Cross Beak Chick Question

[Slm318]

One of my two chicks developed a cross beak at three weeks old. I have been observing her over the past few days and she seems to be doing ok. She is eating, active, and playful with her sister. My concern is her water intake. I haven’t actually seen her drink, or attempt to drink. I first noticed her beak on Sunday, it is now Thursday so it’s been 4 days. My question is if she wasn’t getting enough to drink would she be showing signs of distress by now?

 

[LaFleche]

One of my two chicks developed a cross beak at three weeks old. I have been observing her over the past few days and she seems to be doing ok. She is eating, active, and playful with her sister. My concern is her water intake. I haven’t actually seen her drink, or attempt to drink. I first noticed her beak on Sunday, it is now Thursday so it’s been 4 days. My question is if she wasn’t getting enough to drink would she be showing signs of distress by now?

Please, post some pictures of the bird in question so we will be able to assess the condition and hopefully come up with helpful suggestions.

 

[Slm318]

Please, post some pictures of the bird in question so we will be able to assess the condition and hopefully come up with helpful suggestions.

 

[LaFleche]

I would consider this way more than just a cross beak, as the whole lower mandibula is out of place. The bad news is that it will be getting worse quickly and she will not be able to drink or feed herself much longer.

If you want to keep her, you should monitor her weight gain daily and learn how to tube feed, or else she will suffer from starvation:


https://www.backyardchickens.com/threadloom/search?query=tube feeding&tab=620

 

[NatJ]

it’s been 4 days. My question is if she wasn’t getting enough to drink would she be showing signs of distress by now?

Yes, I think she would be showing symptoms if she had gone 4 days without drinking.

You could try serving her food wet (chicken food + water), and that way you'll know she gets water too. Just make sure the dish is deep enough for her to scoop it up with her beak, because of course she cannot grab food very well with a beak shaped like that.

For the long term, definitely keep an eye on her weight and her activity level to know how she's doing, but at some point you might have to choose between culling (killing) her or tube feeding her regularly. Bad crossbeak can make it impossible for a chicken to eat enough food each day. (You'll know if it gets that bad, because she won't act right and won't be gaining weight properly.)

 

[Slm318]

Yes, I think she would be showing symptoms if she had gone 4 days without drinking.

You could try serving her food wet (chicken food + water), and that way you'll know she gets water too. Just make sure the dish is deep enough for her to scoop it up with her beak, because of course she cannot grab food very well with a beak shaped like that.

For the long term, definitely keep an eye on her weight and her activity level to know how she's doing, but at some point you might have to choose between culling (killing) her or tube feeding her regularly. Bad crossbeak can make it impossible for a chicken to eat enough food each day. (You'll know if it gets that bad, because she won't act right and won't be gaining weight properly.)

Thanks for the insight. I ferment my feed so I have been giving her wet food and a deeper dish of water. So far I’m just watching and waiting to see…I have 15 grown chickens that range from 1 to 5 years old and just the two chicks still in the brooder. My hope is if she gets bad and needs to be culled it’s after the two of them have been accepted into the flock. She and the other chick are unusually close…you can’t pick her up without her sister chirping up a fit until she joins her. My heart hurts more for the remaining one than the one with the beak problem!

 

[NatJ]

I ferment my feed so I have been giving her wet food and a deeper dish of water

That could be why you haven't seen her drink, but haven't seen symptoms of dehydration-- she is getting water with her feed.

Chickens who eat their food dry need to drink a lot more than chickens who eat their food wet, just to get the same amount of actual water.