Have a 4 week old who lost most of her upper beak

[Urchickchic]

Happened in the last week— I’m not sure when but noticed it yesterday. I’ve read a lot about cross beaks etc. and have more questions. So here goes:
*how often do I need to feed her a mash and what should be in it?
*how do I know if I have to tube feed?
*i would like to keep her with the flock and not isolate. How do I do this and feed her appropriately? I separated her last night and fed her but it took an hour before she would settle down and eat anything as she’s so stressed being away from them.
*Will her beak grow back?

I know this is a project and will require extra time and effort. I’m willing to give it a try, so I’m not considering culling at this time. Not the best time for me because I’m rehabbing from rotator cuff surgery but God puts things in your life for a reason.

 

[SunHwaKwon]

That's about the same as what is taken from a factory chicken. She should be able to eat crumble okay. What do you feed the rest of them and what kind of waterers do you use?

 

[Urchickchic]

The rest of the flock gets all flock and oyster shell. The babies get chick starter crumbles. Both get scrambled eggs. I have the push cup waterers. She’s been drinking from that ok.

 

[coach723]

As long as she's eating and drinking OK, she will probably be fine. You should weigh her regularly to make sure she is taking in enough so that she doesn't lose too much weight. Making a mash of her regular feed will help let her scoop with her bottom beak, experiment to find a consistency that works for her, probably on the loose/runny side. It should be available to her all day. Using a deeper open dish will also make it easier for her to scoop, and raising it up will also help her scoop. She will not be able to peck and pick things up from ground level. If the water becomes an issue, then the same thing with a deeper open water dish would be easiest. There is a thread on here somewhere where the bird learned to drink by dunking it's entire head in the water, and it did well. Whether the beak grows back or not will be based on how much damage was done to the quick, it may or may not. Many birds adapt and do well with missing beaks, and as said, many factory birds are debeaked to prevent caniballism from overcrowding, and they survive. You can search for 'chicken debeaking' for images of what those look like, though many find the practice to be abhorrent.

 

[Urchickchic]

As long as she's eating and drinking OK, she will probably be fine. You should weigh her regularly to make sure she is taking in enough so that she doesn't lose too much weight. Making a mash of her regular feed will help let her scoop with her bottom beak, experiment to find a consistency that works for her, probably on the loose/runny side. It should be available to her all day. Using a deeper open dish will also make it easier for her to scoop, and raising it up will also help her scoop. She will not be able to peck and pick things up from ground level. If the water becomes an issue, then the same thing with a deeper open water dish would be easiest. There is a thread on here somewhere where the bird learned to drink by dunking it's entire head in the water, and it did well. Whether the beak grows back or not will be based on how much damage was done to the quick, it may or may not. Many birds adapt and do well with missing beaks, and as said, many factory birds are debeaked to prevent caniballism from overcrowding, and they survive. You can search for 'chicken debeaking' for images of what those look like, though many find the practice to be abhorrent.

Thank you— since she’s in the grow out pen with the other littles, do I switch them ALL to mash so she has food all day, or do I separate her, either all day or mealtime?

Al

 

[coach723]

You can give them all mash if you want, they usually like it. I just wouldn't make more than they will eat each day, then make fresh. You don't want it to spoil. Or offer 1/2 your feeders in regular feed, and a couple of bowls of mash. If they are like mine, they are all going to go for the mash, so you may have to refill. I give all my birds mash every morning, it's their 'treat' for the day, they all come running. I wouldn't want her to not have access to feed, since she may take longer or go back more often while she adapts to her injury.