australorp Beak Question --- UPDATED WITH PHOTO

[remist17]

I have a black australorp that seems to have a longer beak then the buffs or delawares I have. The top part of the beak seems to be curving over the bottom. It is not terrible but just noticeable differance. IS this normal? We have never cut the beaks or filled them.


Please note the top beak goes shut directly over the top. They do not close un even. The one photo may suggest that.

 

[cobrien]

i'm no expert, have not seen this in my BA's but have seen it with my polish and have read about it on byc. I trim her beak with dog nail clippers. her beak is a pale color so I can see the blood vessel inside so I know where I should stop. with a ba it would be harder but i think you could take a bit off the tip to help her eat more efficiently.

 

[lowry075]

Sounds like a crossbeak. You can probably look up pictures of this on the internet. It's fairly common in chickens and is not specific to your autralorp. By BO (on my avatar) has one as well. As long as she can eat, it's not serious.

 

[Buff-Island-Australorp]

Quote:
I have a BA as well with an extremely bad crossbeak. She is 16 weeks, and I noticed it when she was about 1 week old. (2 days after I bought her) I've heard that some will not show until they are older. Mine has a very difficult time eating scraps, but eats her crumble ok. She's smaller than the rest but is the fastest maturing of my five BA's. She may even lay the first egg out of my nine chickens.
I feed my chickens dry "cheerio's" as a small treat, and she will get them stuck on her bottom jaw. If another chicken steals one that she's trying to eat, she'll chase them down and give them a good whack with her beak. She's actually turning into a little "HAG"!!!

 

[axion_lotus]

I have a buff silkie that does the same thing with his beak, it's so funny.

 

[ALRwild]

If it isn't super bad, then leave it be, but if it looks pretty hard for her to eat and/or is getting worse, then I would clip it.

 

[Buff-Island-Australorp]

I've clipped mine twice, and both times she bled for a little while. Both times, I felt it wasn't enough.
To the original poster.....If and/or when you clip her beak, prepare a place for her to be kept isolated for a little while afterwards. If she bleeds, the other chickens will swarm her, and will not back off for a good while.

 

[remist17]

Well she eats fine and is the largest out of the bunch. I do not see it changing anything in her habits and still is able to chase the flies and bugs.

Is this a defect from the breeding or just a freak genetic cross. I bought these as chicks from a hatchery.

 

[cobrien]

It is unclear to me if you have a cross beak or just a long beak. Is the top of the beak aligned with the bottom and just longer than the bottom and curving over it at the end? To me that is not a cross beak it is just long. If misaligned with the bottom I'd call that a cross beak but that is not what I understood from your description.. If the crop is getting full you could leave it but personally I'd trim it if it is long because it seems to me something that is likely to get worse. Maybe a pic would help.

 

[remist17]

the top is directly over the bottom. The top beak is just longer and curls down a little kinda like a eagles beak. She eats fine but I was not sure if this is a issue. I will try and get a photo.