Cracked Beak

[ObiWanGnomie]

Noticed a young hen I've had about a month has a cracked beak. Sprayed it today with vetericyn. She seems to be eating and doing ok. Based on the attached images, any additional advice?

 

[GracePoultry]

I would give her beak a little bit of a trim. Don’t cut too far though or you could hurt her. Some people glue cracked beaks so they don’t break further. let me tag somebody more knowledgeable @Wyorp Rock

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Is it just the top beak or the bottom beak as well? It appears that both the top and bottom beak has grown too long, which might be why it cracked. Her beak should be filed down, leaving a little space between the filed down part and the quick. I would say you can do some actual trimming first, which you can do with (sharp) nail clippers, to get it down faster. (I'm saying faster because the hen will not want you working on her beak, so you often want to get it done as quickly as possible.)

To work on her beak, you will want to wrap her tightly in a towel to keep her calm and still. You might want someone to help you. When you trim, hold her beak open and make sure her tongue is out of the way so to not accidentally cut it. She will fight you, so give her breaks (keep her wrapped) until her beak is done. (Don't cut while she's fighting you because you could accidentally hurt her!) Cut what you can first, then file the rest with an Emery board file, ensuring that everything is smooth. You might want to file the sides of her beak as well, as that might curl in.

Here, I screenshotted a couple of your pictures to show what you should do (if you can):

On this bottom picture, if the quick isn't there and you can trim her beak there, file past the blue line and try to make her beak smooth. When trimming the top beak, you want to be very careful that it doesn't split further. For this job, I highly recommend using toenail clippers as they're straight, and clip in at an angle (like the blue line on the right is on the bottom picture).

On a side note of all of that, where did you get her and how old is she? She almost looks like a battery hen who had been debeaked. Because of how it is growing, it looks like it was a Temporary, which can be fixed over time with the right care. Beak splitting is an issue for hens who has had that done to them as their beaks aren't ever the same after. You might need to always keep an eye on her, even once her beak is fine. This could happen again. (Some vitamins might help her beak become stronger, but I'm not very familiar with them.)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Noticed a young hen I've had about a month has a cracked beak. Sprayed it today with vetericyn. She seems to be eating and doing ok. Based on the attached images, any additional advice?

This one is interesting.

I'm going to tag in @Shadrach to see if he may be able to give some suggestions as well.

Is the upper beak actually cupped into the lower beak as shown in your photo?

It's hard to tell, you have another photo from the side where it looks like the lower beak is slightly longer than the upper?

Perhaps a photo from the left side may help too?

I'm always hesitant to trim beaks unless absolutely necessary. Light filing and shaping over a period of time may be better. Pressure of cutting/trimming could potentially cause the beak to split more.

If it's been like this for a while and she's eating/drinking o.k., you don't have to hurry to try to fix this. I would take a slow measured approach and lightly file and shape over the next few weeks.

My 2¢

 

[ObiWanGnomie]

Thank you for all the input. Ill see if I can't get an image from the left side to help clarify. I get the feeling it will take some light trimming like Lacy showed. Never had to trim. I know we don't want that crack to get worse.

 

[ObiWanGnomie]

Is it just the top beak or the bottom beak as well? It appears that both the top and bottom beak has grown too long, which might be why it cracked. Her beak should be filed down, leaving a little space between the filed down part and the quick. I would say you can do some actual trimming first, which you can do with (sharp) nail clippers, to get it down faster. (I'm saying faster because the hen will not want you working on her beak, so you often want to get it done as quickly as possible.)

To work on her beak, you will want to wrap her tightly in a towel to keep her calm and still. You might want someone to help you. When you trim, hold her beak open and make sure her tongue is out of the way so to not accidentally cut it. She will fight you, so give her breaks (keep her wrapped) until her beak is done. (Don't cut while she's fighting you because you could accidentally hurt her!) Cut what you can first, then file the rest with an Emery board file, ensuring that everything is smooth. You might want to file the sides of her beak as well, as that might curl in.

