Injured hen beak punctured, misaligned, and discolored

[Peggy3]

My poor hen was attacked by a predator and has an injured wing (it is limp and likely broken) and a twisted upper beak (rotated up to the left). We've had problems with possums in the past, and I'm glad I caught her before more harm could be done. There is a puncture I have cleaned up and it appears some blood vessel in her upper beak broke as her upper beak is severely discolored. It seems that she now has cross beak-- she can't fully close her mouth and is in distress. She occasionally makes wheezing/snorting noises but is otherwise quiet and resting. I have separated her from the flock and have been monitoring her. I have wrapped her wing and would prefer to continue treating her myself if possible.

Is it possible to fix cross beak induced by injury? Should I be concerned about the discoloration of her beak? She is currently disinterested in food and water. Any advice to help my dear Ruth Bader Giblet would be appreciated-- she's a 2 year old whiting true blue and loved member of the flock

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

That looks really bad. can she eat?

 

[Peggy3]

That looks really bad. can she eat?

She hasn't eaten or had water on her own. I spoon fed her some water this morning but she wheezes or stays with her mouth open if too much water goes down.

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

She hasn't eaten or had water on her own. I spoon fed her some water this morning but she wheezes or stays with her mouth open if too much water goes down.

She appears to have her whole beak twisted. that is not good and probably very painful. I can't think of anything for you to do for her. so sorry

 

[Peggy3]

She appears to have her whole beak twisted. that is not good and probably very painful. I can't think of anything for you to do for her. so sorry

So is there not any way to untwist her beak or would it just be most humane to end her pain?

 

[Chickensandhorsesforlife]

So is there not any way to untwist her beak or would it just be most humane to end her pain?

I think re-twisting would be very painful for her. I am lost on what to tell you.

 

[RosemaryDuck]

To be honest, the only way to correct this would probably be to brace the beak and then wrap it like a broken bone, but then you'd have to go about inserting a tube and tube feeding her. It's what they do when a dog or a cat breaks their jaw. But in this case, I'm not sure there's a guarantee the beak will realign the correct way. It's up to you in this case, but that looks really bad. You can also bring her to an avian vet.

 

[Peggy3]

To be honest, the only way to correct this would probably be to brace the beak and then wrap it like a broken bone, but then you'd have to go about inserting a tube and tube feeding her. It's what they do when a dog or a cat breaks their jaw. But in this case, I'm not sure there's a guarantee the beak will realign the correct way. It's up to you in this case, but that looks really bad. You can also bring her to an avian vet.

I just worry that doing that would be too painful and a long healing process for her. How does bracing the beak work? Alternatively, do you think that the beak might heal on its own but remain misaligned? I want to give her a chance a survival but wouldn't want to take away her quality of life. Unfortunately there is no nearby avian vet

 

[Weeg]

Do you have a syringe? I would syringe her water rather then use a spoon. You easily aspirate her with a spoon, (force water into her lungs). Can you wet down the food so that is is a mash and easy to get down? Who long has it been since she's eaten? Maybe try to spoon feed a tiny bit of mash into her beak a few times a day, but water is defiantly most important. @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock @azygous @casportpony @Overo Mare. Hopefully the experts can give some advice. I think maybe wrapping it like suggested above would be the only way to get it realigned, are you open to the possibility of tube feeding her? You shod get supplies for that just in case. @azygous and @casportpony can offer help with tube feeding, and syringe feeding. I hope she gets better!

 

[theoldchick]

Veterinarians do perform beak repairs on chickens, though it is pricey. One major concern is if there is a blood supply to the beak and the other is infection. You lovely hen needs to be put on antibiotics, pain medication and fed a liquid diet-hand feeding formula works well. Give her a day or two in a warm, dry, quiet place and see if she perks up. In cases like this nursing care can make a world of difference.

https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-care-for-injured-chicken-and/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/help-severely-traumatized-hen-what-can-i-do-now.894545/