HELP! Scissor-beaked hen got hurt and can't eat!!!

[koakritters]

My sweet little crossed-beaked hen got attacked by the rooster today, and he took off a chunk of her upper beak!!! She already has a difficult time eating, and now she can't even manage to scoop up mushy food. IDK if it's from the pain in her beak, or how much of it is missing, or a combination of both, but she can't eat. She kind of drank up a raw egg, so she got at least a bit or protein in her, but what can i do to help her eat? Is there some sort of liquid diet that I can make for her since she can still drink? My poor baby....

 

[ReikiStar]

I'm really sorry to hear about your poor cross-beak hen. Dang rooster! I would personally make her a green smoothie (wheat grass, veggies, egg, etc.) and add her layer feed, but grind it up in a food processor first. As for getting calcium, maybe pulverize eggshells and add them to the smoothie. Don't give her too much dairy, it's only meant to be given as a treat. I'd also use Probios (for probiotic) because she's stressed and it will help her digest her food. I'd also add some ACV. You might want to put electrolytes and vitamins in her water until her beak heals. Being in pain can be stressful.

Wishing you both good luck!

 

[froggiesheins]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=552433 This thread is from a lady that had her hens beak broken and what she did to help her hen, go to this thread and get alot of GREAT help............

to you and your hen......

 

[Judy]

From a sticky on this forum of helpful references and links:

Aspirin - for pain relief. Dosage is approximately 25 mg per pound of chicken's body weight each day – (A standard baby Aspirin is 80 mg, and a standard adult Aspirin pill is 325 mg). This information is from the Poultry Podiatry website. Warning: aspirin thins the blood and should not be used if internal bleeding is suspected or in cases where a wound will not stop bleeding.

So you can give a 3 lb. chicken one baby aspirin. I'd give most of my large fowl hens two.

Also, birds are lactose intolerant, so you don't want to give a milk based formula. A little yogurt or cheese should be OK as the lactase has been broken down by the organisms in making the product. I wonder if she would take regular feed blended with water, and maybe a little Gatorade for the electrolytes and sugar.​

 

[koakritters]

Thanks!

I got some applesauce into her, idk how good it is for them, but at least it is something. I was also thinking about baby food for humans??? Anyone know of a specific flavor that chickens seem to enjoy? She seems happy still and has lots of energy, which is good. Altho she's mad she's outside in her crate and not in the house in my room, like she was when she was growing up.

She definitely remembers her way around this house, put her inside and straight to the back to our room she goes!!!

 

[ReikiStar]

We fed a bird who needed to be hand fed baby food. We chose Beech Nut Stage 1 Beef because it was the only thing that wasn't chicken or turkey that didn't have onion in it (just couldn't feed her chicken or another bird). Also, various fruit cups...mixed berries was a favorite.

Glad to hear she's eating!

 

[Redcatcher]

I'd use a hand rearing bird formula and tube feed. It's not as difficult as you would think to get the tube down into the crop and it just takes a few seconds once you get a feel for it.