Broken/open beak?

[ASW]

Yesterday we noticed that one of our young hens had her beak messed up. It looked like a thin layer maybe peeled of the top and was still partially attached. I think there may have been some dried blood on it. When I went to get a picture later, the hanging was gone, but I noticed that her beak doesn’t close. I can’t figure out a visible reason for it. She is from a clutch that we hatched about 3 months ago, but I also had a baby recently so I haven’t been spending as much time with the chickens. It doesn’t look as it was caused by a recent injury but I think I would have noticed it earlier. Any ideas or suggestions on whether it is something I need to address?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. The beak does look broken. I do not have personal experience with broken beaks but I can post a couple of links, and hopefully others will offer help. Has she lost weight in her breast area since this happened? I would feed her wet chicken feed in a tall sided bowl to make sure that she is able to eat. Some use superglue to fix broken beaks. Read post 9 here in this thread for more info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/upper-beak-broken-off.1199245/

 

[ASW]

Welcome to BYC. The beak does look broken. I do not have personal experience with broken beaks but I can post a couple of links, and hopefully others will offer help. Has she lost weight in her breast area since this happened? I would feed her wet chicken feed in a tall sided bowl to make sure that she is able to eat. Some use superglue to fix broken beaks. Read post 9 here in this thread for more info:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/upper-beak-broken-off.1199245/

Thank you

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

Looks like the entire hard layer is missing. Try and clean the beak with a lukewarm moist rag. Once the beak is cleaned apply some blue kote to a rag and gently pat the blue kote onto the exposed beak.

 

[Eggcessive]

Blukote stings doesn’t it because of the alcohol? Would Vetericyn, Betadine, or Hibiclens and water be less stinging? Vetericyn from feed stores can be pricey, but is okay to use near the eyes. Some of the others might not be good to accidentally eat if her beak gets into the food. Here are a couple of links to read, possibly ones from earlier post:
https://the-chicken-chick.com/repairing-chickens-broken-beak/

https://www.tillysnest.com/2011/12/how-to-fix-broken-beak-html/

 

[glassdragonfly]

So sorry for your hen. off subject but, Congratulations on your new baby!!

 

[dawg53]

I've dealt with cracked beaks. Carefully and gently use a Q-tip to dab betadine on the beak, then apply a light coating of neosporin if possible. Eventually a new beak will grow but it takes time, depending on the severity of the injury.
Your bird will not be able to eat normally, ie, pick up feed with her beak, therefore she could starve and dehydrate.

This will be long term treatment and care. She will need to be put in a cage, provide a perch for her so she can sleep at night. Keep the cage as clean as possible.
You'll need a deep bowl for her to be able to eat/drink at all times. The reason you need a deep bowl is that you dont want her to peck on or at a hard or solid object or surface which will cause further injury and pain.

Put feed in the bowl and add water. You want a watery consistency at all times. This will be her only source of water to drink. Check the consistency several times a day because the feed absorbs alot of water and dries out. You'll have to add water to keep it a watery gruel continuously. Change out the mixture daily, it must be kept fresh in order for her to eat.
Initially, to encourage her to eat the gruel, you can add several bits of dried mealworms on top of the gruel to get her used to eating from the bowl.

Only you can determine if there's improvement. I'll give you an example: After 2 weeks put several grains of cracked corn on the bottom of the cage. Closely watch and see if she can pick them up and swallow them. If not, keep her caged for another week.
Then repeat with the cracked corn test the following week. If she picks the cracked corn up and then drops them, she's not healed and needs to be kept caged until the beak has either healed or the new beak is in place and is able to pick up feed and eat normally. Only then you'll be able to release her.

In your case, I'd wait 3 weeks before giving her the 'cracked corn' test. It looks like her injury is severe. Good luck. Be attentive and have patience.
One last thing, never use super glue for beak injuries. Unseen nerve endings are involved not to mention the possibility of the non shedding of the old beak due to the glue.

 

[Eggcessive]

Very good detail about how to handle the issue from @dawg53 . It is always good to hear from people who have actually dealt with the problem. Many of the links posted that recommend superglue, recommend the gel which is less likely to run, and some can be toxic. The are used sometimes though with a patch such as a piece of teabag. Here is another link that cautions about the glues used:
https://www.beautyofbirds.com/brokenbeaks.html

 

[Eggcessive]

I was just looking around for a medical grade superglue and found this one on Amazon called Vet Bond for use in veterinary applications. Dermabond is another that is said to be stronger. Many types of Superglue such as Krazy Glue say they are non-toxic, but can cause problems if eaten. It might be necessary to use a safer product, but these types of glue have been used since the Viet Nam war to close wounds in the battlefield. Here is some reading about the different kinds:
https://insidefirstaid.com/bleeding/how-to-use-cyanoacrylate-surgical-skin-glues

 

[ASW]

Thank you, everybody, for all the advice and suggestions. The injured hen seems to be doing ok. She is with the main flock as I have no room to separate her and it didn’t seem necessary as she was doing well other than being hungry. It appears that she figured out how to peck for food, and we also provide softened with water food for her at least couple times a day. Kids love to hand feed her because she is not pecking hard Now dealing with a hurt chick never a dull moment around here