Bottom beak out of place

[AinaWGSD]

You do not have to cull if you don't want to. A bird with such a defect obviously should not be bred from, but if you are willing to take the time and put in the work there's no reason they can't be pets. However, this chick will require a lot of extra help to thrive. Cross beak chickens can starve to death with a full bowl of food under the wrong conditions. Even when they make it to adulthood they do have a significantly shorter life expectancy. Most people believe there is a high likelihood they may have other defects that are less visible (ie problems with their internal organs).

If you don't already have a gram scale I would definitely invest in one and set a routine of weekly weight checks to make sure the chick is growing and watch out for any weight loss.

Search the forums here for cross beak, there's a lot of threads with helpful information on managing this condition.

 

[LaFleche]

For a chick like this you would need to learn how to tube feed it correctly several times per day to prevent it from slowly starving to death.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...kens-including-tube-feeding-techniques.64321/

 

[free range by day]

NO!

Everything is a personal choice, and if it's manageable for you, what a lucky chick!

Oh good! What an encouragement! Thank you

Yup, that's a crossbeak. The condition is very common and can be caused by poor hatch position, trauma, or genetics. EEs, Silkies, Polish and a couple others end up with it.

It's a deformity of the skull and there's no way to fix it - despite what you read on the internet. It does get worse over time, but tends to stabilize in the final position at about a year old.

It does not need to be a death sentence. Many CBs, including mine, live long lives with a little bit of support.

May I ask how old is your CB, and what you have to do to support it’s feeding? Do you have to do tube or torpedo feeding or anything like that? I imagine since my chicks beak is severe already, it might be like your pictured CB chicken when it’s grown.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a good article about cross beak chicks that I found today:
https://thehouseofmisfits.com/cross-beak-chickens-a-complete-care-guide/

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Here is a good article about cross beak chicks that I found today:
https://thehouseofmisfits.com/cross-beak-chickens-a-complete-care-guide/

good article.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

He was four (maybe five) when he passed last year of cancer. Given his deformity, I did not expect him to live long.

He was able to self-feed and drink. Per my vets advice, I let him self-feed and only provided supplemental feeding via syringe when he dropped below a certain weight. We couldn't making tubing or torpedo feeding work so my vet and I figured out how to syringe feed. It's not as safe as tubing so I don't recommend, plus it takes a lot more time.

I bought him vits/mins/electrolytes to mix into his mash. I eventually moved to a custom feed which was ground finer than traditional feed. It made syringe feeding easier. It's actually made by the woman in the video embedded in the article. I'm also a member of FB group. It's a very supportive community and made having a CB just that much easier and less frightening.

 

[free range by day]

He was four (maybe five) when he passed last year of cancer. Given his deformity, I did not expect him to live long.

He was able to self-feed and drink. Per my vets advice, I let him self-feed and only provided supplemental feeding via syringe when he dropped below a certain weight. We couldn't making tubing or torpedo feeding work so my vet and I figured out how to syringe feed. It's not as safe as tubing so I don't recommend, plus it takes a lot more time.

I bought him vits/mins/electrolytes to mix into his mash. I eventually moved to a custom feed which was ground finer than traditional feed. It made syringe feeding easier. It's actually made by the woman in the video embedded in the article. I'm also a member of FB group. It's a very supportive community and made having a CB just that much easier and less frightening.

Thank you so much for feedback and help. I’m feeling more optimistic and we will see how it goes. When we first noticed it today ( don’t know why we didn’t before since we do daily chick brooder chores) I asked a friend about it and she said it won’t survive and to cull it. I’m glad I posted here!