Mrs_B Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I have been dealing with a few issues as some members on here know about...! One being coccidiosis which we hopefully dealt with now, and the main one is bullying issues. The issue I am asking about today is one I have tried keeping to myself, as I feel awful about these problems occurring and I have been feeling pretty useless recently! Basically when we got the Orpingtons, the two flocks did their usually spat on first meeting between their partition, but our Sussex quite literally was body slamming herself again the side which is made weldmesh. It seemed very extreme, the others didn't do it, I tried to stop her but from one of those attempts she made a split in her top beak, a little bit across the middle. It looked OK on inspection and I have always looked out for it. However...two weeks ago we had a fox attack, they didn't get the girls but they were trying very hard to get in to the WIR and the scratch marks all around the outside of the WIR suggest it was not a quick attempt - my neighbour bless her was woken at about 5.30am with the hens crying out and she came to their rescue. After this incident, I noticed our Sussex had split her beak further, she must have really upset herself and panicked inside the WIR because there was now a very small piece of her beak sticking out and flipped upwards. Very carefully my mum and I clipped it back so nothing was sticking out otherwise she would've ripped it on something. My question is - what can I do now? She has a split and I am terrified of something like these foxes coming back and her doing more damage. I will try and take a photo if that helps. There's been no blood at all. To be honest I am feeling very disheartened at the moment!! If they sorted the pecking issue I would feel a million times better and more confident - I am now trying one last thing I can think of for the pecking - Battles stockholm tar. Thank you! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Soory I have no advice to give on the beak issue but can share my exprience of bullying. I have one hen who tends to get bullied a lot, sometimes I even think of having her PTS to stop it. I have a rabbit run INSIDE the WIR, when the bullying gets bad (and I am at work all day) I pop Little Dot in there so she gets to relax, eat and drink without fear of being pounced on. I still let her out to FR when I am around, after two or three days I let her back into the main run. I think part of the problem is the bullied hen tends to expect to be bullied so runs away too much which just sets the nasty ones off again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 Thank you so much for replying - bullying is really awful and can take the fun out of keeping chickens sometimes! Sorry to hear you've had difficult problems there, I really sympathise. I always popped the main bully into a dog crate inside the WIR (tried away from the others too) do you think I should put the one most bullied in there for a try? Our Amber used to be top hen with the White Star (I was never sure!!) but when the Amber became ill a few weeks ago with coccidiosis it all turned on its head and made things more complicated on that side, but I think it was also because she had to stay at the vets and the others didn't seem sure of her when she was reunited (only 24 hours!) I have tried every brand of pecking spray I can get my hands on but they ignore them, bumpa bits, separation of bully/victim, the WIR is moved around weekly so they don't get bored - they're spoiled with pecking blocks, treats hung up...it's a hard habit to break. I do appreciated your thoughts - I might try separating the Amber tomorrow and see how that goes x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I know some vets can "mend" beaks using some type of resin. This is mostly done with parrots that have a beak problem due to an infection or something. They can actually build new parts of beaks with glass fiber and resin. Might be worth it to get some information from your vet. Or look for a vet who specialises in birds. Take a look at the link: http://www.thebirdclinic.com/Services_Offered/Beak_Reconstructive_Surgery/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 My main thought when I separated Dot was that I wanted to be sure she was safe while I was at work, (see note below) she certainly seemed to gain confidence after feeling safe. Occasionally if I have to work extra hours then she could spend 5 days in the rabbit run. She always gets t FR with the main flock even if it means staying close to me. I am convinced it is a hormonal thing, Spring arrived most of the bullies came into lay and became nasty. I am no expert but this way seemed to work for Dot (who is not laying), being just a run she can still interact with the flock, I put a plastic crate in with her so if she wants to nest or perch or just get some privacy she can. Note, the reason I take such care of Dot is that a couple of years ago Dot was either pecked or cut herself while i was at work, when I returned the flock were eating her. At the time I had a good chicken vet who stapled the wound, gave her antibiotics and a thorough examination. Luckily Dot quickly recovered from her ordeal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 6, 2014 Author Share Posted June 6, 2014 Thank you for your advise, Cat Tails. I think talking to a vet will be a good idea - but I will get some supplies at home just in case something happens I just hope it's not very expensive as I am paying a lot for coccidiosis illness at the moment Mrs B - I am so sorry to read what happened to Dot. That must've been really awful to see, I can't imagine. I am glad she is all OK and well again now The main victim at the moment has actually gone down hill again - I think it's the lesions caused by cocci, or at least the damage that it did previously before we sorted the issue. It's funny how some chickens can have empathy and others don't, especially in a flock. I am taking her to the vets tomorrow, might be good news, or not, sadly - but I will be separating her if she comes home OK - thank you so much for that advise x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 13, 2014 Author Share Posted June 13, 2014 Well, Lady's beak has split a bit more, it happened when we went to pick my other chook Big Sister from her vet stay (other topic!) I sent photos to the vet as I had talked about it with them before. They have a meeting tonight to discuss it, but it's now at the point it needs attention, I wouldn't like to wake up one day with it beyond repair and all messy and bloody. The photo is below: http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/emmachooks/ladybeak_zps9c03b0c1.jpg