3 week old chick keeps having trouble with her beak. Help.

[Skyleen13]

I’ve got a 3 week old salmon faverolle chick who’s having trouble with her beak. Keeps getting it stuck to the top of her beak. As a result she can’t fully close her mouth. It gets packed in unto it forms a wedge she can’t get out. Help please. How can I help her? Her beak isn’t crossed. It’s straight. Hasn’t been having any trouble before with her feed.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Any bad odor?
Can you see her tongue?

 

[Skyleen13]

Any bad odor?
Can you see her tongue?

I can see her tongue. Smells like her feed but wet.

 

[Skyleen13]

Any bad odor?
Can you see her tongue?

No bad odor. When I open her mouth to help her get the chunk of packed on feed off the roof of her mouth I can see her tongue. She just seems to have trouble with her feed sticking to the roof of her mouth. What can I do to help her?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I would offer her wet feed and make sure she's drinking well. See if that makes a difference.

Hard to tell in photos at times but does she seem to have a bit of swelling under the beak?

 

[Mellowmalt]

I honestly wouldn't consider this a problem. I would have guessed it is due to wet feed, dry feed goes down the throat, wet feed sticks and makes a mess (in this case including the top of the moth) but it will loosen itself, the chick will swallow it. It's not going to bother the chick.

 

[Skyleen13]

I honestly wouldn't consider this a problem. I would have guessed it is due to wet feed, dry feed goes down the throat, wet feed sticks and makes a mess (in this case including the top of the moth) but it will loosen itself, the chick will swallow it. It's not going to bother the chick.

But it’s complicated to the roof of her mouth & builds up until she can’t close her beak. I have to remove the buildup. Her feed is dry. The only thing I can think of is that it’s very fine grind of feed. It’s like she drank some water & then tried to eat her feed & it stuck. If I don’t remove the buildup then she can no longer drink.

 

[Skyleen13]

I would offer her wet feed and make sure she's drinking well. See if that makes a difference.

Hard to tell in photos at times but does she seem to have a bit of swelling under the beak?

I don’t think so. She’s in a brooder with 12 other chicks & she’s the only one with this problem.