??Beak Problems?? Pics**

[birdlover]

Awww, what a shame!! I wish the hatcheries would be more observant of this when they go to ship. I got one like that from McMurray's last year and again this year. As someone else suggested, keep the food and water dishes deep so it's easier for her to drink and eat. Good luck. She's soooo cute!

 

[silkiechicken]

Can be genetic, can be injury. Anything that causes the skull plates in the birds head to not grow right will often result in a cross beak. Yes, they should not be breeding them, but it may not be every chick, could be a mix between only a particular set of birds, and can develop over time to get worse and worse while looking just fine as a chick.

If you have the time and ability to care for it, go for it as a pet. Deep water, deep feed and it should be fine. A trim here and there wouldn't hurt to help keep the length down too.

 

[cmom]

I saw another thread discussing crossed beaks, but I don't remember what forum topic it was under.

 

[cmom]

Here are a couple of threads I found. I have seen more threads.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=1144438#p1144438

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=99505&p=1

 

[RickiHupp]

Thanks so much for all your help!! She is my favorite and whenever I open up the cage she runs up to me

I will just keep a close eye on her and hopefully as she grows her beak will still allow her to eat!!

 

[Biddieacres]

good luck with her, she is such a sweetie.

 

[Moriah]

I too have a chick who has a crossed beak, except hers goes to the left and is at a 75 degree angle from the top beak. Since there is no contact with the lower beak, the top beak started getting really long and she had a hard time eating. We wound up taking her to the vet and the top beak was trimmed off. I have kept it filed short using a regular emery board. After a two day separation from the rest of the flock she has been doing well and has a nice full crop each night. We have the hanging type feeder with the deeper trough, which helped alot. She did learn to turn her head to eat. She is smaller than the rest of the flock, but I am almost wondering if she might be a bantam (we got "one free rare" chick from mcmurray but I have no idea which one it might be.) and she is the only one who doesn't have the green legs of an EE. If you do a search for crossed beak or my other topic, theres is more info there.

when she was about 3 and a half weeks old, before the beak trim

This is at just around 7 and a half weeks old

 

[Riocotesei]

I have a porcelin D'uccle that also has crossbeak. It's grown worse and I'm trying to decied what to do with him.