Hen has huge crack in beak

[chickenwoods]

I noticed one of my younger Rir hens 4 1/2 months,has a huge crack with a gouge taken out of the middle of her beak??She is not eating much,Her beak still looks stable enough to stay intact.

I will pick her up,and get a handful of food and she will SHOVEL it in very fast soo fast that it gets cloged in her throat and she chirps REALY LOUD!!!with a shakin to the head.then she goes back to shoveling it in her mouth..

I thought that the bird would naturally heal herself,i hadnt the slightest idea of what i could of done,besides seperate from the rest,it is healing it seams,very slowly..

What caused this,im almost positive it wasn't a predator attack?no sign of anything getting into my barn

anyone else else experience anything like this?

 

[eggchel]

Be sure to keep a feeder with deep enough food that she can "shovel" it into her mouth. She may not be able to peck at food on the ground due to the injury to her beak.

chel

 

[dlhunicorn]

...there is an OTC dental filler (for when you have a cavity or such...) use that to fill the gap (clean it first) as the split will often keep on going ...

 

[missfitfarm]

my rir hen got a split in her beak it was bleeding ans pretty nasty looking but it healed up on its own pretty fast she was shaking her head and making noises because the blood was getting in her mouth i just picked her up cause she came running over to me and rinsed it off with the hose and she was fine it is completly healed now we think she did it trying to peck at the other chickens that were in the run out got it caught in the wire it has happened before. i dont think a predetor would cause this type of injury if there were no other injurys she brobably got it stuck in somthing

 

[chickenwoods]

Thanks everyone for the help,
My feeder is a couple inches deep of food so she will have a soft surface to peck at.That dental filler is a great idea!,ill look into it.and that sounds like a logical reason for the gouge,she is a victom of bullies though....