Here, I screenshotted a couple of your pictures to show what you should do (if you can):

View attachment 4175533

View attachment 4175534

On this bottom picture, if the quick isn't there and you can trim her beak there, file past the blue line and try to make her beak smooth. When trimming the top beak, you want to be very careful that it doesn't split further. For this job, I highly recommend using toenail clippers as they're straight, and clip in at an angle (like the blue line on the right is on the bottom picture).

On a side note of all of that, where did you get her and how old is she? She almost looks like a battery hen who had been debeaked. Because of how it is growing, it looks like it was a Temporary, which can be fixed over time with the right care. Beak splitting is an issue for hens who has had that done to them as their beaks aren't ever the same after. You might need to always keep an eye on her, even once her beak is fine. This could happen again. (Some vitamins might help her beak become stronger, but I'm not very familiar with them.)

I bought her and another hen from a farm in central Texas. They are supposed to be less than a year old. They had about 20 similar hens out free ranging and I saw no indication that any of them had been debeaked, but I was only there a few minutes.

 

[Shadrach]

Noticed a young hen I've had about a month has a cracked beak. Sprayed it today with vetericyn. She seems to be eating and doing ok. Based on the attached images, any additional advice?

Poor creature. It's a bit of a mess.


This first of all.

I'm always hesitant to trim beaks unless absolutely necessary. Light filing and shaping over a period of time may be better. Pressure of cutting/trimming could potentially cause the beak to split more.

This is why.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1166494/

I think if one tried to clip the section of beak on the right of the picture the possibility of a crack propagating further up the beak is high.
You write she manages to eat. I would offer her a mash, chicken crumble and water, 50/50.

What she cant do, and from what I can see is unlikely to ever be able to do, is groom properly with a beak in that condition. You will need to check her regularly for parasites.
I would file, definitely not cut. It takes a long time because one needs to file a small amount at a time; less than a thirty second of an inch.
I would want to do what I could to stabilize the crack in the upper beak.
One can do this by applying cyanoacrylate super glue. But, there is something important one must not do and that's get glue in the crack. Squeeze a drop or two on to a piece of paper and let it go tacky rather than runny before applying a coat over the crack. If you have a small piece of rice paper or similar, then layer that on top of the adhesive you've just applied to the beak while the adhesive is still tacky. Get everything prepared and laid out helps a lot. Now spread another layer of tacky super glue over the paper and let it all set.

I don't think getting that beak to "normal shape" is a realistic expectation. What one can do is reduce the chances of that overhanging piece getting knocked and splitting away by concentrating effort on filing that down and smoothing of the jagged edges elsewhere on the beak.

It's not an easy job. I've done a few Ex Battery hens beaks. They don't like having it done and it becomes one more chore that needs be done with full attention and patience.

She's lovely by the way.

 

[ObiWanGnomie]

Ill start with filing her left and look into the gluing. Guessing i need to file her right side lower as well to see if the top will slide over it. Couple more images in case it helps.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Ill start with filing her left and look into the gluing. Guessing i need to file her right side lower as well to see if the top will slide over it. Couple more images in case it helps.

Stabilizing is a very good idea!
If you need a little bit of a visual about how to glue, then you may find the chicken chick's article (photos) helpful. She mentions using a tiny piece of tea bag. Something that may be more readily available than rice paper(?). I have no idea where to find that...
https://the-chicken-chick.com/repairing-chickens-broken-beak/

I would want to do what I could to stabilize the crack in the upper beak.
One can do this by applying cyanoacrylate super glue. But, there is something important one must not do and that's get glue in the crack. Squeeze a drop or two on to a piece of paper and let it go tacky rather than runny before applying a coat over the crack. If you have a small piece of rice paper or similar, then layer that on top of the adhesive you've just applied to the beak while the adhesive is still tacky. Get everything prepared and laid out helps a lot. Now spread another layer of tacky super glue over the paper and let it all set.

 

[ObiWanGnomie]

The top piece broke off at the Crack before I could glue it. Will file more on the lower beak.