Diary of a Crossbeak: Support for Special Needs Chickens and their Keepers

[artsyrobin]

Looking forward to reading this thread, I have a cross beak hen too.

this is a photo of Evey and her dedicated boyfriend Dexter. I feed her wet crumbles.

aww what a sweet couple!! i have a crossbeak couple- Ginger and Mumbles, and they get fermented feed- messy, but they eat well

 

[cosmic chicken]

aww what a sweet couple!! i have a crossbeak couple- Ginger and Mumbles, and they get fermented feed- messy, but they eat well

They look great! How do you brush/bathe/groom them? Evey looks rumpled... I gave her a bath by dipping her in soapy water (slosh slosh) then dipping her in clean water (slosh slosh) then a towel burrito followed by a blow dry, but she still looked rumpled.

 

[artsyrobin]

i put her in the bath and use a spray nozzle, but hold the spray nozzle close as it scares her- and i wrap in a towel and blow dry- this is before a bath- i discovered fermented feed can set like concretes, so i either brush her with a hairbrush or if they are hard, a pair of pliers to crush the balls of food- then a bath a couple times a week-

 

[cosmic chicken]

i put her in the bath and use a spray nozzle, but hold the spray nozzle close as it scares her- and i wrap in a towel and blow dry- this is before a bath- i discovered fermented feed can set like concretes, so i either brush her with a hairbrush or if they are hard, a pair of pliers to crush the balls of food- then a bath a couple times a week-

Holy moly! Evey only gets crusty on her beak, which gets rinsed off when she drinks, so I am lucky there. I will try the spray nozzle and maybe it will help blow out the feather bits down deep. Dexter is not a cross beak and he is quite dedicated to Evey. He will find yummy bits for her and gives her many many tries to eat them up. It is very neat to watch them.

 

[artsyrobin]

yeah this girl gets seriously messy, her roo is a crossbeak, but not nearly as severe

 

[tinkerfairy]

I am raising my first flocks, standard size, bantams and silkies. I went to tsc today looking for some new bantams and silkies, there's a girl there that knows I've gotten mine for pets and eggs. She actually got spit on by one of my 5 ducklings when I was picking them. Anyway to the point, I picked my bantams she was trying to spread wings to see if they were females. After I picked my newest 8 I asked for some shavings for the box. She went to the back and got some from an open bag, little did I know she was going to bring me a chick I didn't have the heart to pass up. She asked me if id take it home.
Beauty as I've named it, has a pretty bad head deformation, the head isn't the correct shape, it has a bad scissor beak the top goes off to an angle, it has one eye. She didn't say what breed its a yellow chick with red on its head and 2 red lines running down the back. Maybe a sex link.
I didn't think beauty would be alive when I got home from work, but was as active as the bantams. It seems to be able to drink the water mixed with save a chick. I don't think it can pick up food to eat so I crumbled up the feed very fine and placed some in the bottom beak I saw it licking it so I think its trying to eat, I also mixed some feed with save a chick water I made 2 different batches one with more liquid than the other. I see it go to the food and try to eat on its own. It now follows my hand around the tub if I touch a bantam it comes right up to me.
this chick is showing a will to live that amazes me, I've already become attached and this is day 1. Should I try to cut back the top beak so it could get food in easier, it doesn't seem to be able to get its mouth open much with how crossed the beak is. I want to save this chick I don't know what it is about it, its special, very sweet. Its young it has very little feathering on tips of wings and a tiny bit of tail feathers forming, they probably got it in yesterdays shipment she didn't say.
she told me tsc has a new hatchery this year and they have received several deformed chicks, she's mentioned them to me before but I didn't know they were keeping them. She said they separate them and give them feed and water. She said some had lived and grow and she managed to find someone to take a small flock. I just have the one chick any advice would be appreciated I am new to chickens to start with. I couldn't turn this chick down
I know animals sense things and many would say its just a chick let it die or kill it, but that's something I cant do. It has the will to live it has energy, and is super friendly I think maybe it knows I am trying to help it.
I also noticed one of my sultan bantams I've had for 2 weeks is starting to have a deformation, its beak looks like its slightly open on one side. I don't know what hatchery they have this year but it seems they're knowingly shipping these chicks to them. I know beauty doesn't have a good chance but I'm willing to try my best to help it any way I can.
I bought mine as pets and for eggs so I won't kill it, its very lively so maybe beauty could live happily.
how often should I help it eat each day? The bantams seem to be ok with the chick being with them, they're smaller so maybe they will be better for it to live with, I didn't want to keep it alone since chicks seem to prefer company.
if I could find out the hatchery they're using id write them a letter and give them a piece of my mind, I'm sure I'm not the only one that bought chicks for pets, I didn't order from a hatchery because I wanted a smaller flock, although I defeated that purpose buying chicks multiple weeks lol hard to pass up the variety
I was also told they're sending them chicks they cant identity, they're supposed to get specialty breeds then pullets but she said she thinks a lot of them are mixed not pure breeds. I know chickens are a food source but I don't have the heart to raise them and slaughter them, ill keep all my roos, I got them for my own eggs and id like to raise some chicks when they're older.
sorry for the long post I've been searching for what I can do to help beauty since she was given to me

