HelpMe!! Emergency! My Rooster lost top of beak! (Pics)

[stephys_fluffybutts]

Well he doesnt really act like he just lost the top of his beak. Still entergetic and he talks to me.

He seems to have a hearty appetite. But he is unable to eat his crumble food. I gave him some wet and he seems to do ok with it. I see a small amount of the hard beak (caritin) around the edges of his mouth. But I don't ever see a chance of it growing back.

But I honestly don't know. I don't want him to be miserable all winter. Just because it gets down in the negatives. And if he gets frost bitten (on his beak) he is done for.
If it happened in the Summer or I lived in a warmer area he would have a better chance.

I need to think more about him rather myself. So I am trying to go threw everything in my head. Hopeing.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

Why don't you try superglue or something similar. I bet if you were careful you could at least make the piece of beak stick. It seems as long as the place is covered he would be okay. Also, the pain should subside once it starts to heal, just like us losing a nail. Nature has a way of taking care of things, he could be a wild chicken and I bet he would survive. If his pain subsides I would give him a chance. JMO

 

[PortageGirl]

problem may be if it's glued down and he bangs it again (and you know he will) it could pop off with any flesh it's glued to. If he can manage without it, even if he needs to eat mostly soft food, and it grows back, it might be ok. just don't know how to tell if there's pain though. If he seems mostly ok, well, wait and see might be ok.

I agree that it's not ok to have him suffering. Long as he can eat and drink, and does so willingly, I might be temped to do it too.

 

[NonnasBabies]

Don't have any suggestions just sending some hugs and good wishes your way!!

You'll know the right thing to do!!

Missi

 

[stephys_fluffybutts]

Yup I thought of that to

Still hard to decide what to do but it will come to me.
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[Chickenmaven]

I agree with those that say "wait & see." He sounds like he is weathering this okay. Also, look into the super glue thing. I have heard that surgical adhesives are very much like super glue. Perhaps you can glue the beak on in a week or so???

 

[LeBlackbird]

People de-beak chickens all the time

Anyway, my friends leghorn lost the entire upper of her beak. It grew back after a long time. She looks ugly, but she's alive...

 

[silkiechicken]

To get some things straight, as far as I can tell, the "beak" that is lost is equivalent to our nail if we were to accidentally tare it off. If you tore off your nail from your nail bed, you would not want to glue it back on. The beak is like a nail which has to grow back out. Debeaking is totally different. It is where the BONE is cut and cauterized and thus cannot grow back.

 

[mypicklebird]

Will it regrow normally? Most certainly not. Will it regrow at all? Maybe- but it will be deformed and will likely need trimming and shaping periodically IF it regrows. Only time will tell (like months). Can he eat normally like this? NO, he cannot- he will struggle to eat any hard material. He might be able to learn to eat gruel/mash ect, things that can be scooped up with the lower beak and tongue. Parrots can learn, maybe a chicken can. Only time will tell. Yes chickens are debeaked- but this is much more severe than a standard commercial debeak. This guy has no upper beak, not just half. If you choose to keep him alive, you should offer him a variety of soft and hard food- watch to see what he can eat, and offer more of that. Feel his crop many times a day to confirm that he is actually eating not just trying really hard. Weigh him DAILY, to see if he is losing weight. Weight loss means he is not eating enough = will starve eventually. If he cannot maintain his weight, and cannot eat enough on his own, you will need to syringe or tube/crop feed him multiple times (more than twice) a day to keep him alive. This will be a life long commitment to him. If you can do these things, then I would consider letting this play out for a few weeks or longer, if you cannot, then I would cull now.

 

[fourfeathers]

I agree with Silkiechicken, it depends on what is exactly there so it may grow back, probably in a different way, but maybe. When my roo broke his beak, he still had the underlying core and the hard shell did grow back around it a bit. It was not near as bad as yours though. I gave him mash for awhile and also put a bit of ambisol (spelling?) on it to numb the pain.
I had a friend who worked as a vet tech at Vet Pets in Memphis, TN. He told me you can email them a question and they will get back with you. They do a lot of avians. website is http://www.vetpets.net/