Broken beak...will not eat or drink. Please help!

Wilderre

Chirping
Sep 8, 2023
55
47
68
1 yr old barred rock with beak broken one side. 1st photo is right after the injury at 9 last night. 2nd is first thing this morning. Suggestions? Thoughts? How to best help her? Currently she wants to eat but stops herself...not even crushed mealworms.
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Beak injuries are very painful at first, but I would try to make sure that she is drinking fluids. You could hold water with vitamins or electrolytes up to her beak often, or try to give some with a dropper or syringe to the opposite side. Mushy wet chicken feed in a small dish or cup might be easier to take. Tube feeding is also a possibility, but that could stress her out more. Here are a couple of links to read about beak injuries:
https://poultrydvm.com/condition/beak-injuries#:~:text=Beak injuries are common in,beak injuries are very painful.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/repairing-chickens-broken-beak/
 
She drank about 5ml water from the side with a dropper, ate 4 mashed strawberries and 1/4 c of wet crumbles :)
 
The vet came yesterday and used super glue on her beak and showed me how and also brought her some pain medecine. He is hoping that she can eat dry crumbles later today so that she will be able to return the flock tomorrow. She still prefers wet food and mashed fruit but now takes the berries in halves. I hope she can be back with the flock that soon; we all know about the pecking order. But also don't want her to reinjure or lose her beak
 
That sounds great. So glad that the vet helped you. The other chickens would probably enjoy the wet feed as well. I have always offered some, especially to get rid of the powdery bits that remain in the feeder sometimes. She should be okay getting back to the flock after just a few days. I would supervise the reintegration.
 
Today, I tried to get her back with the flock, but it did not go well. I gave them all a big treat buffet and let her enter to share it. All was good until treats were over. 1 other hen confronted her with the whole puffed chest and feathers and they grabbed each other. I separated them immediately but the top layer of her beak was already separated and then fell off. She's back inside to see when she can eat dry feed again and then try to reintegrate. I am all ears for ideas because I had not had this issue with others who we were separated for this length of time
 

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