PLESE HELP!!!! Chickens beak got bit off

[Eggcessive]

I'm so sorry about your poor hen. Her wounds from your new picture look so serious and painful. You must be really upset about her injuries. It may be petty difficult to try to help her over the next few days. She will probably be in pain, but also will be hungry. Try to read the articles on tube feeding. Maybe your vet could show you how to do it, but you could probably learn by watching the videos. We are all pulling for your hen, hoping that she can make it. It will be tough in the coming days, and if you need any help or advice, people on here would help in any way.

 

[Nambroth]

I'm so sorry. I do not want to make you feel bad for her, but she is undoubtedly in a lot of pain and anything touching her wounded areas hurts her, which is why she reacts the way she does when she wants to eat. The damage is deep enough that it's actually taken part of her jaw/skull off and as you can imagine, that hurts deeply. Her only real chance to recover is if you can tube feed her for her food and water, because she probably will not be able to stand the pain enough to eat and drink on her own. If you can, please take her to a vet, or at least call a vet and ask if you can get a Metacam prescription. The dosage is based on weight, so you will need to weigh her... which is a good idea to do every day anyhow now that eating is going to be a problem. The Metacam is a pain killer as well as an noninflammatory drug that is safe for birds.

Keep a close eye for infection, too. The way the injury is, if she gets an infection it can become systemic very quickly. If you can get her to a vet you might ask for an antibiotic, as well.


Tube feeding her may hurt her too... it's hard to know without seeing her in person. Use your best judgement. If she can recover and heal, it's hard to know if she can ever eat on her own again. Maybe! Needless to say even if she does she will always be a special needs bird and may need a lot of extra attention and special feedings to ensure she gets enough nutrition. It's also hard to know if the other hens will be accepting of her handicap or if they will beat her up because of it.

The injury is so severe and deep enough into the 'bed' of the beak that the chances of it growing back are almost zero. Based on what I see here, her beak will not grow back. The tissue that generates beak growth (like the bed of your fingernail) looks to be destroyed as well as the nerve endings and blood supply.

I am hoping for the best. Please do look into getting a painkiller into her, as this is probably one of the most painful injuries a bird can have. It's impossible to quantify the pain of an animal, but the beak is FULL of nerve endings, so she must be hurting. Chickens can be very resilient. It just matters how much time and energy you can give her, possibly for the rest of her life.

(If it were me, I would be billing the neighbor with the dog for vet costs, but that is a rant for another place and time. Let's just focus on getting your hen healed for now!)

 

[realsis]

Any update on how she is doing? Praying for her. You got some great advice and hopefully with supportive care from you she may heal. But won't be the same after. She Will likely have special needs. Do try to tube feed her for her hydration and nutrition.let us know how it goes and please keep us posted.my thoughts and prayers are with you and again I'm so very sorry this happened to her. Very sad..

 

[tmlpike]

Thank you all so much, I don't know what I would do without you <3 today, se is very sleepy she keeps on burying her head into her back tail feathers. Why is he so tired? and her one eye that could open up a little way yesterday, seems to be closed more today. I have been giving her water through a syringe. The only way I can give her water is when she sticks out her tounge, and I push the syringe of water into her tounge. Even though some of the water is falling through her broken beak, she is still getting some in her mouth. How long can a chicken survive without food if they are still getting water? I tried giving her some mashed up rice, by putting it on the tip of her tounge, but she keeps on pushing it out with her tounge. If I could take her to the vet, I would, but they are SO expensive, and I don't have the money. I want to try tube feeding, but her beak is in such bad shape that I would be afraid of hurting her even more. It may be my only option though. But I don't have the supplies. I have done some research (thanks to the amazing posts you guys have posted)I sometimes think that she would be in better hands with one of you guys instead of me I'm trying my best, but I'm not sure if that is good enough. When I put my hand near her mouth, I feel extreme heat. Why is that? And it smells too. What can I put directly on her beak and mouth I prevent infection and promote healing? I still have faith. I wish that her eyes would be open so that she could see the food in front of her and pick it up with her tounge. Is there anything I can put on her face to bring down the swelling in her eyes so that she can see again? As of the neighbour, she won't admit that it was her dog even though the big sized dog footprints in the snow lead right I her house and match her husky mixed dog. Thanks a billion everyone, your help is so much appreciated, and the time you take to write these posts are amazing <3 she had a poop this morning! It was the size of two toonies.

 

[tjbryner]

I use Preparation H on the head to help with swelling, do not get it on the eye itself but the skin is OK. I would use hydrogen peroxide to clean up the wounds, then a thin coat of Antibiotic cream.

