EMERGENCY!!! Please Help!! Part of Beak missing, I have pics!!

[cockybalboa]

I have an emergency with two of my 4 chickens, their beak seams to be corroding away, one of them has half of the top part of her beak missing and she can't eat!! Yikes, i don't know what to do, and have been unable to find anything like it on BYC message boards. I am in dire straits and a novice with chickens. I only noticed it today, because they always have stuff on their beaks so i don't pay much attention until i bent down to give them some water and socialize a bit. They seem active and fine but it looks really bad. Their combs are a bit floppy compared to the others. I have already isolated the two with the problem but i don't want them to die. They are about 6months old. Any advise/help is much appreciated. The second chicken (ie the second pic) she isn't too bad yet but she has the same black looking growth that is sorty of wanting to peel away much like a nail fungus, but i am no expert.

Yes that is her beak missing, i didn't photoshop it> it looks really bad. You can image how/why she can't eat. This is what makes it so urgent.

 

[amberu]

I'm giving you a bump..cause that is wicked looking! Sorry for your chicken problem

Amber

 

[cockybalboa]

Thanks for the bump it looks like I'm gonna need it, I posted some better more clear pics.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Where did you get the chickens? How long have you had them? The only reason I ask is that the first one looks like a poorly clipped beak. Some places will debeak a hen to prevent pecking in close quarters. This is usually related to factory farming, but some feed stores, etc. will sell adult birds that are debeaked. As for the second one...no idea. Hopefully someone comes along and identifies it. Also, they may be brown leghorns, which would explain the floppy comb.

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

I've never seen this, but my first thought was a fungal infection. I would start with a good fungicide wipe, & some in the water. If it's not a fungus, the fungicide won't hurt them.

 

[cockybalboa]

Quote:
It is definitely not a clipped beak, i bought them myself for a local feed store and have never clipped their beaks they were actually quite nice beaks before this came in and destroyed them. The other two that are like them have very straight combs. What is freaking me out is that I can't find anything like this and everyone else seems stumped too.

 

[luvchicks8]

I agree it looks fungal. Try a good fungal treatment

 

[cockybalboa]

Quote:
My gut told me that it was either a fungus or a infection of some sort, but I can't be certain. I tried putting a thin layer of antibiotic ointment but I will try some fungicide (good idea) as well and see what happens. I will keep the post updated with what ever works to try to help the next poor sole that may encounter this.

 

[NeeleysAVLChicks]

Yeeekk! So sorry about your girls, I've never seen anything like that!

In the meantime, I would make sure they keep their strength up. You might want to try boiling them some eggs, mixing in some plain organic yogurt and some layer crumbles into a soft mash. Put it in a deep bowl so they can eat it without banging their beak. If you have some Poly-Vi-Sol liquid vitamins (WITHOUT iron, you can find them at most pharmacies, walmart, etc for pretty cheap) I would put several drops in there as well.

Hope you get this figured out, keep us updated!

 

[Kasia]

Ouch! Poor little girls. I too think it's fungal. Good luck with them! How long have their beaks looked like this?