broken beak

[Bubo]

I didnt want to take over the other thread so i'm starting a new one. I have just had a mate about his harris. He has a 2004 male harris 750g which seemed in perfect health when he got him. Now the tip of the beak has broken off. Apparently the bird was born with a deficiency which has caused this. (I am only posting going on the info i was given). the base of the beak is in good condition it is just the hard end bit (sorry guys word is on the tip of my tongue). the talons seem to be in very good condition though.
I asked what he is feeding on and he said, chicks, beef, duck, pheasant, pigeon, thrush :shock: blackbird and rabbit. his question is what can be used to help speed up growth of the beak?

my question is, if anyone recognises the cause of the problem, can this occur at any time of the bird's life? or is the deficiency due to something lacking at the very early stages of the birds life?
this is the only piccy he had

[RabbitHawker]

biotin may help, also it is worth taking a file to the edges of the flaking beak and filing carefully back to good healthy tissue, eliminating the crack at the base as this can keep the split from running again.

[Bubo]

thanks mate, but what causes this? is it a lack of some vit/mineral? forgot to ask, where does one get biotin? and can it be sent overseas if only found in the uk?

bubo

[Bubo]

ok just got back to the guy and he said it is does not flake off. the hard bit just lifted up and left the soft bit exposed (i need the right terms here, if anyone can help me out). it has regrown over the soft bit but only in a thin layer.

will this repair to it's initial state?

[RabbitHawker]

biotin should be available over there, or could be mailed from here, it's impossible to say if it will grow back to normal, it will depend on the underlying structures, and if there is involvement of the underlying bone, but shoud be fine

[Bubo]

hi rabbithawker you're a gem!! i'll get this message to him. thanks for your help.

bubs