Chicken's beak won't stop bleeding after trim!!!

[maggievetsch]

Hello, new to post but have been following along on this forum for a while!

We're raising 19 chicks and one of our australorps has had an overgrown beak since 2 weeks of age and after trimming it tonight it started bleeding immediately. We applied styptic powder along with Vetericyn and placed her on her own in the brooder. I sat with her for the first 20 minutes trying to coagulate the bleeding. We're about 1 1/2 hours in and she's still bleeding. We do have liquid band aid but I'm not too keen on applying it with her still bleeding.

Biggest question is do chicks have the ability of healing on their own in time or will this require close monitoring or ensuring the bleeding has stopped. I've offered her water twice just to cool off from the stress and being toweled. She is isolated in our brooder now while the other chicks are in the run. She's the smallest so I'm already anxious about having her isolated and then re-introducing her when she hopefully heals up.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

So sorry about your chick. Have you tried using flour to stop it? Here's a thread of another person who was having a similar issue: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/beak-trimmed-a-bit-too-far-what-do-i-do.1507851/

On a side note, why were you trimming a two-week-old chick's beak? You said it was overgrown, do you have a picture of it? For future reference, if you need to trim her beak again, I use an Emery board nail file and use it to file my crossbeak's beak down. I strongly suggest using that instead of nail clippers. It's less risky to accidentally trim too far with.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Bit of a soltice of baking soda on the beakkeep her quiet til it stops.

 

[maggievetsch]

So sorry about your chick. Have you tried using flour to stop it? Here's a thread of another person who was having a similar issue: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/beak-trimmed-a-bit-too-far-what-do-i-do.1507851/

On a side note, why were you trimming a two-week-old chick's beak? You said it was overgrown, do you have a picture of it? For future reference, if you need to trim her beak again, I use an Emery board nail file and use it to file my crossbeak's beak down. I strongly suggest using that instead of nail clippers. It's less risky to accidentally trim too far with.

Thank you so much for the thread link!

To clarify, her beak was starting to look overgrown at 2 weeks old, she is now 7 weeks old and was a great deal smaller than her siblings from the same hatch. So my concern was her ability to intake food and possibly water. Even with the short bit I took, the beak is still overgrown. After clipping the little I did, I did smooth out the outer edges with an Emery board.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Thank you so much for the thread link!

To clarify, her beak was starting to look overgrown at 2 weeks old, she is now 7 weeks old and was a great deal smaller than her siblings from the same hatch. So my concern was her ability to intake food and possibly water. Even with the short bit I took, the beak is still overgrown. After clipping the little I did, I did smooth out the outer edges with an Emery board.

You're welcome.

Ok, sorry that I was confused. Do you have pictures of your chick? Does she have any signs of crossbeak (that could be causing the over grown beak)?

 

[maggievetsch]

You're welcome.

Ok, sorry that I was confused. Do you have pictures of your chick? Does she have any signs of crossbeak (that could be causing the over grown beak)?

 

[maggievetsch]

No crossbeak that we noticed just overgrown and curving down and under (the images are after the trim), knew if kept letting it develop that way it would be hard to keep in a optimal shape for her to thrive.

We'll start with the emery board next go around, my biggest concern is that styptic powder, baking soda, and starch have not stopped the bleeding and we're over 2 hours after the initial start.

I've seen so many varying things online that either they'll heal on their own just fine in a day or so or it could be life threating. So the anxiety is high right now!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

No crossbeak that we noticed just overgrown and curving down and under (the images are after the trim), knew if kept letting it develop that way it would be hard to keep in a optimal shape for her to thrive.

We'll start with the emery board next go around, my biggest concern is that styptic powder, baking soda, and starch have not stopped the bleeding and we're over 2 hours after the initial start.

I've seen so many varying things online that either they'll heal on their own just fine in a day or so or it could be life threating. So the anxiety is high right now!

Thank you for the pictures. I suggest, once her beak has healed, start filing her beak once a week until it's at the normal length, then once every two weeks if it keeps growing.

Try put a thick amount of flour on the tip of her beak. Even holding it in the flour might be helpful. If that doesn't help, try holding the beak firmly with a wet cloth. Hold it there for a few seconds then move to a clean spot.

 

[maggievetsch]

Thank you for the pictures. I suggest, once her beak has healed, start filing her beak once a week until it's at the normal length, then once every two weeks if it keeps growing.

Try put a thick amount of flour on the tip of her beak. Even holding it in the flour might be helpful. If that doesn't help, try holding the beak firmly with a wet cloth. Hold it there for a few seconds then move to a clean spot.

Will she be okay to roost tonight with the rest of the flock in the brooder? Then separate her in the morning if it's still an issue?

Thank you for the suggestions, definitely noted!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Will she be okay to roost tonight with the rest of the flock in the brooder? Then separate her in the morning if it's still an issue?

Thank you for the suggestions, definitely noted!

If her beak is still bleeding, I would keep her separate. She could accidentally get her blood on the others, causing everyone to start pecking each other.