Greetings, I am Dr. Pat. I have worked with birds for many years. I will do my best to help you.

This indentation is at the tip-end of the beak? Not directly under the beak? You can upload a photo using the paperclip icon in the tool bar.

Probably this will not cause a problem, plenty of my patients are missing part or all of the upper/lower beak. She is young and should adapt. But a photo will help me be more precise and give you pointers, at this stage I can only offer generalities.

One, it is very important to keep her clean. Wash the mess off after each feeding, and try not to spill on her face. As you have found, the dried formula can be a problem, and even "diaper rash" kind of skin irritation can develop. A damp, soft, old, thin wash cloth works best.

Sparrows are actually quite omnivorous, and should be on a varied diet in order to thrive. The millet just won't cut it. I treat all our sparrows just the same as parrots (and I have a number of elderly sparrows now in my patients).

At this point I doubt she will be releasable. She will be your pet. House Sparrows do not require any permits to keep. And they make a very interesting companion.

She should have a vet exam: Check
http://www.aav.org/association/index.php?content=activeMembersList , make sure the vet is familiar with passerines and/or wild birds.

The following guidelines help with basic issues such as nutrition, obesity, good immune status. Surprising how the following can make a bird healthy, and how infrequently birds are ill if they are on the following regimen. No amount of medicine is going to work if the birds' basic needs are not met.

Birds should be on a high-quality, preferably prescription, pelleted diet: I prefer High-potency Harrison's
http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.http://www.harrisonsbirdfoods.com/products/harrisons.html

TOP
http://totallyorganics.com/t-pellets.php


In addition, they should be offered dark leafy greens, cooked sweet potatoes, yams, squash, pumpkin; entire (tops and bottoms) fresh carrots and so forth. No seeds (and that means a mix, or millet, or sprays, etc. etc.) and only healthy, low-fat high fiber people food. A dietary change should be closely monitored and supervised by your avian vet.

Daily Maintenance

Birds should get 12-14 hours dark, quiet, uninterrupted sleep at night. Any less and they can suffer from sleep deprivation and associated illnesses. They should be covered or their cage placed in a dark room that is not used after they go to bed.

The cage material should be cleaned everyday, and twice a day if the bird is really messy. Paper towels, newspaper, bath towels are ok. Never use corn cob, sawdust, wood chips, or walnut shell.
Food and water dishes should be cleaned and changed daily. Keep one set cleaned while the other is in use.

Fresh, perishable food should be placed in separate food bowls. Remove fresh food from the cage after a couple of hours to avoid spoilage.

Change cage papers daily, and clean the grate and tray weekly.

Clean food debris or droppings from toys and perches as needed (which can be as often as once a day).

Grit is not necessary for birds, and will cause digestive problems and death. The best sources of minerals (and vitamins) are leafy greens. Never give grit, gravel sandpaper or cement perches. A bird will eat those to excess when it is not feeling well or if there is a nutritional deficiency. They do not need it at all (an old myth from the poultry days, even poultry do not need it). It can cause an impaction and lead to serious or fatal consequences.

Photos did not upload. Use the paper clip icon, Firefox seems to work best for this function.

yes, offer the pellets now. "finch" sized.

Consider caging longer than tall (they are not helicopters) and lock up the cats once in a while so she can exercise and interact with you.

These make excellent bird enclosures, they are inexpensive and come in large sizes This is a 20 gallon. She should have the 39 gallon, 175, or even the 275 gallon models. Check with reptile supplies online under "reptarium". The pictures show them in a vertical position but horizontal is appropriate for birds)

I looks as if the entire nail-like covering of the lower jaw was lost. Some of the upper beak seems damaged as well.

Several things could have caused this: an original injury in the nest; over-heated formula, hypervitaminosis (did you add vitamins, feed pet food, or also see this link and check your Kaytee product:
http://www.kaytee.com/learn-share/news/kaytee-recalls-exact.htm )

and infections. Her feathers and toes show evidence of malnutrition as well--was she fed dog or catfood at any point?

If the bird is able to eat solid foods now, then absolutely get her on pellets (no "cracking" required) and offer things like grapes and melon for hydration. She can probably drink, but it may be a bit of effort. Go ahead and give a shallow dish (again, check reptile supplies for low 2" diameter crocks) so she can learn. Her eating abilities are compromised but she should be able to manage with a bit of help. Definitely NOT releasable.

If she was my patient, I would start calcium injections, immediately begin proper diet, and keep the upper and lower beak under observation. She might need antibiotic injections as well.

check the lot numbers on the Exact, and get a new safe package if th yours is one of the dangerous ones.

PS Kaytee has a good section on wild birds. And they are generally a good product. This was a horrible incident.