‘nose job’ every 6 months or so with glue / tea bags to hold her mandible together, and keeping an eye on her nostrils to make sure they are clean. I might need a bit of guidance on technique at first - but I’m otherwise fine to take this on.

I’ll update the thread with pictures.