Scissor beak....fix?

[carousel]

I also have a cross beak chick that is 4 weeks old,
I didn't notice it when she was tiny but there is NO MISSING it now.
She is the same size as other chicks so she is eating and drinking.
Trying to decide if she can learn to deal with her, or if I should put her down now.
her scull/jaw area even now is pretty deformed by my observation
Can anyone help me judge this? I have a friend who is buying a bunch of my chicks in about 3 weeks when they are off heat in a free range situation. My feeling was to give her to that woman and give her a "chance" She is also a vet tech so she would have the skills to do some filing and dremeling to her beak if needed.

thanks,

 

[JBD]

I have an Ameraucana with a bad scissors beak. Unfortunately (and as is always the case) of my four (different breeds) chickens, this one loves me and rushes over to be picked up and patted every time she has the opportunity. A bird vet trimmed and filed it down about a month ago and you can see a definite dent in the lower beak where she might have bumped it as a baby. That vet thought it was due to trauma because she wasn't born with it.
Anyway, if it was any of the other three, I would have euthanized it but I can't bring myself to do it with this one and she is eating and drinking very well and growing beautifully. My chickens are all about 3 1/2 months old now.
I am going to my own exotic pets vet for another filing and trimming and I am hoping that when she reaches full growth, it will stop getting worse. She has just developed big fluff balls of tufts on both cheeks and is a gorgeous chicken with a hideous mouth
I have decided that as long as she can eat and drink and thrive, there is no reason to cull her. If the day comes when she can't - I will.
There's no way you can rubber band it. The chicken needs to be able to eat and drink at will.
JBD

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

Quote:
I have a bantam Ameraucana chick with it right now, she's about 8 weeks, and I just noticed it about 2 weeks ago. I also have a friend with a SLW that is VERY severe, and she is a little smaller than her other birds, but otherwise doing fine. My plan for my bantam chick is to be honest and up front to whomever might take her, and try to find her a pet home where I know she will not be used for breeding and will be humanely euthanized if/when she isn't doing well any more. If I can't find that for her, then I will keep her myself in a pen where I can easily identify her eggs (not with other blue egg layers) so I do not incubate them. The most important thing with a scissor or cross beak besides quality of life is that they are not allowed to reproduce, as this is a genetic condition.

Good luck with yours!

 

[zengrrl]

My scissorbeak as of course, the most attached to me. She comes running whenever she sees or hears me. Most likely bc she associates me with food. She comes running up to me, this little tiny bird and then stops bc she's not sure where the food part comes in....lol

 

[curious1969]

I have a silkie with a very extreme case of scissor beak. It manifested at about two months of age. Today she is about four and a half years old, and lives in the house most of the year. I know she should have been culled but I had already fallen in love

I have to trim the beak regularly, feed her in a heavy rubber bowl (she can't tip over) that she can peck into and feed her food small enough to eat. She is a special part of our family, and a great mother to babies from the incubator (she raises a clutch or two a year). However, she is very high maintenance because of her special needs. I realize most people would just cull, but I have found great value in raising this bird and she is happy in her life.

 

[beecee]

I noticed today that one of my EE's is starting to show a scissor beak. Of course I can't even think of putting her down. The others have already picked on her since the day I got all 4 so she's a bit used to being the last in line at the dinner table. I do hope it doesn't get worse... Her name is Sweetie and she is a sweetie. Poor little thng.

 

[spook]

Hello, Thank you for the talk of Scissor beak, I just adopted 2 "culls" (not "good enough" for breeding) the pullet has the beak issue, the rooster (*L*) has a crooked tail( which isn't in this topic). So, checking in with you folks its given me food for thought and ways to tend to her needs.

 

[Mother Therese]

I have a one week old chick who seems to be developing scisorbeak. she appears to have damage under her right nostril, like another chick pecked her or something. her top beak is curving towards the dammage and her bottom beak is curving the other way. I'm wondering if i should wait and see how she does, she is fine so far, however she doesn't seem to be able to pick up a mealworm out of my hand. i noticed it 4 days ago. how will i know if she isn't eating enough? if it's from damage, can i fix it?

 

[buttonsamy]

http://ontheurbanfarm.blogspot.com/2012/10/cross-beaksplit-beak-not-hopeless.html

Apparently it CAN be fixed! YAY!

I had half the birds I ordered come with scissor beak this season. We culled most of them as peeps, but one was just so....friendly, I couldn't do it. Her beak is SEVERELY crooked and up until recently she had NO trouble eating. Now she is stuggling so we applied the above method to her beak and VIOLA! She is doing great!

Her name is PeepyBeak. She flies up and sits on my shoulder or arm like a parrot and peeps constantly. She follows me around anytime I am in the yard. What a sweet bird. As a peep she was constantly underfoot because she was so curious.

Some chickens are absolutely worth saving- it is rare to have a chicken as friendly as PeepyBeak. To me, she is worth saving and keeping around as a pet. Besides, she is actually one of the top chickens in the pecking order and almost ALL the other birds are bigger than she is! She kicks butt...

Hope this helps someone-
Amy and PeepyBeak.

 

[kesca]

Mine is similar to as she is the most loving bird we have. I hope to make her life as comfortable as possible and make the choice if it comes down to it. I am glad to see so many that have been okay, as it has been traumatic to be new to raising chickens and having a baby chick with this.