The vets mentioned fibre glass and a resin, so I will post more when I have info on Monday. I have no clue on cost but she can't be left in this way...taking each problem one step at a time, even after having chickens for 2 years I am learning a huge amount all of the time!! And breathe... x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted June 13, 2014 Share Posted June 13, 2014 Aww, I hope you get her little beak sorted and it is not too expensive for you. You do seem to have an excellent vet doing his utmost for her. I will look more closely at my girl's beaks in future - your picture shows it could be hard to spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 Think the first thing to do is remove the bit which overhangs the bottom beak as it is rather long Mrs_B. Otherwise any repair won't hold. We've had a few with overhangs like that and took a lot off with a nail file to avoid problems eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted June 14, 2014 Share Posted June 14, 2014 You can do all sorts of fancy repairs with superglue and bits of gauze, or even a patch from a tea bag, but as there is such a rich blood supply and nerve endings in the beak, I would recommend that you take her to a vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 15, 2014 Author Share Posted June 15, 2014 Thanks, everyone luvachicken - The first split a year ago was barely noticeable as the colour of the beak wasn't affected and it seemed normal to look at otherwise. I hope the fix isn't going to be too expensive either, I know these vets wouldn't rip me off though as they're cheaper than my local vet who aren't as knowledgeable (although are great!) but still spending petrol money to get to this vet is still cheaper. The two vets working on this are absolute stars so I am confident (and they are sympathetic with bullied chickens, and ducks, so understand a patchy bald bird as I am always paranoid someone will think I am not looking after my chooks properly). I know what you mean, Beantree - I mentioned this to the vets as I am sure this is new. The vet I spoke to said that part of the top may have to be removed to reconstruct the break and they would look at how the longer curved tip would affect that. I feel very new to this side of chickens as I never had to cut or file their nails or beaks before. From my observation I think this has happened because of the break, it's not growing 'right' to me. I should have more info tomorrow, hopefully they'll get her in quickly and fix her lovely beak. She can definitely eat and drink OK right now, but I am sitting in with them tomorrow so I can do a re-intro with Big Sister, and I will certainly be watching Lady closely with the feeder and drinker. Egluntyne - I think with the purple shading showing since a few days ago it's definitely going to be a vet repair! I had no idea blood and nerves were under the hard beak before now. Will update when I know more, thank you again for your replies. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 17, 2014 Author Share Posted June 17, 2014 Lady is going in tomorrow morning at 9am, she will be put under with gas and they will either be able to cut the beak enough so no reconstruction will be done - so the beak will grow back naturally or they will construct it depending on what they see in person. Am very nervous! But I am glad she's going to have her beak fixed either way. She looks such a mess as bottom hen, bless her. I put stockholm tar on her neck, back and bottom last week and she looks a picture but she's got lovely little tuffs of feathers growing back so the stuff is working well so far. I'm going to give her a bit of a fuss today, she likes her feat being soaked and cleaned, and I'll pamper her. Meal worms are on the menu today also Will post and update tomorrow. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandmashazzie Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Good luck for tomorrow.This seems fairly common.We had a TV report recently on our lady that does chicken rescue.They filmed a beak repair,I goggled to try and post link for you but couldn't find it ,though there are stacks of beak repairs,geesen,hens etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Claireabella Posted June 18, 2014 Share Posted June 18, 2014 I hope it all goes well today Mrs B! Let us know how Lady is doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 25, 2014 Author Share Posted June 25, 2014 (edited) Thank you for your posts Appreciate it! Apologies for the delay in posting, last week was difficult animal wise so I wasn't online! Thankfully our Amber who seemed to be suffering badly after coccidiosis (in my other thread) seems to be recovering well despite going into a full moult and looking like a hedgehog, results showed a fungal issue with her liver - brought on my a very weak immune after cocci (she developed a bit of conjunctivitis too!) she's living in her own run for the minute whilst she's on meds and recovers. And our beloved 19 year old Birman cat is not looking good and has very poorly kidneys and so a lot of stress has been going on in this house! Anyway, the beak procedure went very very well! In fact Lady stayed still without needing any gas at ALL. I was so pleased. She didn't need anything reconstructed to her existing beak, they managed to cut back to the split and sand down the front and any edges OK, so it should grow back nicely in shape. There was a very small amount of blood - I can't believe she was so calm despite the sanding tool being electric and a bit noisy. And it cost me less than £20! Here's a picture of her beak after coming home - it's strange from the front because of the 'gap' but I am just so happy she can't cause herself any grief now: http://i1279.photobucket.com/albums/y540/emmachooks/afterbeak_zps4b15f033.jpg One less thing to worry about x Edited June 25, 2014 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvachicken Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 She does look good I am so pleased for you and even better when it didn't cost too much. I hope your other animals are ok. 19 is an excellent age for a cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 They have done a nice job there Mrs_B. Sure it will grow back fine now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_B Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 Thank you, both Lady is definitely more herself in my opinion, so all good The vets (Vale Vets in Dursley for anyone that lives in Gloucestershire!) I went to are fantastic and really wonderful - they have an excellent team that know a lot about chickens. x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