 

[artsyrobin]

I am raising my first flocks, standard size, bantams and silkies. I went to tsc today looking for some new bantams and silkies, there's a girl there that knows I've gotten mine for pets and eggs. She actually got spit on by one of my 5 ducklings when I was picking them. Anyway to the point, I picked my bantams she was trying to spread wings to see if they were females. After I picked my newest 8 I asked for some shavings for the box. She went to the back and got some from an open bag, little did I know she was going to bring me a chick I didn't have the heart to pass up. She asked me if id take it home.
Beauty as I've named it, has a pretty bad head deformation, the head isn't the correct shape, it has a bad scissor beak the top goes off to an angle, it has one eye. She didn't say what breed its a yellow chick with red on its head and 2 red lines running down the back. Maybe a sex link.
I didn't think beauty would be alive when I got home from work, but was as active as the bantams. It seems to be able to drink the water mixed with save a chick. I don't think it can pick up food to eat so I crumbled up the feed very fine and placed some in the bottom beak I saw it licking it so I think its trying to eat, I also mixed some feed with save a chick water I made 2 different batches one with more liquid than the other. I see it go to the food and try to eat on its own. It now follows my hand around the tub if I touch a bantam it comes right up to me.
this chick is showing a will to live that amazes me, I've already become attached and this is day 1. Should I try to cut back the top beak so it could get food in easier, it doesn't seem to be able to get its mouth open much with how crossed the beak is. I want to save this chick I don't know what it is about it, its special, very sweet. Its young it has very little feathering on tips of wings and a tiny bit of tail feathers forming, they probably got it in yesterdays shipment she didn't say.
she told me tsc has a new hatchery this year and they have received several deformed chicks, she's mentioned them to me before but I didn't know they were keeping them. She said they separate them and give them feed and water. She said some had lived and grow and she managed to find someone to take a small flock. I just have the one chick any advice would be appreciated I am new to chickens to start with. I couldn't turn this chick down
I know animals sense things and many would say its just a chick let it die or kill it, but that's something I cant do. It has the will to live it has energy, and is super friendly I think maybe it knows I am trying to help it.
I also noticed one of my sultan bantams I've had for 2 weeks is starting to have a deformation, its beak looks like its slightly open on one side. I don't know what hatchery they have this year but it seems they're knowingly shipping these chicks to them. I know beauty doesn't have a good chance but I'm willing to try my best to help it any way I can.
I bought mine as pets and for eggs so I won't kill it, its very lively so maybe beauty could live happily.
how often should I help it eat each day? The bantams seem to be ok with the chick being with them, they're smaller so maybe they will be better for it to live with, I didn't want to keep it alone since chicks seem to prefer company.
if I could find out the hatchery they're using id write them a letter and give them a piece of my mind, I'm sure I'm not the only one that bought chicks for pets, I didn't order from a hatchery because I wanted a smaller flock, although I defeated that purpose buying chicks multiple weeks lol hard to pass up the variety
I was also told they're sending them chicks they cant identity, they're supposed to get specialty breeds then pullets but she said she thinks a lot of them are mixed not pure breeds. I know chickens are a food source but I don't have the heart to raise them and slaughter them, ill keep all my roos, I got them for my own eggs and id like to raise some chicks when they're older.
sorry for the long post I've been searching for what I can do to help beauty since she was given to me

