Broken beak and bloody combs

[crazychick26201]

I am a new chicken keeper. I came home tonight to find one of my hens has a break I. Her beak high up, the end of her beak is broken, and part of her comb is torn off. I have been gone fora few days and left my chickens with a caretaker so I have no idea what happened. They are in a coop/run which is covered in hardware cloth which has been buried 12 inches deep too. How do I treat this injury, and did another hen do this to her? Or should I be on the lookout for another varmint?

 

[Granny Hatchet]

sounds like another chicken, sure there all hens? antibiotic on the comb. not to much i know about beak except they will grow back, u can file them, have to make sure she can eat and watch them. if they are fighting they will do it again

 

[Granny Hatchet]

did u look all around ur hardware cloth to make sure she didnt mabey get stuck in it some where? that stuff is sharp and hard enough to cause an injury like that if she was stuck and struggling to free herself

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are 2 links that may help you:
http://www.tillysnest.com/2011/12/how-to-fix-broken-beak.
htmlhttp://voices.yahoo.com/how-treat-broken-cracked-bird-beaks-6006908.html?cat=53

 

[crazychick26201]

Thanks everybody. I cleaned her and put neosporin on the co mb. She is isolated in the basement in a dog cage for tonight. I do wonder if she got ipher beak caught in the hardware cloth. I have a hanging basket right outside the coop and sometimes they walk over on the roost and peck at it. They haven't been outside to get fresh greens all week because I have been gone, so maybe she tried to get the plant. This do esn't explain the bloody comb though. I did notice one of the other hens going after her in the yard tonight and wonder if they are bullying her. How do I stop them pecking at her is this is what it is? They are in a coop/run designed for up to eight hens so there is plenty of room for my little flock of four. I can't keep her away from them forever.

 

[Eggcessive]

You may have to sit with them for a while and watch for the bully(s.) Put the bully in a cage (chicken jail) for a week to lower her in the pecking order. The more room they have, maybe a little higher protein (think meat scraps, tun, egg,) and the more things to do to prevent boredom the better.

 

[crazychick26201]

I have my injured one isolated right now until the wound heals. However I took her back out to be with the others and one of them went after her. They have all gotten along till now. So I don't know if they are going after because she was wounded or because of the pecking order. She is also the only one not laying. I would appreciate any advice on how to keep this chicken from being attacked by the others.