Hen with hole under her "chin"

[rfaithj]

Hello, I'm new to this forum and hope for some friendly, helpful advice.
My first (and only) chicken has an injury or defect. when we got her 4 days ago, her tongue protruded thru the bottom portion of her beak. The tongue now is in its proper position but the bird still 'leaks' when she takes a drink.

Is there anything i can/should do to encourage this hole to close up? the opening is not actually on the beak, but the soft tissue behind it.

otherwise, the bird seems just fine.

Sure would like to hear from some of you more experienced chicken farmers!

Thanks,
gina

 

[hottexaschick]

Pictures?
Oh and

 

[mypicklebird]

Is this a chick or an adult? If it is an adult- and this is not a recent injury, you may not have to do anything other than check on the tongue position regularly and make sure it doesn't get trapped in the hole. It may be an odd birth defect. If this is a young bird, you should monitor it's growth and crop/poop to make sure it is able to eat/drink ok. If this is an old injury (healed) or a birth defect- there is not much you can do to make it close- other than have surgery done at a vet's.