Pullet has trouble eating, an underbite???

[awarmrainyday]

I posted elsewhere about this but with no luck, so I'll try here! I have 6 red rangers, about 3 month old, I ended up with three girls and three boys. About a month ago they all had a quick bout with a "cold" and antibiotics in their water quickly cleared it up, all except for my one little girl. She still has clear discharge from her nose. I noticed in the past week that she was not as active as the others and was not growing at the rate they are.

The one day when I got home from work she was very lethargic, she wouldn't even take a live worm when I dangled it by her beak. I immediately gave her a few drops of nutri-drench, and duck egg yolk mixed with wet cat food via oral syringe. After about two days she had perked up significantly. She was still refusing to eat from the food dish or peck at the ground but I was able to get her to eat her grower/finisher feed mashed with some water and wet cat food. I noticed while she's eating her beak makes a clicking sound (not the content kind of sound, she does this even when I make her take nutri-drench and she hates that). Today I noticed that she seems to have an underbite. She's not cross beaked but the top curves down and the bottom is straight and longer so she can't shut her mouth the whole way. I think the poor girl was starving and that's why she didn't fight off the "cold" like the other did with antibiotics. She has gotten her interest back in food and tries valiantly to peck at bugs, but she can't get them in her mouth and the others come running and take from her. So right now she is getting half feed mash half wet cat food twice a day. She now comes running when she sees me with her dish, and I put her up where she can take her time to eat.

So my question is, can I do anything about her beak? She feels so fragile I'm afraid to try and file it or trim it. And what else can I feed her that is pasty that would be a little healthier for her? She doesn't want to eat just the feed mash. Thanks in advance!

 

[limited25]

I have no experience with this, but the second picture kind of looks like it is hooked beak. Perhaps could feed her cooked brown rice or cooked oatmeal, and both could be mixed with crumbles or seeds since they are both sticky. Good luck, and I hope you get more replies.

 

[awarmrainyday]

Thanks for your response! I tried a cooked brown rice/grain medley last night for her and she refused it. I did get her to eat some mixed in with her mash and cat food. I tried a live worm again last night, she was really interested in it and half-heartedly pecked at it a few times and then shut her eyes and ignored it. It's like she wants it but she knows she can't get it and just gives up. I got yogurt, oatmeal and low sodium instant mashed potatoes at the store last night for her but we haven't tried any of that yet. I'd like to get some variety into her! I usually have frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer, I might thaw some and she if she can eat those, if not I might try smashing them up and mixing it with her mash. And since I'll have time this weekend I think I'll scramble some egg for her and try to get her three meals a day. I feel so bad for the poor girl, I wish I could bring her in the house but I have a 200 pound dog who thinks she's edible and my indoor pet rooster, who the dog ironically likes, has decided he only wants to hang out with another rooster.

I'm open to ideas if anyone has any!

 

[centrarchid]

Give me a bit and I will show how I am treating one of my hens with similar issue.

 

[centrarchid]

This had upper bill damaged by fighting a couple of months ago resulting in much of horn being lost. As a result the lower bill began to grow improperly to elongate.

This was more than just a cosmetic problem. As the mismatch increased she lossed the ability to pick up small particles without jamming her bill into something soft below item she was trying to consume. Even larger individuals became more difficult to consume. She also lost the ability to shear plant parts. Result was she began to loose weight and became feed-bucket aggressive she was always famished. To compensate I set out feed bucket so she could jam her head down into feed. That allowed her to ingest enough feed to enabling some restoration of weight.


Approach for correction involved cutting lower bill so it is slightly behind upper. The cause some bleeding that stopped in under a minute.

She still has a mismatch although she can pickup medium to larger particulates without trouble. Notice she still has a gap at tip that degrades ability to consume smaller particulates. Both upper and lower parts of bill will lengthen with regrowth although will not appear normal. Hopefully upper and lower parts of bill will tighten up at tip and along base. Idieally the upper bill should also overhang lower slighty around sides along length of bill. Additional cutting may be needed but those will be months away.