Expert: Abi - 10/3/2008

Question
Hello. I left our chickens out of their chicken house and they were all fine. We have three hens,but my sister ran in and said that the dog had bitten Gingers neck and Sandys beak.Poppy our other chicken was fine but when I went out there a part of Sandys beak had gone!She cant eat very well. Will her beak heal? She's a much loved pet. Can you give us advice on what to do? Thank you

Answer
The beak will grow back. However it will be a slow process and it may grow back wonky or even overgrow. You need to make sure that she doesn't get malnutrition because of how difficult she finds it to eat. If possible, hand feed her twice a day, or once, in the evening with a high protein mash. Grate up some carrot really tiny and mushy and add some sort of supplement to it- either a liquid or a powder supplement. For powder I use poultry spice and for liquid I use lifeguard by Naf. Feed her this by hand so she doesn't have to fight with the other chickens to get it. Also, if you can't get meat or fishmeal to make into a wet mash for her, give her a little bit of catfood or any other kind of meat, like if you've had mince for dinner, give her the leftovers. Other things that are good are live yoghurt, soya beans, lentils, kidney beans and spring greens or sprouts! Also, try to make sure she is drinking plenty so she doesn't get dehydrated, and again add some sort of supplement to the water.

She may also need a short course of antibiotics if her beak is raw, as they peck about in anything and it could end up getting infected. Weigh her (I use kitchen scales!!) and then ring up your vets, tell them what has happened and ask for some antibiotics. They'll need to know the weight as then they'll know how much to mix up for her. Also, any advice they can give you is brilliant, so try and wheedle out of them as much as you can.

Thanks for your question, leave a comment or ask a follow up to tell me how she gets on.