Cross Beak Genetics Help please

[maryhysong]

I have 11 Buff Orpington chicks, 6 from one hen, 5 from another, all from the same roo; hatchery stock. They were hatched March 3 & 9, some from each hen both times. About 3 weeks ago I noticed one's beak looked a bit off. It's crossed and in 3 weeks it has gotten very very bad.

Am I correct in assuming this is genetic, similar to buck teeth in rabbits? Where it is a recessive gene, the chick getting 1 copy from each parent for it to show up? 1 out of 11 is 9%. All the others look fine and the parents also have no beak issues.

This chick happens to be from the better looking hen and it's siblings are the better looking ones of the bunch. I am going to cull the poor thing tomorrow because it is now only half the size of it's hatch mates.

The original plan was to save a good looking boy out of this hen and breed him back to his mother as she was the best looking bird of the three I had. But with this cropping up I'm inclined to cull all of them and start over.

In rabbits I know that breeding back or breeding a brother/sister together, any that do not show the defect should be free of the genes that cause it. Would this be true in chickens or should I just cull them all?

 

[ramirezframing]

try reading "dairy of a cross beak" it might help you out some

my cross beak ended up becoming a dad while I was gone for a month ( DH didn't get the eggs). None of the chicks (who will be a year old in July) show any sings of any kind of issues. My cross beak came off of stock that I know has never thrown a cross beak before or since mine.

 

[maryhysong]

try reading "dairy of a cross beak" it might help you out some

my cross beak ended up becoming a dad while I was gone for a month ( DH didn't get the eggs). None of the chicks (who will be a year old in July) show any sings of any kind of issues. My cross beak came off of stock that I know has never thrown a cross beak before or since mine.

that is very interesting; I thought I remembered reading about being a genetic issue that could be passed on but maybe sometimes it is just a random problem. I looked some at the diary but mostly it seemed about keeping them alive and taking care of them. I do not have time to tube feed a bird twice a day and this one is not getting enough to eat; also it's beak is becoming so deformed that it can hardly get food or water.

 

[ramirezframing]

heres mine at 5 yrs old never had to tube feed mine, not sure if anybody really knows why or how it happens