New Hen, Poor Condition and Messed up Beak. What to do!?

[Texash]

Hey yall. We recently (today) purchased a hen from someone at a faire as she seemed like she needed some extra TLC and we have a good quiet flock for her to thrive in. She's apparently a 1 year old Ameraucana, missing tail feathers, back feathers, comb didn't look too great but I'm mostly concerned about her beak.
Just wondering if yall think we should trim down the bottom beak to try to match her top. I'm guessing her top beak has had some sort of previous trauma but unsure.
Any advice is absolutely welcome.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hey yall. We recently (today) purchased a hen from someone at a faire as she seemed like she needed some extra TLC and we have a good quiet flock for her to thrive in. She's apparently a 1 year old Ameraucana, missing tail feathers, back feathers, comb didn't look too great but I'm mostly concerned about her beak.
Just wondering if yall think we should trim down the bottom beak to try to match her top. I'm guessing her top beak has had some sort of previous trauma but unsure.
Any advice is absolutely welcome.

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Can she eat ok? It almost looks like her beak was trimmed (like they do with commercial chickens). I'd be worried you'd have to take too much off the bottom to make it match the top. You can try filing them a little to see if that helps. Might be that her poor feather condition is from not being able to eat well.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Wanted to add that I'm so glad she's in a good place with you.

 

[azygous]

Do you have other chickens? Keep this one quarantined for a few weeks to be sure she isn't bringing a disease into you flock, a huge risk when purchasing a chicken from a "fair" or "meet". You can not know, however , if she is carrying a dormant virus as carriers can display no symptoms.

Like @Aunt Angus I believe she has been debeaked. This is a practice to try to prevent pecking in a flock. Usually, the beak is chopped off and cauterized, so it's doubtful it will grow back.

You certainly may try to trim the lower beak back a bit to lessen her clumsiness in trying to pick things up with her beak. But be aware the beak has a "quick" that will bleed heavily if you cut into it, and it hurts terribly if that happens.

To trim the beak, it's important to immobilize the hen so she can't flap and kick and squirm, making the risk of a damaging cut more likely. It also helps to bring a flap of the towel you wrap her in over her eyes so she can't see what you're doing to her beak.

I use a dog and cat nail clipper, and I start out by just cutting a tiny bit off, then looking at the beak. I keep clipping tiny bits until I see indication I'm getting close to the quick. You may see a tiny droplet of blood. That's a signal to stop there.

 

[Texash]

Can she eat ok? It almost looks like her beak was trimmed (like they do with commercial chickens). I'd be worried you'd have to take too much off the bottom to make it match the top. You can try filing them a little to see if that helps. Might be that her poor feather condition is from not being able to eat well.

I've put out a deep dish food tray with high protein crumbles in it to make thing a bit easier for her, but haven't seen her eat too much. Will keep a close eye on her to make sure.

Do you have other chickens? Keep this one quarantined for a few weeks to be sure she isn't bringing a disease into you flock, a huge risk when purchasing a chicken from a "fair" or "meet". You can not know, however , if she is carrying a dormant virus as carriers can display no symptoms.

Like @Aunt Angus I believe she has been debeaked. This is a practice to try to prevent pecking in a flock. Usually, the beak is chopped off and cauterized, so it's doubtful it will grow back.

You certainly may try to trim the lower beak back a bit to lessen her clumsiness in trying to pick things up with her beak. But be aware the beak has a "quick" that will bleed heavily if you cut into it, and it hurts terribly if that happens.

To trim the beak, it's important to immobilize the hen so she can't flap and kick and squirm, making the risk of a damaging cut more likely. It also helps to bring a flap of the towel you wrap her in over her eyes so she can't see what you're doing to her beak.

I use a dog and cat nail clipper, and I start out by just cutting a tiny bit off, then looking at the beak. I keep clipping tiny bits until I see indication I'm getting close to the quick. You may see a tiny droplet of blood. That's a signal to stop there.

I've got 4 others, and have this girl quarantining on her own to make sure she's fine and can take care of any illnesses before introducing.

Good to know that beak trimming is similar to dog/cat nails; I've got probably too much experience with that so hopefully switching over to a chicken won't be too much of a hassle. Thank you so much for the tips!

 

[Eggcessive]

Beak trimming or debeaking looks horrible, but some chicken farmers do this to prevent pecking and cannibalism in hens kept in large numbers. In addition to quarantine for a month to make sure that she shows no signs of respiratory or other illness, it might be a good time to worm her, and look over her body for lice or mites. This time of year many hens may be molting where they have pale or shrunken combs, missing feathers, and no eggs. Introducing in a wire dog crate with food and water over a week or so where she can be seen by the others, is a good way to add her to the flock. Good luck.

 

[Percheron chick]

Try a wet mash if she's not eating. It's easier for them to pick up feed when it sticks together.