Peeling Bill

[Horsefly]

One of my two pekins bills looks like it is peeling. I think it might have gotten torn up on the wire on their cage I lock them in at night. She will try and climb the wall when I go to let them out in the morning. I don't know if thats what its from or not though and if it will be okay to leave. Its like a thin sliver of bill got shaved off and is just flapped back over where it was before. No blood or anything and its about and inch and a half long and 1/4-1/2 inch wide. Should I clip off this piece like I would dead skin tissue? Or just leave it and it will fall off eventually. They play in the water and it doesn't seem to float around or anything stays stuck to the bill where it should be but when I touch it I can freely pull it down. I'll try and get a picture of it tommorrow if I can get some help.

 

[mrslb333]

I'd be tempted to clip it off but not sure if that would be the right thing to do

 

[briarpatchfarms]

This is bill shedding, you can moisten it up with an ointment or let it swim for a few minutes, the bill will soften up you can peel it off but dont peel it off dry this will cause bruising of the bill. you can apply emu oil to prevent this from happening

 

[katharinad]

You can clip it with fingernail scissors and leave the rest to nature. It is also a good idea to either rub vitamin e on it or to apply lip balm. The lip balm usually contains bees wax and vitamin e which is really good for the bill. Check out the balm content first. They do have unscented one.

 

[Horsefly]

Okay thanks, Im glad it's nothing bad. Sorry I didn't get the pictures yet I had a goat come up sick today and have been dealing with that. I had another question though. One of their bills has gotten "freckles". Like little blackish dots all over it, I asume this is fairly normal as it doesn't seem to affect her. What exactly is this though?

 

[katharinad]

Black spots on the bill and legs are due to melanin skin pigment. They are normally present (not harmful) but are covered with yellow colored xanthophyll pigment absorbed from feeds containing corn, alfalfa and other feed ingredients containing xanthophyll. In mature breeder ducks, after they have been laying eggs for awhile, more xanthophyll is absorbed by the egg yolk than the duck can consume in her feed. The bill and legs start showing melanin skin pigment due to the bleaching or fading of the xanthophylls.
Source: http://www.metzerfarms.com/FAQ.cfm