I watched this guys videos https://www.youtube.com/user/grayfoxthe5th ,Let me say that I do not believe in cock fighting but those guys have to fix up some beat down birds. If anyone knows how to fix them up it's this guy. Go thru his videos and he'll tell you about meds to use on wounds.

beleive

 

[ten chicks]

How is your girl? First clean all wounds,make sure she is kept warm(when ill/injured chickens cannot regulate their body temp).Give her electrolytes for shock(guarantee she is in shock). Give her an aspirin for pain,as she is in serious pain,low dose 81mg or a reg 325mg,dose is 25mg per lb of body weight,b/c of her injury to beak you will have to dissolve aspirin in water and give this way or if you can break into small pieces and give orally if she will take it or tube feed and place aspirin in feed mixture. You can also purchase Metacam from a vet for pain relief. Apply an antibiotic ointment to wounds(nothing ending in "caine/cane"toxic to chickens).

I am suggesting you start tube feeding her as this injury to her beak is very painful and will probably prevent her from eating/drinking.

 

[Bossom-hen]

That is a horrific injury. I know you love her very much but honestly I would consider euthanasia is probably the kindest option here. You need to consider the pain she is likely to be in during the healing period which would be justifiable if she was going to make a complete recovery but from what others have said her beak is not going to grow back. It sounds as though infection has already set in, if she does survive the quality of life she is likely to have from now on is hugely questionable. I do not know where you are from, in the UK a vet will euthanise a pet hen fairly cheaply and very humanely (although vet bills for treatment are quite expensive). If you cannot afford vet care some animal charities would certainly help with such an extreme case. Whilst it is true that if you can get her pain and infection under control fairly quickly and manage to tube feed her she may stand a chance of survival I imagine she would always need a lot of special care. I feel I should be honest and say because I love my hens I don't think I'd want to put them through that. I know from what you've said you love your hens too and if you decide to try and get her well of course I respect your courage. I hope I'm wrong. Good luck and big hugs.

 

[pwand]

Take a boiled egg yolk and mix with water and feeding that in the syringe. Tube supplies can be boughten at a vets office for about $5, it included the tube line and 60ml syringe. Show pictures of your hen to the neighbour or put them in her mailbox to see. Unfortunately her dog will keep coming back. Also you could making her a water bottle with a poultry nipple on it, she will need this because she probably never be able to drink the other way. Can you get someone to help you tube feed her? Wrap her in a towel when you try tube feeding. She also needs to be antibiotics.

 

[realsis]

You can use clean fish air hose that you can buy for about 2 dollars to tube her with. A large syringe for feeding attaches to the tube you can get that for about a dollar. I use a food called exact by Kay tee that can be purchased at a pet store for about 6 dollars. It is a food for hand rearing baby birds and it flows perfectly in a tube feeding situation. I URGE you to tube feed or she won't make it I'm afraid.i know the feeding is going to hurt for her but it MUST be done to keep her alive. You Don't even have to buy a tube feeder just use fish air hose. I was told this by a vet. It's the right size and it works. For a emergency like you have it is easily obtained. You Can't wait much longer. She needs her fluid and nutrition. This is something you should consider doing to save her life.i know she is in great pain but the feeding must be done to give her a fighting chance. You might have to feed her this way from now on depending on the damage done to her. This is something to consider. I think she will likely be a special needs girl from now on.trust me I know it's scarey at first. I was so scared the first time I did it.but you have to remember this is to help her and you can do it. After a couple of feedings I promise it gets more comfortable to do. I'm afraid if you don't try she will grow weaker and starve. Please read up on tube feeding in this forum.they have a excellent guide.just search tube feeding in the search bar.perhaps you can get someone to help you with the process until your comfortable with it. My prayers are with you and I know you can do this. I pray she heals and makes it through this. I wish you the very best. For about 10 or 12 dollars you can get everything you need to tube her. If you can't find a tube please consider using the clean fish air hose.its not expensive and it works!! God bless you and please keep us posted on her progress. Best wishes

 

[tmlpike]

I asked my dad to pick up the clean fish air hose as well as the syringe and exact by kaytee, and a digital scale. If he can find the supplies, I am going to try to tube feed her tonight. To be honest, I am terrified! I don't want to hurt her. My biggest concern is if I get it in her wind pipe instead of her esophagus. I don't want to kill her. How can I be sure if it's in the right tube, and how far should I put it down? I'm so scared, I've never done anything like this before. I have read many articles already, but there's nothing like doing it yourself. Her beak is so broken, I don't want to completely break it when I try to pry open her mouth. Poor girl. Please pray for her, as well as me, that I don't hurt her. I'll let you guys know how it goes.