Bravo for you!! they are worth the extra work involved- if you are on faceook, we have an active crosseak care givers group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/587948771309216/?ref=bookmarks

basically you need to feed in deep dishes so she can get the food down, sometimes wet food works better, i grind corn and mix with the food, it helps them to get weight on. I only file the beak when it is interfering with food- then be careful filing, they bleed easy- feel free to pm me if you need too

 

[tinkerfairy]

Thank you. I'm not sure what all is wrong with the chick the beaks are so crossed they look almost beside each other, the head shape is off and one eye is missing. I mixed up chick feed with water that had save a chick in it. I fed the chick with a small syringe I got it from a vets office it was for small animals, its willingly taking food, and had a bowel movement, I did have to clean the chick earlier, but this time it seemed to go fine on its own.
I know many people would say let it go, but the chick was given to me from a girl at tsc and I'm going to try to help it live. Its a young chick, barely any feathers on tips of wings, I'm amazed it hatched and survived being shipped. This little bird truly amazes me, blind on one side and that beak, but it stirs just as much as the bantams its with, it eagerly follows my hand around there tub and hops on. It holds its head up for me while feeding so I can see if I'm getting food in its mouth. The bantams haven't been mean to it and it even pecks a little at them. I think its drinking on its own. Could be eating too, but id rather feed it to know that its getting food. It hasn't been lethargic and I see a determination to survive its such a brave chick. I couldn't turn it down had to bring it home and try. I'm not sure if it will survive to an adult bird it may only have a few days, but I will do what I can to help it.
do you think I should add chick grit or something similar to help it digest the food?
I hate referring to the chick as it, but I don't know the gender yet, I called tsc and she said she believes the chicks a red sex link, the color is golden yellow red on the head and neck then 2 red stripes down the back.
people may think my little chick is ugly with the deformation of the face, but it has a very sweet trusting personality, it choses to climb into my hand, yes the chick looks different but no to me its not ugly its special, that's why its name is Beauty-Hope,
this chick couldn't help how it looks, but I can help it live as long as it wants to. I've lost 2 bantam chicks, I saw that they gave up, I have no clue what was wrong, one tiny chipmunk pattern died the night I brought it home, a black one I got with that bantam died 6 days later, both were very small even for bantams, but this chick makes it obvious that its trying and wants to live. I hope that it can survive and have a long life as a pet, I'm hoping its a rooster since I read laying eggs could weaken it

 

[tinkerfairy]

I sent a request to join the group. So I should add corn and extra vitamins to the feed. Right now I use Purina mixed flock starter since I have ducklings, its not medicated but I can by this chick its own feed if that would be better, they carry small bags of medicated starter grower, and I will check what vitamins they offer. I read about filing the beak but I haven't tried that yet since it responds to me feeding it, I don't want to do anything to hurt it or break its trust, right now this is one of my friendliest chicks, most of my bantams even with daily handling run away

I have my chicks as pets and the added bonus of eggs. I don't live in city limits so I can keep however many roosters I end up with. I'm really glad I was given this little miracle chick. I'm getting a few EE pullets next week and I saw they can develop cross beak from reading this thread, and since I have a little sultan showing signs now, I've had it 3 weeks and now one side of the beak always looks slightly open and I can now see a slight misalignment maybe since its been noticed early I can correct it somehow, these 2 chicks came from 2 different tractor supply stores. Its heartbreaking to see, but this thread has given me hope for both chicks. I've only had beauty a day but I am already attached, its hard not to be with that sweet personality and determination. I never expected or researched this when I bought my chicks, everyone looked healthy. I'll know next time to find a good breeder. Luckily I have silkies ranging from 6 weeks, 3 weeks, and one I got yesterday that still has the egg tooth, I've checked all my chicks so far beauty and the one sultan are the only ones with this issue and I have one vaulted silkie, but I knew it was when I saw it, but I got it to give it a good home. I used to be terrified of chickens especially bantams I was flogged by a rooster when I was younger what better way to get over that than get my own

 

[artsyrobin]

what is your name on FB? I am admin there so will be there alot-

i always feed mine medicated started unless its ducks, they can't have that