Cross beak EE is a runt

[wrldlygrrl]

My 15 week old Easter Egger is such a runt, growing much slower than the others...I provide a deep-well feeder and he/she eats and drinks well, but cannot forage. Any suggestions for fattening him.her up? Also, any gender idea?

 

[Miyashi]

I had to put mine to sleep...I hope someone can offer you a good suggestion. You could try egg smashed up in it's food, oatmeal...stuff like that maybe?

 

[Chickie'sMoma]

give her very deep bowls to feed from. they will use their beaks to scoop/shovel food into their mouths. they will always look runty but they will still survive if they have figured out a way to do it! i know someone that has a sweet cross beak like this and the girl is at least 2 years old now and still going strong! as for the foraging, she will eventually figure out how to do some but may not be able to effectively do it to fatten up!

 

[wrldlygrrl]

If she is eating stuff like oatmeal, will she need extra grit in her food?

 

[ChicksterJo]

I don't think she would need extra grit but it would be good to have some lying around for her to eat when she needs to. I had a crossbeak but it suddenly died one night. Good luck with yours and I hope she stays healthy.

 

[WallTenters]

I would put this chick down. She will have a hard life not being able to eat properly, and it would be in her best interest to be hungry no more

 

[wonachickencooptoday]

I have a crossed beak too who is 13 weeks old. She is the sweetest of the bunch of 14. Always walks right up to me to be held. Someone on this forum gave a good tip- make chick " pudding"- deep bowl of chick food with lots of water added- makes it easier for them to scoop up.

 

[buckabucka]

My first batch of chickens I had 2 cross-beaks out of 26 birds. One never grew, and died at 10 weeks. The second, is a year old and laying eggs. She has quite a personality. We keep our chickens somewhat confined with a 4 foot high fence, and she is the only one that flies over it everyday and goes out foraging in other areas. I really don't think she gets much while foraging, but she spends a lot of time at the feeders, too.

I got 3 new chicks this year from a hatchery, and already one has a cross-beak. Either I have bad luck with this, or there are a lot of cross-beaks out there!

 

[wrldlygrrl]

Wow! Thanks everyone for your responses. I appreciate your feedback and stories. This bird eats extremely well, and before I would let her suffer, I would put her down. If she can be happy, healthy and a layer, all the better...she has quite a personality...for a chicken.