Bad chicken behavior

[hiltopsassafras]

ok, long story short...lesson learned. don't buy from a chicken trader, check. Don't buy trimmed beaked chickens, check and NEVER send your sweet loving hunk of a hot man husband to buy chickens without you...check and check.

I now have 3 trimmed beak, sad, sad little chickens. The upside, I am there owner now and I will nurture and love them if they can A.) live and B.) behave!
This is what I have learned. beaks are important. My 3 girls are not healthy and I am not sure they will get there. They have a constant respiratory gurgle and snotty noses. The beaks are trimmed back far enough that there is an open hole into their mouths. This allows all and everything in the environment into there little birdy system.
I have tried antibiotics, apple cider vinegar in there water and my own natural remedies with grape seed oil extract and probiotic and electrolytes and and and ...
They are more healthy now than when we bought them.
They are Golden Sex links and are about a year old. We have had them 1 month. They are acclimated to the environment and although they are not chummy with the flock they coexist with them. One of them has laid one egg.

Today, I caught one of them with an egg I believe she laid and she broke it and went straight for the yolk and ate it. This week I let them free range with our other girls so they have had access to the whole chicken area They mostly hang out in our big girl coop where all my eggs are laid. I have collected 1 egg per day this week. ONE EGG PER DAY. I have 8 laying birds. One is sitting on 4 eggs and thank goodness she is so mean! The new girls are afraid of her. She is an O SHAMO Japanese fighting bird. I LOVE her. Broody beast she is !
Also I have been finding broken egg shells around the coop...My new girl or girls are BADLY BEHAVIN! and wearing out there welcome. There new names are gonna be coyote food if they don't straighten up cuz I AM NOT EATIN THEM FOLKS!

Now to my egg breaking, yolk eating no beak having bird problem. SHEESH! They have access to free choice oyster shells. We feed scratch and layers pellets. The fatty yolk was most important to the this bird. What kind of deficiency could she have. Do I add something to the feed and can this habit be broken/ If so how? What can I do?
HELP, PLEASE!!
Sassy

 

[hiltopsassafras]

bump

 

[nab58]

I'm no expert butyoufeel theyreeatingtheir own eggs because of somevitamindeficiency,try feeding them chopped hard boiled egg. Maybe it will fill the nutritive need and make their own eggs less attractive. From what I've read, egg eating is habitual and should be prevented BEFORE it becomes a habit you can't break.

 

[hiltopsassafras]

Good idea and thank you Nab.
The place they came from was an over crowded commercial breeding farm that sold to tractor supply at one point. Not ideal for what we are doing at our house, silly sweet hunky man of mine just thought the older man selling was nice to talk to.

They are here now and if we can change the behavior they can stay. If not...I really don't know what to do with them except make them into somebodies dinner.
I like eggs, but not chicken to eat. I am a fish and eggs kinda girl. Hubby doesn't want to go through all the trouble to get it on the table just for him. I don't know. Maybe we can break them. oiled eggs on the menu for them.
Thanks again,
Sassy

 

[happyhens1972]

Having rescued a number of ex battery chickens, I can tell you a couple of things that may help....firstly, their beaks do grow back over time. All mine came de-beaked, some more drastically than other, but all now how normal beaks though this can take many months.

Also, I agree with Nab about feeding boiled or (saves time) microwaved 'scrambled egg' as this will help fill nutritional deficiences and give them a boost but also may I suggest layer's mash instead of pellets/corn. The de-beaking process can leave the nerve endings very close to the surface, like when you cut or pull a finger nail really low and it hurts like billy-o! This can lead to the girls searching out softer food options that don't require constant pecking.

Although you'd think that the cracking of the egg shell would hurt, and I'm sure it does, the reward is a soft, gooey glut of nutrients instead of constantly needing to peck at pellets with a sore 'stump' of a beak. Layer's mash will lessen the 'impact' and the need to be so precise.....imagine the difference between trying to pick up a hard, small, fiddly pellet or scooping up soft mash, with fingers that had been cut off at the knuckle! The scoop method will result in more per beakful for your girls and less pain.

I realise this is a pain and that mash is far more wasteful but I'm assuming your lovely man rescued the girls for a good reason so catering for their special needs until they've recovered from their ordeal is just part of the story x

 

[hiltopsassafras]

Happy hens...THANK YOU! I was hoping someone like you would reply, a been there done that. I am thrilled to hear beaks may grow back. Thiers are very short! Ok, I am good with keeping them and would prefer to if I can keep everything else with the rest of my flock normal.
These 3 let my son pick them up and pet them and love on them. My son has RAD so this is a big deal and very good for him.
Ok, prob TMI. I am just very happy the beaks can grow back and yes your answer also makes perfect sense!
Thanks to both of you and any more info on this is welcome.
Doing the happy dance

Sassy

 

[Happy Chooks]

If they are sneezing and have bubbly noses, they have a respiratory disease. Respiratory diseases are contagious and will infect your other birds. Treatment will take the symptoms away, but they will likely be carriers of the disease for life.

 

[happyhens1972]

Happy Chooks may well be right, they may have a respiratory complaint that may be catching so you need to keep a very close eye on your other birds but again, in my experience, the sneezing and bubbling is often caused by the over-shortened beak allowing excess foreign matter...i.e. dust and dirt....into thier nasal passages, leading to irritation and inflammation. I have used Respiratory Aid in their water to help get them past the worst until their beaks lengthen but I don't know if you can get it in the US

http://www.gardenfeathers.co.uk/aviform-mycoform-t-respiratory-aid_p418.aspx

 

[hiltopsassafras]

Happy Chooks, I have been afraid of that since the symptoms started a few days after they arrived. I put them through a round of antibiotic that you put in thier water. It did not phase them. The rest of my flock and the 1 healthy bird with her beak in tact that came with them have not shown ANY symptoms except nervousness, egg reduction initially, ect. to these new birds. I have 3, three month old chics that are in with the big girls (they sleep in a secured cage at night and are doing wonderful) and they have not been phased by the new girls either. Keeping fingers crossed that this is what happyhens has said....all due to the trimmed beaks. I clean thier nasal passages every evening to make sure no debris is clogging them or that the snot/debris is not dried over the nasal passage. They must be doing better and getting feeling back because they are giving me a hard time about it now and that is new for them. I did the mash you suggested happyhens and they are loving that! so thank you for the suggestion.
My entire life, any animal group that seems to find thier way into my life...there is always a rescue or a dozen!! Now with these chickens as well.

The beak trimming is a bad idea folks...kinda like a credit card. quick fix with hidden fees and intrest. If you are a beak trimmer or are considering beak trimming, look for a different solution to your problem like seperating your bird, not owning so many or culling the problem bird. This is sad for these little chickens....and so not fair. They are gentle sweet girls that are DISFUNCTIONAL without there full, God intended beaks!
shweew... I feel better now!

Sassy

 

[happyhens1972]

Thankfully I don't think TOO many people beak trim their backyard chickens, it is usually just commercially kept chickens that have to suffer this awful cruelty. There are regulations as to the amount they are allowed to cut off but I don't think anyone checks. They actually have as high as a 10% expected loss from de-beaking chicks....they go into shock with the pain and die soon after.