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

[HelloChickies]

Found a great home for my crossbeak with a lady who has a special needs duck!

Yay!!

 

[featheredheart]

I'm so happy to see this thread. I would love to hear any opnion out there.

I have a crossbeak named Esther; she's absolutely my darling. I found her on a fluke. So, I'd ordered three chicks on line, an EE and two black laced golden Wyandottes, and one of the wyandottes showed up dead. (Side note, I'm new to chickens, had two whom I bought from a feed store, and will NEVER order online again because I felt so awful for these one day old babies being shipped that way). I stopped at the same feed store to see if they still had chicks, and they did! They were the same size as the two originals, who are a BO and an EE (I was told that the EE was a BO, and I didn't know the difference at the time). I had a hard time, they were all so cute, and then I saw Esther. She was being pecked at by everyone in the pail, and she was roughly the same color as Molly, my Wyandotte.

I pulled her out and immediately said, "oh! She's a scissor beak!" The feed store employee looked at me funny, but she came home with me immediately, I'll post pics.

So here's the part I'm curious about. I've done a LOT of reading on the condition, and chicken people seem to be divided; half say cull, half say there's hope. I have an avian vet who says that he knows someone personally who can surgically correct it! Has anyone else ever heard of this??

Esther, when I found her at the feed store.

same day, on our way home, at the car wash.

. A week later, it's a bit worse.

happy girl

. Goofy and beautiful.

She has since had her beak trimmed, and she poops a lot, so I know she's getting food and water. The rest of my flock used to pick on her, but she fits in pretty nicely lately. I know that this won't improve as she grows. But what do y'all think of surgical correction for crossbeak?

And yes, I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I love her, and unless she's in pain or her quality of life is unacceptable, culling is off the table.

Thanks in advance for any and all feedback

 

[Lobzi]

Cross beak is quite survivable. I have had a few with it myself. I will say that because of the beak deformity they do struggle to get enough nutrition. If you focus on getting her plenty of healthy food she will do a well as any other chicken. If she joins a flock it will be harder for her to nurish herself. I do find that they lose weight or fail to thrive as the others. I have also found that they die sooner than expected. Just keep up the personal care with her, that is my advice. And no, culling not an option.

 

[HelloChickies]

Yay for You, Featheredheart!!

I'm so glad you're going to nurture her!
She will bring you so much joy! I've never heard of surgical correction, because from what I've read, it's supposedly a malformation of the skull, that twists as the bird grows. But they can do so many amazing things with surgeries now, both human and animal... why not fix a crossbeak?? I can't wait to hear your adventure, if you decide to try it!
If she starts having trouble eating her crumbles as her beak gets worse, just make a wet 'oatmeal' out of it with water so she can scoop it up and it sticks to her beak. I also separate my little sweetie from the others with her own bowl so the others can't peck her off it. The other birds get their own bowl of wet 'chickie oatmeal' crumbles, too, because they all love it so much! LOL
I see from the pictures, she's inside sitting on the couch with you! Lucky girl! She looks like a real cutie pie. Good luck with her!
Jenn

 

[featheredheart]

I actually talked to my vet yesterday. His friend, the avian specialist in San Diego, says he does the surgery on parrots and other birds. Apparently, chickens don't have the same blood supply to their bones, or something to that effect, so it's prognostically no good in Esther's case. The guy did suggest gentle jaw manipulation paired with anti inflammatory pain medication due to her age. He said it may not align perfectly, but it may help her eat more normally. That's all I'm after!

In the mean time, I've started her on wet crumble mixed with organic whole milk baby yogurt and she's able to eat that more easily. I came home today, the bowl was empty, and her crop was full! And what's more? She's heavier!

She's my princess. As long as she's not in pain and has a good quality of life, I'm going to spoil and nurture and love on her. She stole my heart at first sight, there's nothing I wouldn't do to help her. She didn't ask for crossbeak, and she certainly didn't ask to be my chicken. I owe her the best life I can give her

@HelloChickies

 

[Mosey2003]

How's your chick with the bands doing, @Christineschick ?

My milder one is almost normal now and my severe one is doing really well with trimming and fermented feed.

 

[beb444]

I actually talked to my vet yesterday. His friend, the avian specialist in San Diego, says he does the surgery on parrots and other birds. Apparently, chickens don't have the same blood supply to their bones, or something to that effect, so it's prognostically no good in Esther's case. The guy did suggest gentle jaw manipulation paired with anti inflammatory pain medication due to her age. He said it may not align perfectly, but it may help her eat more normally. That's all I'm after!

In the mean time, I've started her on wet crumble mixed with organic whole milk baby yogurt and she's able to eat that more easily. I came home today, the bowl was empty, and her crop was full! And what's more? She's heavier!

She's my princess. As long as she's not in pain and has a good quality of life, I'm going to spoil and nurture and love on her. She stole my heart at first sight, there's nothing I wouldn't do to help her. She didn't ask for crossbeak, and she certainly didn't ask to be my chicken. I owe her the best life I can give her

@HelloChickies

This makes me so happy to see) I had such a cute little baby girl, Scarlet, who developed a pretty nasty case of cross beak at 2 weeks old Like you, I wasn't just going to give upon her. Yours already looks so much plumper and heavier than my sweet girl ever was. Scarlet didn't make it because she couldn't figure out how to eat with it, even given special food. She taught me SO much and now that she's gone I realize what a big gift she gave me. You have a special one. They are the best. I am so happy you saved her from that feed store and she landed in such a caring person's home. Please keep us updated

 

[featheredheart]

Aww

Big hugs. I'm sorry for your loss. I can't imagine the sadness. That just makes me want to go grab Esther out of the cage and snuggle her. She's already such a princess lol.

 

[cottonwood]

We have a 2 year old crossbeak, Sweet Baby, who has learned to eat on her own and has just started laying eggs. We spent a lot of time giving her special meals and allowing her to live in the house... But eventually we figured out that a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 of the way full of crumble feed allows her to bury her face in the food far enough that she can eat, and with that discovery, she lives like a normal, albeit very clever chicken.

 

[HelloChickies]

We have a 2 year old crossbeak, Sweet Baby, who has learned to eat on her own and has just started laying eggs. We spent a lot of time giving her special meals and allowing her to live in the house... But eventually we figured out that a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 of the way full of crumble feed allows her to bury her face in the food far enough that she can eat, and with that discovery, she lives like a normal, albeit very clever chicken.

Cottonwood-- does she stand IN the bucket and eat the crumbles? I could see that working for my crossbeak, Cleo, because shes very, very tiny!
And I would love to see a picture of Sweet Baby