Mary-Jane
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Sick chook with hooked beak and no comb - connected?We've got a poorly hen but cannot find a reason why. She hasn't got mites or fleas, she hasn't got a poo-ey bum, her crop isn't full - but she's got some food in there.
The only things obviously different about her are that she's got virtually no comb left (pecked off by the others for being a weakling perhaps?) and her beak is very hooked. You can see both in the photo below. Anyone got any ideas, thoughts or suggestions?
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Gervase
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Come on, someone - before she starts going out there shouting "crossmatch" and waving the electric fence energiser around trying to defribrilate the poor fowl.
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Bebo
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Is she eating OK? Hooked beak not obstructing her feeding?
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crofter
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second what bebo says - make sure she can eat... the comb is just undeveloped, a symptom of something (?) not a result of pecking by the others. How old is the hen?
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Calli
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Clip the overhang equal to the lower beak and then she will be able to eat. Think chop sticks of unequal lengths?
Then feed them off something that wears the beak naturally - concrete blocks are a good option.
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Calli
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Ex battery by any chance?
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TAVASCAROW
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I agree with Calli.
Pair of sharp nail clippers.
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lowri
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| TAVASCAROW wrote: | I agree with Calli.
Pair of sharp nail clippers.
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Yes, I agree with that too, just a judicious trim. Look at the other hens' beaks as a guideline.
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Mary-Jane
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Too late. 
Bugger - I wish I'd noticed it earlier.
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Jonnyboy
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Never mind, at least other people will learn from it, I never knew that beaks could grow like that.
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Mary-Jane
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| Jonnyboy wrote: | | Never mind, at least other people will learn from it... |
*Sigh*. I know. But I just cannot bear the thought of any creature having suffered because of my stupidity/ignorance/inefficiency. 
| Jonnyboy wrote: | | I never knew that beaks could grow like that. |
Me neither... 
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Bebo
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| Mary-Jane wrote: | | Jonnyboy wrote: | | Never mind, at least other people will learn from it... |
*Sigh*. I know. But I just cannot bear the thought of any creature having suffered because of my stupidity/ignorance/inefficiency.
| Jonnyboy wrote: | | I never knew that beaks could grow like that. |
Me neither... |
It might not have been the beak that did it. You said it felt like she had something in her crop, so maybe she was able to eat and it was just one of the things that chickens sometimes sucumb to. Don't forget they are almost as good as sheep at finding reasons to peg it.
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Mary-Jane
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| Bebo wrote: | | Don't forget they are almost as good as sheep at finding reasons to peg it. |
*Aye* I know.
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Jonnyboy
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At least you have the swindon clan's lunch sorted.
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Mary-Jane
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| Jonnyboy wrote: | | At least you have the swindon clan's lunch sorted. |
 Do you mind...we're having one of Alison's chooks.
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sean
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That's what I'd tell them too. 
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Mary-Jane
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| sean wrote: | | That's what I'd tell them too. |
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