Please Help Missing top beak

OMG!!! I cannot help you with this, but I sure hope others can. I don't see how she will be able to eat without the top beak, so I'm thinking you would have to end up culling or else she would starve to death! Maybe others will be able to give you more optimistic suggestions...

 

I won't try to help, because I wouldn't want to say something that might get this poor bird killed. But I know that there have been chickens to survive an injury such as this on BYC before. I'll go look for them and come back and add the link.

 

Egg ranches usually debeak all their hens. Once it heals she should be fine as far as eating. In the meanwhile, give her a soft mash that won't hurt to eat: applesauce, mashed potatoes, baby food. In a couple of days you can give her feed mixed with water. Within a week she will be eating dry crumbles or pellets. Make sure the bleeding has stopped, that is the real issue.

 

Situations like this i have always heard to A. Cull, or B. Super glue the beak back on. You can also trim the bottom beak back with a file or finger/toenail clippers so it makes it more even for eating and such. I've "once" heard they have artificial beaks you can buy too, so maybe do a search and see if you can find em.

 

So sorry to see this. But I wanted to post a link on what debeaking or beak trimming is like. I have seen a few posts recently referring to the complete loss of beak as debeaking. It is not. The OP has a bird with a real injury, not anything remotely approaching a 'debeaking.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debeaking

 

Yes, the extent of that injury is nothing like debeaking. What ever you do, DO NOT try and glue a beak back on. The beak on this bird is broken off from the bone and at this time, trying to cover it would likly seal in any infection. Their beaks have a bone frame, coated in a "nail bed" of sorts, from which a "beak" grows off of, just like the nails on the bird, or nails on a dog/cat. There is no trimming the bottom beak to get even close to where the top beak has broken. The few other cases of a "broken beak" I've seen on here are ones where the nail part of the beak got chipped or pulled off. In a chip case, it can be glued, as it is not in the nail bed. There are also a few instances of parrots and valuable birds having a prosthetic beak put on after their faces heal. Either way, the bird is not feeling good now and the healing process is pretty long and often expensive depending on the route you chose to take.

This is what their skull looks like:

Big picture, different view. Note the colored bit at the top tip of the beak is the protein coating that grows from the beak much like our nails from our nail bed. The reason the skull there doesn't close together is because there is usually a millimeter or two of beak coating that would cover the bone.

I would worry that the head backing up thing is more than just pain if it does not go away soon. Reason I mention this, is that the beak bone can be fused with the skull above the nasal cavity depending on the age of the bird, and there is a possibility of a skull fracture if she is older. I'm sure if you are willing to put in the care, she can survive, but the question is what her quality of life will be. If it were me, I would likly cull.

Best of luck!

 

My heart breaks for your poor bird and wondering how much pain she is in from this injury. I also cannot help but wonder how it happened. If it were me, I would give her the aspirin for pain and keep her warm and comfortable in whatever position she chooses. I would take her to a specialist in the morning to see what could be done or have her euthanised if no hope of a quality life. We are fortunate to have a few veterinarians who often treat chickens in our area. I hope for the best for her.