Will this broken beak grow back?

[SarahGfa]

Nah it’s not going to. He doesn’t need wet food. That’s BS. He can still pick up food with that screwy beak he’ll just have to drop his head a little lower. I would just leave it the way it is.

Oh, OK. Will the bottom beak keep growing and get even screwier, or stay about the same?

 

[roosterhavoc]

Oh, OK. Will the bottom beak keep growing and get even screwier, or stay about the same?

The birds I’ve had with broken beaks like that ended up staying about the same.

 

[Lollychicken]

They will grow back, but sometimes they don't grow back to look exactly the same. It won't hurt them, it may just look different

 

[SarahGfa]

The birds I’ve had with broken beaks like that ended up staying about the same.

Did you actually keep your birds around long term, after they broke their beaks? I did not get the impression that you were much of a "bleeding heart".

 

[roosterhavoc]

Did you actually keep your birds around long term, after they broke their beaks? I did not get the impression that you were much of a "bleeding heart".

I am not but I did keep 2 leipers around for a while. That was my fault though.

 

[Aunt Angus]

A friend of mine has a bantam hen with NO upper beak at all. She does just fine with chick crumble in a deep dish. The crumbles stick to her tongue and she uses her bottombeak as a scoop. I thought she was doomed, but she's a sassy little thing and has been just fine for a while now.

 

[Helymo]

My rooster broke his beak while doing rooster stuff. That happened two weeks ago, but it doesn't look like it is getting better. How long does it take for a beak to grow back? Here is a picture taken today. His face is messy because he has been eating wet food. He is eating very little since the injury, and has lost weight.

If it will not grow back, should I file the lower beak to match the upper? He sticks his tongue out a lot, like he is trying to lick somehing.

How is your boy doing now? I noticed one of our roos seems to have somehow injured his beak-it looks like he shaved the top layer of his top beak off from the top to the tip so the top beak is shorter than bottom. I don't have a pic but plan to get one and post about it tonight. Yours was the closest existing post to what ours looks like so I figured I would check with you in the mean time. His crop wasn't as full as the others last night so I am worried about how much he is eating. He can't take meal worms out of my hand right now and when I held crumble in my hand like a scoop he was able to eat it and scarfed it down like he hadn't been able to get any feed out of the regular feeder Wondering how best to make sure he is getting enough to eat.

 

[SarahGfa]

How is your boy doing now? I noticed one of our roos seems to have somehow injured his beak-it looks like he shaved the top layer of his top beak off from the top to the tip so the top beak is shorter than bottom. I don't have a pic but plan to get one and post about it tonight. Yours was the closest existing post to what ours looks like so I figured I would check with you in the mean time. His crop wasn't as full as the others last night so I am worried about how much he is eating. He can't take meal worms out of my hand right now and when I held crumble in my hand like a scoop he was able to eat it and scarfed it down like he hadn't been able to get any feed out of the regular feeder Wondering how best to make sure he is getting enough to eat.

Top beak never grew back. Bottom beak has kept growing so he looks even wierder now. He can't use a normal feeder or the nipple waterers, so I have to give him his own food and water in a deep bowl. I plan to trim off the lower beak to make it match the top, in a few weeks.

 

[Swbertrand1]

I plan to trim off the lower beak to make it match the top, in a few weeks.

Be careful before you do that.
There is a blood vein in the lower beak that is not far from the front tip. We had a hen once whose lower beak we had to trim periodically, and at least once we got just a little too close to that blood vein
EDIT: If I recall correctly, you can see that vein if looking at the lower beak from the underside...

 

[Dokdream]

Thanks! He is in solitary confinement right now, to try to get him to eat more.

Priscilla, one of my two Brama hens, was attacked by a raccoon. She fought back and survived. She has lacerations along one side that required (many) stitches and a dressing. She was put under anesthesia for the surgery. Her beak was terribly damaged in the attack. She is unable to eat on her own. She was noticibly in shock for the first couple of days, as well. Her vet attempted to make a prosthesis for her lower beak using superglue and wire for alignment. It has now been 2 weeks since the attack. Prissy is being kept in an "infirmary" cage inside our house and fed via syringe and tube to her crop. I feed her at least 3-times daily, about 50 ml per feeding of a homognized gruel made of scrambled egg and chicken feed with electrolites. Approximately 50% of the mix is water to enable flow through the syringe, but also to assure that she is well hydrated. Priscilla is vigorous, poops normally and, although I think she did have a fever, appears normal now. She gets pain med and antibiotic daily, powdered and mixed with the food. The prosthesis fell off 2-days ago, suggesting to me that her lower beak part is growing. The upper visibly is growing.

For your rooster, definitely you should be feeding him as I described for Priscilla. It really takes two people do do the feeding. We swaddle her in a towel to constrain wing movement, and provide a leg or arm for her to perch upon. Then, I hold her head and insert the feeding tube. Be oh, so gentle! And go S L O W. I use water soluble personal lubricant on the feed-tube. Your boy does need isolation, and a relatively warm, comfortable surrounding for several weeks, at least. Hold him, talk to him, stroke his feathers, change bedding (we use puppy pads) regularly -- like, daily! And keep his mouth clean.

In my case, I thought Priscilla was IN the coop when I closed it up for the night. Big mistake! I screwed up, and Prissy always likes to roost outside the coop. So, I'm doing all that I can for her, and she seems to be thriving. In the mornings when I open her cage, she walks to the kitchen for feeding. Chickens DO have intelligence and can be trained. She doesn't LIKE the tube, but she tolerates it pretty well. Her weight has stabilized and even increased a little.

Some of you know I'm writing stories about our flock. This encounter will be another one. "Mrs. Doolittle and the brave little chicken."