Baby the beakless bird

[Byrd gal]

Baby was in molt in November when she lost her beak. I have been hand feeding her chicken food,cat food,and fruit veggies but she is limited on that. Her feathers are coming out and they are the new ones. She has no bugs. What am I doing wrong? She has a house chicken for company and gets roam time. I am at a loss, please help!

 

[StinkyAcres]

Are you sure she is getting enough food into her? Is she able to preen?

 

[Byrd gal]

I feed her til her crop is full then when it seems to empty out feed her again. I have no idea how much as far as measurements go. I have never had to hand feed a bird. She really doesn't preen with only one beak,but seems to fluff her feathers.

 

[StinkyAcres]

How old, what breed, and how much does she weigh? @casportpony may know how much she needs.

 

[Byrd gal]

Baby is 2, weighs about 2lb 5 Oz as much she will stay on my scale. She is a black set link. Or mutt. She has no top beak so she is torpedo fed. Nothing but nose.

 

[StinkyAcres]

I'm thinking she is not getting enough nutrients and that's why her feathers didn't grow back right. Is she a standard Black Sex-Link? If so, she is very underweight.

@azygous

 

[CCsGarden]

I feed her til her crop is full then when it seems to empty out feed her again. I have no idea how much as far as measurements go. I have never had to hand feed a bird. She really doesn't preen with only one beak,but seems to fluff her feathers.

Each chicken will eat about 1/2 cup a meal. Stick to the chicken feed only. Fruits, veggies and cat food will make her fat and put her under stress.

 

[CCsGarden]

Baby is 2, weighs about 2lb 5 Oz as much she will stay on my scale. She is a black set link. Or mutt. She has no top beak so she is torpedo fed. Nothing but nose.

That is very underweight. Like I said above, make sure she is only eating chicken food.

 

[azygous]

No where do I see mentioned grit access. When we have a house chicken or a chicken caged while recuperating, we sometimes forget all about grit. They still require it for digestion.

Get some baby liquid vitamins and give those to her each day. Another reason she may be losing feathers is because she lacks vitamin D which chickens usually get from exposing their feathers to the sun. If she isn't getting direct sun each day, you will need to be sure she gets the vitamin D in a supplement.

 

[Byrd gal]

I'm thinking she is not getting enough nutrients and that's why her feathers didn't grow back right. Is she a standard Black Sex-Link? If so, she is very underweight.

@azygous

Yes I agree she is very underweight! I don't know how to get her to gain weight. I give her dry cat food too but I am at a loss on what is nutrient rich and high calorie enough for her. I was thinking dried corn but nutrition wise maybe not. Can you give a bird a multivitamin? I am failing her and feel horrible. I love this little bag of shabby feathers. Can I feed her if her crop feels full? So many questions!! Sorry guys.