PLESE HELP!!!! Chickens beak got bit off

[tmlpike]

Awe, thanks guys! That means so much! Today I think is the best that Fuzzy Bum has been so far. However, since she fights so much with the tube feeding, we are only able to feed her once a day, 50mL of exact food by Kaytee. I slept in this morning and then I heard Fuzzy Bum squawking, so I quickly got out of bed and went to check on her. She had jumped out of her box and was trying to eat some bread that was on the ground. She has been trying SO hard to eat food, but she can't. I think it's because her bottom beak is longer than her top piece, and it keeps on getting in the way whenever she tries to eat. She still isn't interested in water whatsoever. But she has been lively today. I will try to take a picture of her and show you guys how she's looking. Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers! @roostersandhens that picture is adorable!!!

 

[Scrambles55]

@tmlpike Is it at all possible to hand feed her? Like a noodle or some soft baby food? Could it be put on her tongue with your finger or an eye dropper? Hugs and prayers....

 

[tmlpike]

I've been trying to hand feed her some scrambled egg, but it's challenging, and she doesn't get much of it down. And I gave her a couple of spaghetti noodles. Not too sure how healthy those are for her I just hope that the bottom piece of her beak falls off so it will be easier for her to eat. And I have tried using a dropper with pear/apple sauce to put on her tounge, but 3/4 of it falls off.

 

[Nambroth]

I don't think her bottom beak will fall off. But, don't lose heart! People have had hens with badly done beak-clippings learn to eat before. This is where the beak clipping (a permanent process some hatcheries do, especially for factory farmed hens) cuts the top beak much too short and the lower beak is left longer, disproportionately. Most find that feeding the hen with a deeper bowl, with a larger quantity of food so that the bird can use it's lower beak to 'scoop' instead of 'peck' helps. Fuzzy Bum probably isn't interested in her normal feed yet if she still has pain (and she might, as part of her skull was bitten off ) but in time she can learn. You can try chopped up noodles, or bread soaked in (egg or yogurt or applesauce), or whatever she might like most, in a larger quantity, in a deeper bowl so she can 'scoop'. It will take her a while to learn it. If you have leftovers, just pop them in the fridge and try again with them later! Soft stuff, for now, I think will be easiest for her. Small pieces.

 

[tmlpike]

Actually, Fuzzy Bum is extremely interested in her normal food which is laying ration/ corn/oats. Whenever she sees it she tries to eat it, but fails to eat any every time. However, she does not seem to be in pain when she pecks at it which has changed from previously. All she does is scratch at the food continuously with her bottom beak, which is in the way. I wish there was some way to get the bottom piece of her beak off, but I wouldn't want to cause her any pain or unstoppable bleeding. Then again, what if that's her only chance of eating in her own again? She cant seem to realize that she has to learn to eat differently than she used to. I will try to have the food in a deeper container, thanks. Since we can only tube feed her now only once a day, I've been hand feeding her some scrambled egg, which she LOVES. She opens her beak while I put it in her mouth. But why does she seem to hate water??? Every time I put some water in a syringe and put some on her tounge, she runs away. She has not tried to drink any water by herself since this injury has happened except for 2 weeks ago. I'm worried she's not getting enough liquids. Also, her poop seems to be dark green. On the bright side, she is more alert and talkative thanks for the prayers everyone!

b

 

[leetfreq925]

Thanks for the pics! Her eyes seem a little brighter, so that's good! I would imagine her poop is funny because she's not getting much in her. Have you tried yogurt? And what about some other things that would have hydration in them, but not be straight up water? like mixing some water in with the applesauce or pureeing some greens or buying straight up veggie juice - even v8 or something? maybe she would like the taste of it more, but get some fluids, too.
i think i can speak for a lot of us following this thread that we all want to be there to help you and fuzzy bum do whatever you can!!! you are both troopers. hang in there!

 

[deacons]

She definitely does look a little brighter, and her body has healed some of the other open cuts, so that seems like a good sign!

Since she is interested in her regular food, I wonder if you could use some warm water to make that into a soupy mash for her to try to eat? Then she'd get water plus the food she seems most interested in. My girls actually LOVE when I soak their regular pellets into a mash- I find that in the winter, even though they have heated water, they don't seem to drink as much as I'd like them to during the day, so I have been making them a hot mash in the afternoons as a way to get some extra liquid into them (and send them to bed with full crops )

As other posters have said, we're all pulling for you and I am inspired that you and your family have worked so hard to help this girl get better. I hope she continues to go in the right direction!

 

[jjaazzy]

I don't know if this is at all possible, but what about using some modeling clay that dries hard? You might have to do a little at a time and build off of it. Sorry to hear about what happened......

 

[Nambroth]

Her poop doesn't look too bad at all, all things considered! A little loose, but that hopefully means she is staying hydrated!

It will take her time to learn to scoop food. Definitely try a deep mound of food for her to work on. She will learn eventually how to manage it. I'm really glad she seems to be in less pain!

Removing more of her bottom beak will only set you back. It's part of her jaw, and it would hurt her a great deal, and then she'd be off her food again. She will learn to use it to scoop. A deeper bowl and at least 1.5-2" deep of food might be a good starting point. You can try this with her chicken feed, or scratch, or eggs, or oatmeal, or whatever... until she can learn.

 

[pwand]

Her poop doesn't look too bad at all, all things considered! A little loose, but that hopefully means she is staying hydrated!

It will take her time to learn to scoop food. Definitely try a deep mound of food for her to work on. She will learn eventually how to manage it. I'm really glad she seems to be in less pain!

Removing more of her bottom beak will only set you back. It's part of her jaw, and it would hurt her a great deal, and then she'd be off her food again. She will learn to use it to scoop. A deeper bowl and at least 1.5-2" deep of food might be a good starting point. You can try this with her chicken feed, or scratch, or eggs, or oatmeal, or whatever... until she can learn.

I had a hen that her top beak was cut way to short at the hatchery, her bottom beak very long. She didn't scoop her food with her bottom beak, she tilted her head basically upside down and eat.

@tmlpike Definitely need a deep dish with crumble feed. As its been suggested moistening up her feed with water for now, she will learn how to eat and drink. You can get poultry nipples from amazon.ca really cheap. She will learn to drink from them. Jiggling the nipple and she will see the water dripping and get curious. She is looking much better. Another food to try to entice her to eat is Sardines. They love sardines. Get the Sardines in water only. Heres the link for the nipples at amazon. Free shipping too.
http://www.amazon.ca/Chicken-Poultr...id=1390932567&sr=8-1&keywords=Poultry+nipples