4 week old EE pullet with long upper beak

[marnold]

That was fast! Thanks! It helps a lot. Little Cheekee has a deformed beak, upper being much too long and curved and the lower being too short. It appears the nares are positioned too far forward, and there's also likely internal abnormalities, too, though you can't see them. Soon these genetic problems could serious interfere with efficient absorption of nutrients, compounded by not getting enough to eat due to the beak.

I can see where the quick starts, and you would be able only to file down about a third of the upper beak, and it might not be enough to make a difference. It appears the problem is becoming even more pronounced as the chick grows.

Try to accept that this chick is going to have problems and it may not be able to compete in a flock. I don't think there's any way to improve the beak other than filing it down just short of the quick. If the quick is nicked, heavy bleeding will result, so be extremely careful if you try to shorten it.

Thanks! I also thought the nares looked a little far down. We'll see how she does. Its not a big deal at all for me to give her extra attention as long as the other girls don't pick on her. They are all the same age so I thinks that makes it a bit less complicated. I appreciate your time.

 

[aart]

Wonders if the upper beak and skull are 'deformed' or the lower jaw and beak...
...maybe a bit of both.
Check her crop at roost/sleep time, see if it's full.

 

[Folly's place]

She very likely won't be able to eat pelleted feed either, so crumble or mash in a deep dish, and she's not going to eat off the ground either. If she keeps up in weight with her flockmates, that's great, but if she gets underweight and undersized, have another plan.
Mary

 

[marnold]

Wonders if the upper beak and skull are 'deformed' or the lower jaw and beak...
...maybe a bit of both.
Check her crop at roost/sleep time, see if it's full.

Thanks, that's a great idea!

 

[marnold]

Wonders if the upper beak and skull are 'deformed' or the lower jaw and beak...
...maybe a bit of both.
Check her crop at roost/sleep time, see if it's full.

So I checked her crop and she has nothing in it. She was eating earlier and drinking water but it feels like her spine is deformed and almost as if she doesn't have a crop (that's how empty it was).

 

[Folly's place]

So sorry...
Mary

 

[MissChick@dee]

Use a emery board to gently file. Best wishes

 

[Aunt Angus]

She's such a cutie. I hope she isn't beyond help. The special needs animals arrays tug at my heart strings. Please keep us posted!

 

[New2Chicks97]

We have a girl with this same problem. I trim her beak and even then sometimes it breaks but she is still thriving. She is as big as everyone else and is not picked on. So it doesn’t always mean that they will have issues. I have a big pan that their food goes in and she has no problem eating out of it. She does have more issues pecking than the other but she still does ok. I am sure this is how she usually breaks part of her beak off. But again none of this seems to bother her. I have tried patching the beak when it gets a crack but so far that hasn’t helped much. So I just trim it and let her be for the most part.