Hen with scab on beak - should I be worried?

[Pony Girl]

My favorelle, Bella, appears to have developed a scab on the top of her beak.

Initially it just appeared to be an area of darker pigment but in the last week it has started to look a bit crusty. Is this something I should be worried about?

 

[chrismahon]

I really would like to see a photograph of that Pony Girl. Two of our cockerels have developed scabs on their beaks at the point where the comb starts at the front which are not responding to much. It could just be an injury in your case or it could be the dry form of Fowl Pox, as I suspect it is in ours.

 

[kegs]

Does it look anything like this Pony Girl?
http://poultrykeeper.com/external-problems/fowl-pox

 

[Pony Girl]

It does look a little bit like this but not as bad but it definitely started as a being just a slightly dark spot on her beak, no pus, and I can't remember if it's a marking she's always had - will have to dig out some old photos.

I might give my vet a ring for some advice though it doesn't sound like there's a lot you can do for it?

Thanks both.

 

[chrismahon]

We're trying Gentian Violet on Basil as it may be a fungal infection of a simple wound -our orchard used to be a waste fly-tipping site for the locals back in the '60's and probably long before. The soil seems to have all sorts of nasty stuff in it.

 

[Pony Girl]

Sorry I've not been on here for a while but just to update you that fortunately it appeared to just be a scab over a small cut on Bella's beak and not the dreaded pox! The scab's come off and the beak appears to have healed nicely underneath with a tiny crack where the cut must have been. Thanks everyone for their suggestions.