9-Week Old Has Crossed-Over Beak!

[Chicken Little-er]

Hi all -- Atticus, a 9-week old Golden Laced Wyandotte has an upper beak that crosses over the lower. When he was a bit younger I thought that it was his comb that was off-center - but now I see that it is also his beak. How big a problem is this? He (well, I think he's a he) eats and drinks just fine and seems to be thriving. Is this something to worry about? Many thanks

 

[ReikiStar]

The cross over could get worse as he gets older. The main thing is make sure he's able to eat and in the future you might have to file down the tips of his beak as they won't receive the same wear & tear as normal well-aligned beaks do. Otherwise, he could live a very normal life, he'll just always need a little extra attention from you regarding his condition.

 

[zengrrl]

Be sure she has a deep dish for both food and water. My polish had a horrible scissorbeak and was quite stunted bc of it. Unfortunately I lost her at 5 months no idea why.

 

[koakritters]

i've got one much worse than that. i've been turning their food into mush - they actually love it that way!- and she is getting plenty to eat, not skinny, just a little smaller than the rest. She's about 4 months or so right now and doing great!

 

[newchicksnducks]

I have a crossed-beak EE who is now 3+ years old! She lays pretty regular and is the larger of my 3 EE's. Each one has different eating problems, depending on upper or lower beak crossing and to what extent. Ours is pretty severe, but she is able to eat. She prefers deeper dishes to eat out of, and pellets work for her better than crumbles (which seem to end up on the floor where she cannot pick them up.) She LOVES yogurt, and gets it once in a while, as well as watermelon. I feel bad as she can't seem to get treats like cantelope or scratch, but while her flockmates get the other treats, she'll go back into the coop to eat at her Layena buffet