Top Beak sticking out through bottom Beak injury

[pdpbison]

Hi all...

I have run into this two times.

The first, some years ago, and with the help of a kindly Vet, it nevertheless went awkwardly, since neither of us had ever encountered it before to have worked out a decent method, and the Pigeon died the next day, maybe from the anaesthetic strains with all the other strains and traumas.

Second Bird, no anasethetic was used and the Bird was a sweetie and I got the method worked out for this kind of problem.


Both Pigeons had the same situation - their top Beak was sticking out through the center of the bottom middle of their lower Beak. And, each had considerable or severe emaciation and neglected plumage, and had signs of trichonomiasis infection with heavy build ups of clinging yellow chaulky poo dribbles, built up at their vent feathers. Both tried to peck at Seeds initially but of course were not able to eat them, and neither could drink very well, but could drink a little. I think also that their tongues were compromised or pinned in the pinch of it in both cases.

The second occasion of me having a Bird like this then, I enlisted a lay someone to give me a hand, and, I clipped about 1/8th of an inch off of the projecting tip of the top Beak while it was still sticking through the bottom Beaks middle, so there would be just that little bit less of it to try and lever up and out, but I hit the little blood vessels in it and felt bad I had guessed wrong on how far I could trim there. I cauterized that with a Silver Nitrate swab and it still bled so I just got on with the proceedure. The Bird did not like this and I apologised in a big way for screwing up like that. I needed his trust and co-operation and I hated to feel I had compromised that with a lame move.

Anyway...

I gently tested the flexibility of the upper Beak, and almost got it out by pushing up from below, while kind of pulling from above but it was hard to get much of a grip from above. The Pigeon was amazingly co-operative and wanting to get this fixed, the mood was good now and positive and I am certain knew very well that I was trying to help him with something he indeed wanted to see get straightened out. If I took a momentary pause to think some more, the Bird seemed to have an anxious mood of "Come on, lets get this done!".

So, after a couple test trys, I got the upper Beak lifted up somewhat and got a softish smaller diameter plastic Ball point Pen (was it? or something the right size anyway) slid in-between it and their lower beak, at the back, and then, pulling gently up the horizontal pen while pushing down on the lower Beaks front tip, while my assistant with their finger tips, pushed up on and bent back the part of the upper Beak that was sticking through from below, while I also held his head in the right soft-gentle steadyness and held him in general somehow! we got it out! wow!

... and the Bird exibited an immediate recognition of our success with a mixture of what I took to be relief, a little sorness from the strain, and did some kind of yawning motions to iron out the kinks, and just stood there on the table and it was like all three of us were so happy! Yippee!

...and I saw their little tounge had been pinned in there and looked dry and sticking out and was kind of twisted...and with all that, the Bird totally had an immediate mood of optimism, and relief and positive energy getting going, none the less.

Their bottom Beak was distorted then, widened, from the top beaks' having been jammed through it for however long especially, and decresingly stayed that way for a few days, and regained it's normal form soon after.

I medicated from the start with some anti trichomoniasis tablets dissolved in water, because that was all I had, even though these Tablets were supposed to be put into their crops.

Next day after the Beak correction, the Pigeon was eating enthusiastically if less than perfectly, and was preening and generally rapidly improveing. I gave him a warm Butt-Bath in a sink I think on the first day of habving him, before the proceedure even, and kept him with a hot-pad and towell in a Cage, and he was fine with that. he had a huge amount of built up harnened poo at his vent and was relived to have it get wshed off and massaged off there. I got the dry heaves a few times from it's odor, like usual.

In a week, he looked normal and happy and putting on weight, and I let him free fly around the inside areas here...and in two weeks you would never know anything had ever happened to him, and so I let him go, meaning let him at his own discretion, go outside, whereupon he kept-a-going in strong even flight as he gained altitude and distance like a rocket.

He was a very acomidating and friendly Pigeon and like most of them, soon looked at me with that look of "You are comeing into MY Cage there mister!" when I would change his Water or Seed bowl, but never was upset or anything with it even if I was having my hand right next to him or cleaning his Cage with him in it. And the rest of the time had those looks of contentment or curiousity or minding his own day dreams or once free flying in here, sometimes comeing onto my desk and wondering what I was doing here on the computer.

A real sweetie and a good success story for us both.


If I run into this kind of problem again, I think I will warm the Beak with a quite warm moist folded Terrycloth Towell piece, with the hope that it may allow the already somewhat resilient top Beak to be just a little more pliable for it's getting pulled out from it's perdiciment.

They do have a sort of 'hinge' in their upper Beaks, which one can kind of note if you see them yawn sometime, the top Beak kind of can hinge 'up' a little bit near it's root. I know this must be a sensitive and not necessarily strong area, and I am glad it withstood the strain. He did look very odd while the top Beak was still pointed down through the bottom one, and I am sure it was hurting to be that way, too.

I imagined that both of these Birds must have collided with something, and somehow drove their Top Beaks down through the soft mid center of their lower Beaks. How such a collision would not break their necks or occasion a fatal concussion, I do not know.

Have any of you ever dealt with this kind of injury?


If you have, go ahead and let us know what your recollections of it may be!

Overall, it is a decently fast and easy fix if one go about it right and do not strain things too much for the poor thing while doing it.


Phil

[Reti]

Hi Phil,
I've never encountered anything like you described.
Thank you for posting your experience on this. It is good to know it is fixable and the bird can be fine after that.


Reti

[AZWhitefeather]

Many thanks for such an interesting & informative story Phil.
I personally haven't experienced what you described, but it's always good to know what can be done.

"I imagined that both of these Birds must have collided with something, and somehow drove their Top Beaks down through the soft mid center of their lower Beaks. How such a collision would not break their necks or occasion a fatal concussion, I do not know"
It's possible the canker could have caused the deformity. Kim, (KIPPY) has a pij, Jack, that was left with a severe scissor beak due to canker.

Again thanks for the sharing your success story with us.

Cindy

[pdpbison]

Hi Cindy,


These were not due to Canker or infection...the top Beak was pointing out through the center mid-section of the lower Beak. This could not be achived I do not think, from anything less then a sudden and extreme force directed in and down, acting on the upper Beak. There was no deformity of the Beak. Only a widening of the bottom Beak where the top one was driven through it, which went back to normal soon after getting the thing freed up. These were not easy to get out! I am amazed the Beak connection withstood the strain...

I did have a Bird once who lost his entire Beak from some infection. It was almost falling off when I found him. In those days, there was a nice lady Vet here in town and she helped me with this, and treated the wound area and removed the dead tissue. The Bird recovered splendidly, but of course had no beak. So, he looked very different than other Pigeons, yet somehow completely charming! Adorable even - and ( long story short) he eventually ate well on his own and did just fine and was free to go out and fly all day if he liked and be with the Wild Birds ( who he used to be himself) but he prefered to live with me as for where he called Home. He was a mature adult when I found him sick and infected and so on.

Phil