parrot beak

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FatChicksDigMe

FatChicksDigMe

Crowing
6 Years
May 9, 2015
416
609
251
Merced County, CA
Hi guys, I am worried for this this Easter egger chick...I've been meaning to post this for a while since I noticed this phenomenon: her top beak is naturally longer than her lower beak. She had a sister who had the same problem but worse, as she seemed to have NO lower mandible and tumor-looking growth on her throat. Poor thing probably died of starvation and I couldn't get it to eat when isolated either.

I'm afraid this one will follow suit, though she appears to eat and move. However, you can tell it's not flourishing like her playmates, and she usually just walks around, never run. She is SUPER tame and doesn't seem to mind/be scared of much (even my hens). One thing both did though is always eat food first...presumably bc they could eat less than the normal beaked chicks.
What can I do!?
400
 
Also, my dad tried to trim some of her sisters beak and it bled really badly so he didn't do that again. Maybe that's why she survived longer but eventually died of her condition.
 
The tumor thing was more pronounced in her sister but she died. This girl doesn't really have it that much, but there is something going on with under her beak too. My problem is I don't know how to help her eat better,or make life easier for her with her Condition, esp.since I have a mixed flock.
 
Anyone have ideas? I got her at the feed store in the Americana section but I know all of them were Easter eggers.The other ee pullets are normal beaked and doing good, but this poor girl looks like an owl or something!
 
FatChicksDigMe said:
Anyone have ideas? I got her at the feed store in the Americana section but I know all of them were Easter eggers.The other ee pullets are normal beaked and doing good, but this poor girl looks like an owl or something!
Click to expand...
About how old is she?

Can you offer her crumbles mixed with water into a soft easy to gulp mush? A thick layer of food in a dish might help too, it has to be difficult to get food into her mouth. Others have suggested that is good for beak problems, and I know it helps weak/ill birds eat more faster when the food is a soft mush.

Getting calories into her would be a good start. If that were my chick I would research ways to trim the upper beak safely, and I also might consider tube feeding short term to get her strength up. If she is eating well and gaining weight but NOT getting more energy then maybe something else is wrong. Just because she pecks at the dish doesn't mean she is actually getting enough food, can you tell how much she is eating?
 
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She is a month old, probably a month and a half. You are right, she seemed to like eating wet crumbles when I gave it to her before, but she seems to be eating everything else the other pullets and hens eat, just slowly. I'm worried for her future when she becomes a hen, and everyone in my flock ignores her except when one of the mean beta girls attack her for being close to the food when they are hungry...
 
Trying to eat and actually eating/swallowing are two different things. I would be concerned about her starving to death.

IMO you need to make sure she IS eating, and that she is eating enough. That likely means a separate small dish of wet crumbles offered at least once/twice a day.
 
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Sonya9 said:
Trying to eat and actually eating/swallowing are two different things. I would be concerned about her starving to death.

IMO you need to make sure she IS eating, and that she is eating enough. That likely means a separate small dish of wet crumbles offered at least once/twice a day.
Click to expand...


Yeah...I am worried about her starving too. I am sure that's what happened to her sis, and although I tried to feed her she didn't want anything, so I gave her water myself. She died overnight:(

This one though, is constantly by food, and I feel her crop is full...it's just that you can tell she is underweight and struggling. Although she has a mind of her own (she loves walking around!) I will try to provide her special attention. Thank you for the advice!
 
She needs a rough paving stone in the coop to grind down that beak. Birds will keep their beaks in working order themselves if they have the means to do so.

EEs are mutts, so variation between the birds is not necessarily a sign that she is struggling. Some EEs are large and robust, and some are small and spritely.
 

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