So - Thursday evening I discovered that Arabella (Bella; Belly) had broken part of her beak. Bella is a white Cochin with a severe scissorbeak.
The more I looked at her beak, before her vet appointment on Friday, it looked less "broken" and more like the top part was torn back away from her nostril on the right side. And that's basically what it was.
The doctor said the top layer (made of keratin, like a fingernail) had been pulled back, but the bone didn't appear broken and the beak itself was stable - it just looked "ugly" - LOL. He didn't want to try to clean or trim it because she's most obviously sore. He did send her home with some antibiotics for 5 days.
I had been - and continue to - rinse her beak good with saline and then spray on some Vetericyn gel (which the doctor looked surprised and impressed that I'd already been doing - yay me! - hahaha).
I put her back outside with her sisters because - in a safe situation - I find that there is no better medicine than being with the ones you love. Oh, don't get me wrong, she knows I love her but, let's face it, I'm no chicken! I bring her back inside at night, so I can clean her wound and keep an eye on it. Otherwise, she's perfectly happy outside eating and free ranging with her feathered family.
Doctor says she should be just fine but, if it gets worse, there are other remedies. They can even patch that piece just like the dentist rebuilt my tooth! How about that?! Amazing. Or maybe I can just print her a new beak on a 3D printer? Just kidding. We'll let the professionals handle this ;) BTW, birds can also live just fine even if the top of their beak were to be completely amputated. We don't want that, but isn't that fascinating?
I'm always learning new things about chickens.
*Many thanks to Laura at the Medina Raptor Center who kindly gave me some recommendations on vets who could help Bella. And also to Dr. Nathan at Sharon Center Veterinary Hospital - your time and knowledge are greatly appreciated!
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