6 wk silkie with scissor beak

[Ericadeer]

My little girl has some serious scissor beak. She is a silkie and just shy of 6 weeks. She is half the size of her sisters... pretty much literally. I weighed one tonight that was over 7 oz and she’s only 3.5 oz. She is constantly eating because it’s so much harder for her to get any food, but I do feel food in her crop throughout the day when I check on them. I was just reading about how chickens with cross beak are basically starving to death and it’s torture not to cull them. But then I read about culling and I wanted to throw up! I feel terrible if she’s starving to death but also I love her . Sorry for such a long post- hoping for some advice . I’ll attach a photo of her. Thoughts? opinions? Please help! Thanks so so much!

 

[CluckNDoodle]

I kept a cross beaked chick for a while for a friend of mine but I was constantly worried it wasn't getting enough food as well. I found that wet mash was much easier for the chick to pick up but she still seemed to always be hungry so in addition I hand fed her scrambled eggs almost daily.
I didn't do this myself but I have read that filing the beak can be helpful and sometimes necessary as they continue to grow because the beak doesn't get worn down in a typical manner. I keep the chicken feeders on top of cinder blocks in the run and they all use it to wipe their beaks on while eating and I think this helped the little crossbeak to file its own beak.
I won't lie, it didn't work out in our situation, my friend eventually decided her chick was too bad and wasn't thriving even with our combined efforts so she let the little one go but I think it just depends on the severity of the crossbeak because I have heard plenty of success stories with people raising them as well. Good luck!

 

[coach723]

You can trim the beak, just take off small amounts at a time being careful to not cut into the quick, which would be painful. Scissor beak can sometimes get worse as they get older, so you will have to judge over time. https://www.hobbyfarms.com/trim-chickens-beak/ You may have to do regularly for her to help keep the beak in check, she may not be able to hone it herself.
Do the mash as suggested, mixing crumbles with water, experiment with what consistency works for her. Use open dishes that are deeper so she can really scoop with her lower beak, and raise them up to chest or shoulder height which will also help her scoop. Same with water dishes. Feeding anything on the ground she's not going to be able to pick up. You may need to hand feed for a while to get her strength back up. I would weigh her regularly to monitor and make sure she is getting enough.
For birds like this it's really about how much time and effort you are willing and able to put in. I would not hatch eggs from her since this could be genetic.
https://meyerhatchery.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360017990812-Cross-Beak-Causes-and-Management

 

[glassdragonfly]

I had a hen that broke her jaw and I had to trim it,it was way off just like your hens. She got used to having it done and was good about it.One of those battery powered sanders for dogs paws work very well. You can go slow and careful so you don't hit the quick. Also she was feed alone with a deep Tupperware dish so she could take her time and grab the food easier. Was doing great,laying eggs until a fox got her.