please help her BROKEN BEAK (update page 4)

[welasharon]

Ah, I cannot tell that. I personally would take her to the vet and make them put it on....but then that's just cause I really don't have help here. I have read posts where people have used super glue on them so I guess it is okay.

 

[SKG1121]

yeah..the vet is kind of far away and so I was gonna have my dad do it because the vet said it isn't a huge deal if it isn't on perfectly because it isn't permanent.

 

[SKG1121]

she is eating on her own fine but I can't get her to drink or to let me get the syringe in. does anyone have any tips on how to make it easier?

 

[welasharon]

I use the pointed kind of syring and just put it to the side of the beak and dribble water along it and the chicken swallows it. It is slow going.

 

[SKG1121]

another update: we superglued the beak back on (it was very unpleasant) and she stopped eating plus it got harder to give her water. It fell off again and she is back to eating and I have given her about 20 ml of water today. I let the her free range with the rest of them for a while and that went fine so I gave her some more egg and water and then put her in the coop with them. I really don't see any point in try to put the beak back on if she can eat without it better, so we just left it off.

 

[welasharon]

Well at least you tried. I imagine she will adjust to it. It should desensitize with a little time I would think. I was worried about some food or dirt lodging up under it as well. Sounds like you are doing a good job there.

 

[Melora]

I'm so glad to read she's eating! I will have my fingers crossed for you and her!

I hear "normal" super glue's fumes can be toxic to birds (doesn't help that it's right by her nose.) She obviously survived that, so I wouldn't worry about it now at all~ but I, personally, would not try using it on a chicken again just to be on the safe side. They do make a less "smelly" version for the "human" medical community to use, that might be fine if there's any future need (but I don't know how to get it unless you're a doctor or a vet. Maybe if you know a nurse, they might have some on hand. My vet used it on my chicken recently) I would keep leaving that alone until the vet can help. It's great that she's eating and drinking: I can tell you about force feeding though, in case things go south again. I use to hand raise baby birds. Like, really really really expensive parrots.

#1 you will want to angle any food you "shoot" into her mouth with a syringe/pipette/baster so you lessen the risk of choking. Their crop "pipe" leans more to one side, their lung "pipe" leans more to the other. You also don't want to shoot it at the roof of their mouth. Here's an excerpt from a parrot feeding page that explains it:



Quote: Birds have 3 holes in their mouths - one in the roof of their mouth, one in the middle of their tongue and one in the back of the throat on the left hand side (as you look at them). The holes in the roof of the mouth and the tongue are for breathing - the one into the roof of the mouth goes into the upper respiratory tract (snares, upper sinuses). The hole in the tongue goes into the lower respiratory tract - lungs. Normally, while eating, these holes are closed. The hole in the rear left hand (the bird's right) side is the esophagus and leads to the crop and intestinal system.


Do it in small amounts because chickens are not engineered to be fed by others and it may not be natural for them to "hold their breath" to eat when something is shoved in their mouth. Given them good breaks to "catch their breath" between bursts of food, to lessen them wanting to open their airways when food is coming in. It will probably be fine. It's usually far less scary than it sounds: I just find that knowing "why" really helps the process.

If you drip food or water onto their beak, something that will just encourage them to lick it off as it rolls into their mouth, that's honestly the safest. It's slow, but if they'll sit on your lap while you do it, maybe just do it while you watch an episode of something on tv.

When they don't want any more water they'll just shake their head and fling it off. Sometimes they'll always shake food off, even if they're hungry- but I've found that it's rare they do it for water if they're thirsty. It's the same for lizards (rescued a lot of those) With chickens and birds: you can feel their crop to see if they're full. I'll not explain that because I know there's stuff written about it on this site: but if you do it, just don't press very hard to feel for it, and don't press in an upward motion: that can encourage puking ;p

#2 you do want to make sure any watered down feed you squirt/force feed into their mouth isn't too runny, and isn't too thick. Basically, make it like a thick-er soup but not like concrete. If it's too thick it can sit in their crop and rot, if it's too runny, it's not great for their digestion/nutrition either. So, if you're feeding her soft food, but she seems to not like to drink, try to keep dripping water on her beak through-out the day to make sure she has the choice to be hydrated. If she's always eating & drinking some on her own, I would think the thickness would matter less because she might be able to judge for herself if she needs more water or not. This also may be why she isn't drinking a lot, because she's getting her water with her food now (again, that's actually HOW my lizards function. It's rare for Bearded Dragons them to drink water because their food often fulfills their needs)

#3 the other safe thing to do is make sure the food and water isn't cold. For chickens it's probably different than baby parrots, I assume room temperature food and/or water would be fine. Another reason I can think of: This is an assumption but maybe it's why she doesn't like to drink water currently~ If her water is outside, or coming out of the faucet cold, it possibly hurts? I've had nerve damage/nerve exposure (like her beak must feel) and cold HURTS so badly. It can feel like like being stabbed. But, your location says Georgia and, originally being from the south myself, I can't imagine it's that cold there right now? So that idea was just a shot in the dark.

 

[SKG1121]

wow, thank you! The temperature thing didn't occur to me but most of what I've been giving her is room temp. Someone I know suggested that she isn't able to drink because without the beak she can't really lap but she may be able to use a nipple waterer if she learns how. I guess she also may not be thirsty because she's been eating scrambled eggs (which are sort of runny.) I'll look into that thing about feeling the crop too. And I don't thing we're going to use the crazyglue again because she is doing better without the beak because we couldn't get it on straight and it was just so painful to watch.

 

[henpeckedmuch]

You have been given some good advise here. And, you have used some good sense as well.
The super glue itself will not harm her if it was beak material to beak material but, if it were to be applied to her raw flesh it would burn. I tried it on myself and skin to skin was fine but, not to raw flesh.
I suggest you continue to give her mashed boiled eggs as it is the most natural complete nutrient you can give her. Once she is doing better supplement them with medicated chick feed or some other high protein feed. She will need protein to regrow her beak.
Trust her, chickens are great survivors.

 

[SKG1121]

thank you just wondering, how do you train a chicken to drink from a nipple waterer? I bought one meant for rabbits because someone said it would be an easier motion for her than lapping and much more pleasant than me giving it to her. Is that okay or can chickens only use ones meant for chickens?