Top layer of my roo's beak has been broken off

[talkingriver]

I haven't found any threads under "chipped beak" that sound just like this, so I'm throwing it out here in case anyone has experience or advice on this particular injury. Tonight I came home from work to discover dried blood all over my roo's upper beak. I thought he'd pecked someone badly, but after we gently cleaned it up with a saline-soaked cotton ball, I realized that the outer, fingernail-like layer of the upper beak had broken off to just under the nostrils. Obviously his point is a wee bit foreshortened and he can't peck so efficiently, and the beak is clearly tender. From what I'm reading it seems it will probably grow back (he's 12 weeks old), but it might take a couple of months? We didn't want to put any disinfectant or ointment on it lest he ingest it or get anything in his eyes. He's subdued but getting around fine, and I let him in the yard for a few minutes where he pecked fruitlessly at grass he couldn't pluck. (Okay, I fed him some clover by hand. He managed some of that.) He seems to be able to pluck up a certain amount of feed from the feeder, though it takes him several tries to get any.

The chickens are just learning to get down from their roost in the morning, and there are still some *plops* as they navigate the drop (even though there is also a ramp from the roost). I'm not sure when this happened -- I wasn't the one who let them out today, so it could have been any time. They're penned so unless he pecked a cinderblock REALLY hard or fell off the roost, I don't know how else it occurred.

I thought I'd offer him some mushy feed tomorrow morning. He's got to be hungry. He sat on my lap a good deal this evening instead of pecking around with the others. Does anyone have further suggestions on feeding or care of this injury? Thanks so much in advance.

 

[CMV]

It sounds like you have the situation well in hand. You may want to give him deep feed and water dishes until he starts to heal up. The beak of a chicken contains more nerves concentrated than anywhere else in the body. He is probably in quite a lot of pain from this adventure. Deep dishes could make eating/drinking easier for him with less likelihood that he will bang his sore face into anything. Poor guy.

Good luck with him.

 

[talkingriver]

CMV, thank you for your reply. He seems to be in pretty good spirits, a little frustrated about eating, but still alert and interested in the environment. I mixed up some mushy feed with some bits in it that I thought he could grab more easily -- a little scratch, a little mixed bird seed, a little grit. He did consume a good amount of it before I had to leave for work.

Is the exposed underlayer of the beak likely to desensitize soon so there will be less pain? And does anyone know how long a beak takes to come back together?

Thanks again.

 

[LindaCT]

Soft food until the beak gets better! He won't want to eat because it hurts. Soft cooked veg (like baby food)/porridge/yoghurt) is worth a try.

Try saline solution as a disinfectant. Just pour it over, it won't hurt.

 

[talkingriver]

Thanks, LindaCT. I will continue with the soft food. He does seem willing to peck at things, just can't grab with the tip of his beak because of the little gap. After I hand fed him some, I left a rectangular plastic container of the mush in the pen so everybody could get some. I thought if he got down to where he pecked the plastic it wouldn't be as bad as a regular dish.

 

[talkingriver]

I got a few pictures of Napoleon's beak tonight. He is loving the softened feed, and I'm grateful I'll be home the next three days to feed him more often than twice a day. (He always has access to the feeder, of course, but I don't know how much of that he's getting.) Anyway here it is. He had just eaten so there is a little mushy feed stuck to his beak still.







So it's only been two days since this happened, and I thought these pictures might help me compare in a week or two weeks to see if there is progress. He was amazingly docile and still for these photos, like he knew this was his moment. He's become quite the lap chicken through all the pampering.

 

[CMV]

He looks pretty good in spite of the injury. I am glad to hear he is eating. I hope he doesn't get too used to the pampering!

Keep up the good work.

 

[LindaCT]

Aww he is a beauty!

 

[talkingriver]

Hi -- Just wanted you all to know that, two and a half weeks in, Napoleon's beak seems to be slowly growing back. The top half looks thicker and it's the right color. I'm trying to feed him less by hand now and let him go to the feeder, and they've been free ranging a fair amount so he does snag a lot of bugs. It's hard to not want to feed him all the time, like a... mother hen. (I told my boyfriend that I have to wean MYSELF off the mushy feed.) Anyway he's thriving and doing his adolescent crows most every day. I'll try to get another picture in soon.

 

[CMV]

Nice work! Looking forward to some pics.