VETS in Swindon undertook pioneering surgery to save yellow-billed kite chick Beaky – by reconstructing his beak in an emergency operation.

Just nine days after Beaky hatched, immediate action was required as he had grown too big for his shell during incubation, forcing his beak to bend under the pressure.

Despite severe damage suffered before hatching, Beaky is now recovering well and is expected to survive with a good quality of life for up to 25 years.

Vets Now Referrals of Shrivenham Road took Beaky in and decided to take emergency action.

Vet Neil Forbes put him under anaesthetic before breaking both sides of the chick’s lower jaw to reposition it.

An acrylic support was then fitted around the beak to keep it straight to promote healing while allowing normal growth in the future.

Beaky recovered quickly and is now able to eat for himself – a vital action his previously deformed beak prevented.

Mr Forbes said: “This is the youngest age at which we have needed to break and reset a lower jaw of any bird and it was a challenging and complex procedure.

“I’m absolutely thrilled with the results of the operation. We’ve essentially taken a chick that was a cripple and that stood no chance of survival and given him another chance at life.”

Beaky’s egg was laid in captivity at the International Centre for Birds of Prey (ICBP) in Newent, Gloucestershire, by a hen who had previously failed to raise her chicks.

Two eggs – those of Beaky and a sibling – were transported to artificial incubation to help boost their chances of survival.

Both chicks suffered from complications in their development, causing the other chick to die 48 hours after being hatched.

“Due to the weather conditions, insufficient weight loss had occurred in the eggs during incubation causing them to be too large, which ultimately led to the critical deformation of their beaks,” Mr Forbes said. “We had hoped that the sibling would survive but the health complications were too severe.”

Holly Cale, curator at the ICBP, hand-reared Beaky along with her colleagues until he was nine days old and could feasibly be operated on.

She said: “Beaky has recovered amazingly well – he was feeding the very next day after being returned to us.

“Neil deals with all of the cases we have here. He’s amazing, he’s always on the end of the phone when we need him and he’s become a great friend of the centre.

“We’re so delighted that the emergency surgery was such a success with Beaky and, despite everything, he is now thriving.”

Beaky will be reared and trained at the ICBP before being transported to Belgium with his siblings to form part of a new demonstration team there.