Anyone raised a crooked beak hen?

[branston]

We hatched our chicks back in April and at 3 weeks, one developed a crooked beak. We keep our chickens as pets so we just had to keep her and she does just great. She doesn't eat much on her own but I do mix the laying mash with water for her and I also syringe feed her 4 times a day with Lafeber's Nutritional Support and organic baby foods such as apples, peaches, green beans and peas. We also have her beaked filed at the vets every 3/4 weeks.
Just wondering if anyone else is doing the same and what do you give your crooked beaks to eat?

 

[TeamChaos]

Hi there! I got my first crooked beaker from the hatchery and I was told the chick may have been injured in shipping. We used deep bowls so "she" could scoop feed out easier and fed yogurt, cheese and egg by hand each night before coop up. That chick turned out to be a rooster and it's beak has pretty much straightened out. Our hens hatched their own babies this year and, lo and behold, that crooked beaked daddy gave the gene to two of the babies! Savannah chicken is a few months old now and her beak has straightened out a lot. Pip chick is our youngest and has the most severe scissor beak. She's smaller than her flock mates and is having a hard time eating enough to keep warm, so we have her inside with access to a heat lamp (she's about 2 months old) and I feed her assorted baby foods w/ a syringe as well as yogurt and bird vitamins. She can slurp wet food out of deep bowls and can drink out of them too. I see her beak improving some as her skull grows and I massage it every time we feed in hopes of gently guiding it into a more natural position. Best of luck to you and your little hen!

 

[ReikiStar]

We have a cross beak EE roo. He's 6mos+. He eats organic feed like the rest, he just takes longer. We trim his beak every WEEK. He would surely starve if we let it go longer. We use a dremmel like tool - one meant to be used on dog's nails. Takes 30 seconds once a week. We trim his top and bottom beak and he's able to feed himself. One time his crop was so full I checked it to make sure he wasn't impacted. He's completely capable of feeding himself.

That's rough that you have to hand feed your bird. What happens if you have to leave home for a few days? Hand feeding a chicken 4 times a day is a lot to ask someone who pet sits. I admire people who are able to give their cross beaks a chance.

 

[branston]

Thanks for the tips guys!
Teamchaos......what bird vitamins do you give your crooked beak?

Reikistar........how do you know how much beak to file? My vet told me about the drimmel tool I could use but I'm too afraid to hurt the hen. As for when we go on vacation, fortunately, I have the best vet in the world with the best staff ever! Edinburgh veterinary clinic in Chesapeake, VA. One of the girls there, volunteered to be our chicken sitter as she fell in love with our crooked beak hen, Ronald (she was supposed to be a rooster). If the worst came to the worst and I had noone to take care of our little Ronald, I'd take her on vacation with us! There was no way we could have culled her, we figured, we hatched her as a pet along with our others so we'll take care of her for life no matter what it takes.

 

[ReikiStar]

Quote:
I love your dedication to Ronald.

It's just like clipping/fling down a dog's nail. If you have dogs, maybe practice on them first. Honestly, the hardest part is keeping the birds' head still. For us it's a two person job. I hold the bird's body and my DH hold's the head and open's the beak with one hand and files with the other. Have a septic powder on hand because you're likely to nick the quick (blood enriched tissue area). Your vet should show you where to stop. If you do it each week you'll just know her beak and zing! zing! It's over in no time. If you're going every 3-4 weeks there is more beak to shave off. But weekly, it's pretty quick...literally seconds per beak.

You're so fortunate to have that kind of support from your vet!!

We didn't want to cull our X-beak either. Some birds are so severe that there is no helping them unless you're going to hand feed and that isn't an option for us.

I hope Ronald is able to feed herself one day soon! She'll be happier for it too.