chick with scissored beak

[chatter-beak]

chickenannie, I wondered that myself but won't try it. ha don't want to cause more damage.
Yes, I do have a deep feeder for her and the same with the water buckets...I use those black round rubber ones inside and outside the coop now. She seems to be thriving and no one is picking on her so with the Grace of God, she will thrive and live to an old age. Glad to hear that others have experienced the same thing, makes me feel like I am not alone in this. Thanks guys.

SORRY, ALL, MY DAUGHTER WAS LOGGED IN. THIS POST WAS BY OZARK HEN AND NOT CHATTER-BEAK.

 

[CUDA]

Just so you know, this is a genetic defect, and is not fixable. In minor cases you can trim to help out, but that one is way beyond that. You will have problems with her tongue drying out from this. If you choose to let her live, that is your choice, but do not breed with her as it can pass the trait to her offspring. Good luck!

 

[fleenorfarmmom]

we have a little silver laced polish chick with scissor beak. She seems ok for now, I keep watching her.

 

[ozark hen]

Well, what do you know....I advertized to sell the test hatchlings who are now six weeks old and found a wonderful woman who even wants scissored beak! She used to have one and it lived for years so she knows how to care for them. That way it can stay with it's mates. I also told her about BYC and gave her the web site and hopefully she is going to join us!! She raises horses and wants to raise and sell chicks. I got word today that the blue orp eggs are going to start being collected this week. Yee Haw, I cannot wait!!!! Those are one of the breeds I would like to raise a bunch of chicks from.

Thanks to everyone who has raised...for years...scissored beaked chickens and they did well. I am glad she will have a chance. She is thriving very well now.

 

[ThreeBoysChicks]

Glad to see this post. I have a 3 week old Silkie with the same problem. It is doing fine, eating and drinking. But I wondered how it would do as it gets older. I will let it go as long as it is able to survive.

Also wondering about it being genetic. I won't let this one breed and hatch.

Thanks for all of the information.

 

[snugglepup]

It IS genetic. The big problem is that it is not a defect in the beak, but in the formation in the bones in the face.

 

[tnkinhunting]

Just a thought, but would it be possible, at night when it is on it's roost, to put a rubber band on the beak to maybe pull it back togeher?

You know like kids with retainers?

 

[ozark hen]

personally, if it is a bone structure thing in the facial bones...I wouldn't do it. Many have raised these birds to a ripe age and they do well from the threads I have read on here. I wonder if anyone has done anything to correct this and not just trimmed?

 

[Wolf-Kim]

It may be able to be corrected by an avian veteranarian. The surgically correct scissor beaks in parrots, why not chickens? It will most likely call for surgery especially if it is as severe as Ozark's chick.

So now it comes down to (1)do I have an avian vet able to do this? and (2) do I want to pay the money to have it fixed?

Also, if you get it fixed, the bird will still pass the genetics for it, so such birds should be deemed undesireable for breeding.

-Kim

 

[CUDA]

In my opinion, which I know won't be popular here...lol, I cull birds like this immediately. If you want good, healthy, quality birds, you can't afford to keep birds like this around. I realize that a lot of people on this site treat their fowl like pets, which is fine, I spoil my brood stock to a degree too, but sometimes you just need to bite the bullet, and do what needs done for the best interest of your flock. JMO, not trying to upset anyone, OK?