4 week chick, recessed bottom beak...help please

[KRose11]

I have a 4 week old Americauna chick. Her bottom beak hasn't grown. Her upper beak is very large, like a parrot. She was okay until last week and is now having a hard time eating and isn't growing or as active as the other chicks. I've filed down her beak a little but I am not sure if I can take any more off of it...I don't want to cause pain or hit her nerve in her beak. Has anyone had experience with this?

 

[Maddcatter]

I have a 4 week old Americauna chick. Her bottom beak hasn't grown. Her upper beak is very large, like a parrot. She was okay until last week and is now having a hard time eating and isn't growing or as active as the other chicks. I've filed down her beak a little but I am not sure if I can take any more off of it...I don't want to cause pain or hit her nerve in her beak. Has anyone had experience with this?

I don't have experience with this, but I think this article looks promising for how to "fix" it... though it looks like trimming the upper beak is what you have to do.

excerpt from article "
Treating chickens with overgrown beaks:

Treating overgrown beaks is done by carefully trimming and filing the beak in stages till the desired shape and size is obtained. Beak trimming is a two person job.

Trimming a chickens beak is done in exactly the same way you do your nails and if you make a mistake and cut too deep then cussing and bad tempers will follow.

Trimming is done with a pair of nail clippers for the small beak cutting jobs or a pair of cutters for the bigger ones."

https://cluckin.net/what-is-wrong-with-my-chickens-beak.html#mcetoc_1fnjphs2kbu3

 

[KRose11]

I don't have experience with this, but I think this article looks promising for how to "fix" it... though it looks like trimming the upper beak is what you have to do.

excerpt from article "
Treating chickens with overgrown beaks:

Treating overgrown beaks is done by carefully trimming and filing the beak in stages till the desired shape and size is obtained. Beak trimming is a two person job.

Trimming a chickens beak is done in exactly the same way you do your nails and if you make a mistake and cut too deep then cussing and bad tempers will follow.

Trimming is done with a pair of nail clippers for the small beak cutting jobs or a pair of cutters for the bigger ones."

https://cluckin.net/what-is-wrong-with-my-chickens-beak.html#mcetoc_1fnjphs2kbu3

Thank you Maddcatter. As I read further the article did mention parrot beak as a deformity that only can be trimmed. I'm just not sure if I can trim anymore of the beak off without hurting her. I will save this website as it was helpful. Thanks again.

 

[Maddcatter]

Thank you Maddcatter. As I read further the article did mention parrot beak as a deformity that only can be trimmed. I'm just not sure if I can trim anymore of the beak off without hurting her. I will save this website as it was helpful. Thanks again.

I think they mentioned it had to be done in stages, though that may have been a different article.
Keep in mind that battery hen's beaks are trimmed back quite a bit so they can't peck each other.
I'll see if i can find more info later.

 

[Cosmos_coop]

I have a 4 week old Americauna chick. Her bottom beak hasn't grown. Her upper beak is very large, like a parrot. She was okay until last week and is now having a hard time eating and isn't growing or as active as the other chicks. I've filed down her beak a little but I am not sure if I can take any more off of it...I don't want to cause pain or hit her nerve in her beak. Has anyone had experience with this?

I’m curious what happened with your chick. We are dealing with the exact same thing with our 3 week old chick. First time I have ever seen or dealt with this before.

 

[realsis]

I had a bird with a cross beak. I had to continue to file her beak every few months to ensure she could eat. Is she eating and drinking alright? That is the main thing you will need to continue to monitor through her life. They can do well with these types of things as l9ng as eating and drinking is not a issue. I had to keep a close eye on my cross beak cause it would inhibit her eating. Hope this helps.