# Broken beak



## ttsaqa (Oct 27, 2015)

I've been feeding a feral flock on my balcony and this morning I noticed a young one who couldn't pick up food. I was able to catch it and I saw that more than a half of the left side of its lower beak was missing. The beak appears crossed over, what remains of the lower half is very soft (the missing bit was close to the head, not the tip) and there is a tiny amount of blood, but other than that, the bird doesn't appear unwell.

What can I do to help him eat?


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## Skyeking (Jan 17, 2003)

*Could you post a good clear picture of the beak?

This could be an injury/trauma or disease or other. Here is a link in regards to scissor beak, (which may or may not apply) : http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/beakproblems.htm

Meanwhile, please do follow this link ASAP to get some food into this youngster, you can feed it frozen (thawed, drained and warmed) peas for now. 
http://www.pigeonrescue.co.uk/caringforababypigeon.htm

*


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

Sounds like he either flew into something or was attacked by an older bird. Don't know, but a clear picture of the injury would really help. Check out those links Skyeking has posted.


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## AndreiS (Jul 28, 2013)

If this will impede him eating, is not releaseble. You will have to hand feed him 2-3 times a day or you may be able to make him eat from a deeper vessel filled with seeds.


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## ttsaqa (Oct 27, 2015)

Thanks for the advice and links! I haven't got any pics of the injury but I believe this is the same bird I've been seeing with what I thought was an unusually "swollen" jaw, so it might have been canker that destroyed the tissue, but I don't see any deposits in the throat. I've tried feeding him grains and he managed to pick 5-6 pop corns, but it took him a very long time.

Unfortunately, I had to release him - I don't spend enough time at home to keep any of the birds that get sick. I have managed to ' save' a few injured ones by making sure they got enough food until they were better. Right now I'm feeding another half-blind pigeon and a youngster with (probably) canker on its tongue which also eats very slowly, and I only have about 40 minutes or so before I have to go to work. This is a local flock and I expect to see the little guy tomorrow morning. He is tame enough to eat out of my hand, so I'll try with thawed peas and see how that goes. 

I'll try to take a photo - I'm still hoping that it might improve over time if he learns to eat with a scissored beak.


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## me+pigeon=<3 (Oct 27, 2015)

If I were in your position, I would grind up some grains into a thick liquid, then suck it up in a syringe and then open his mouth a little, and squirt a little bit in. He should be hungry. Another way is to grind it up, suck it up into a syringe, then transport the liquid into a baggy with a small hole big enough for his beak to fit into and then just hold him and the baggy in a proper position. Hope this helps! Also, do you know how it got broken, by any chance?


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## Jay3 (May 4, 2008)

By releasing him, you have sent him out to die. He won't be able to pick up seed with that beak, as you yourself could see, so he will starve. Why did you bother coming in for advice if you were just going to send him back out without help?


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## wiggles and puddles (Sep 3, 2015)

I agree with Jay3. The bird has a death sentence on his head by being released out in the wild. Why not capture him again and see if someone near by can take him, someone trusted by the pigeon community? Can you not spare a few days for that? At the very lest the kindest thing you could do, if you can't take him in, find him a home, or relocate him to someone who can care for him, you should take him to a vet to have him humanely euthanized. It would be far kinder for that poor bird then starving to death, or having what is left of his beak taken from sickness, if that is indeed the case. Regardless think in terms of what would be best for him.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Agree with others. Please see if you can catch the bird so he can get help and not die a lingering death. If you catch him people here may be able to direct you to a place to take him for help. Please. Thanks!


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## Larry_Cologne (Jul 6, 2004)

I caught a feral split-beaked pigeon (named "Splitbeak") years ago when he was finally so hungry that I could catch him by hand. To make a _long_ story short, I trained him to eat from a deep dish of seeds. After release I met him daily for a couple of months and fed him apart from the flock, since he couldn't compete with them, and he became healthy again. He knew me by sight, and cooperated with me by coming to get his personal seed in an out-of-sight spot. I watched him fly with the flock again. He had been too weak and timid to do so before, always hiding in a tree when the hawks flew overhead and the other ferals did their maneuvers. One day, Dec 6, (2006?) I saw him for the last time. I suspect he was taken by one of the pair of raptors purposely brought to nest on a spire of the cathedral to go after local pigeons.


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## kiddy (Feb 5, 2015)

Sad to know about both the birds.


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## ttsaqa (Oct 27, 2015)

Just a quick update.

The pigeon is still alive as I managed to capture him at least once every day and let him eat out of a deep vessel (thanks for advice!). I've found out that he is able to pick up sunflower seeds much more easily than any others, and today I added peanut which I had previously cut into small flat narrow pieces, and he got a number of those too. I wasn't able to use a syringe, because he won't let me open the beak, and the lower part feels wobbly - I don't want to damage it any further. He drinks regularly and he is still very lively.

I understand that his chances are not great out in the wild, but I have no other choice. It's a large flock of about 40 pigeons and there are 3-4 sick or injured birds at any one time - I simply don't have enough time or the right conditions to take care of them all. I've asked around and so far I've found no one who would tend to a sick pigeon, not even a vet. Pigeon racers don't care about ferals or even their own sick birds. Most other people just hate them and as I live in a block of flats, my neighbours hate me too for feeding them.

In any case, thanks for your support - I sure hope he makes it.


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## cwebster (Dec 11, 2010)

Thank you for helping the little guy. Wish I lived closer as I'd be happy to take him. Is there anyone here who lives closer?


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## me+pigeon=<3 (Oct 27, 2015)

ttsaqa said:


> Just a quick update.
> 
> The pigeon is still alive as I managed to capture him at least once every day and let him eat out of a deep vessel (thanks for advice!). I've found out that he is able to pick up sunflower seeds much more easily than any others, and today I added peanut which I had previously cut into small flat narrow pieces, and he got a number of those too. I wasn't able to use a syringe, because he won't let me open the beak, and the lower part feels wobbly - I don't want to damage it any further. He drinks regularly and he is still very lively.
> 
> ...


I've seen a lot of stories like this where the people wouldn't take in the sick birds because they were feral. However, if you lie and say the bird personally belongs to you, they'll most likely be a lot more willing to help you out. I don't know why, but I don't think they care as much if the birds are wild. I might be wrong as far as some vets go, and I'm sure not all are like that, but from my experience, you should say that it's yours. even if it doesn't work, it can't hurt to try. 

Also, thank you for recapturing the little fellow. They're all right, you would have been sending him out to die. Isn't there a friend of yours that might be willing to watch him for you while you're at work or something?


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