Crossbeak care questions

[NewToFarming]

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Thanks! I didn't even think about possibly not being able to pick up the grit well enough. I do sprinkle some in his bowl. Maybe I will start to add to his gruel also!

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Thank you! This sounds like a weekend job for sure but I will get him trimmed up this weekend. I will also have to get something to stop the bleeding too before I attempt this! Wish me luck! Does this cause them pain when you cut them?

 

[Brody's Broodello]

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When i said "suffer" I was referring to the new born chick, with a scissor beak,that can't eat, get's weak & is knocked around by it's faster growing sibs. They get weak so fast because they just can't thrive.But from your pics, you have trimmed the bottom beak off of your bird, so that she will not suffer and live a somewhat "normal" chicken life. Good for you for helping this little girl out!

 

[NewToFarming]

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Oh my gosh! Zippy is just too cute! She looks great!!!

 

[True Grit]

Brody's Broodello :

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When i said "suffer" I was referring to the new born chick, with a scissor beak,that can't eat, get's weak & is knocked around by it's faster growing sibs. They get weak so fast because they just can't thrive.But from your pics, you have trimmed the bottom beak off of your bird, so that she will not suffer and live a somewhat "normal" chicken life. Good for you for helping this little girl out!

I understand. I just didn't want the OP to feel it was hopeless if her silkie's beak didn't straighten out. I do trim Zippy's beak but not much as I can't get very far without it bleeding. Her bottom one is there, just hard to see in the pic.

"Oh my gosh! Zippy is just too cute! She looks great!!!"
Thanks for saying that!

 

[Buugette]

I have Little Gray. She started showing cross beak at a few days old. I use the "Pedi-Paws" to file down her beak. I sand the tip angled till it meets the bottom (kinda ends up like tweezers). I sand the side and get her beak to mostly line back up. She doesn't fight me and is getting used to it. If I let her beak go, it would be badly crossed, but keeping it filed down, she is basically normal. No problems eating, drinking or living.

I tried using nail files, but it stressed her out too much... took too long to really get any where. Using the Pedi-Paws, it is fast and pretty easy. The noise is minimal and doesn't seem to affect her. I don't mind giving her the additional attention. I end up doing my girls nails every couple months anyways... so what's an additional beak.

Best of luck...

D

 

[NewToFarming]

Thanks, that is a good idea too. I think I might initially trim and maybe trying filing often if needed to keep it the best it can be.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Meet Buffy, my cross beak EE.

Her cross beak is fairly severe and most definitely genetic (it's not just her beak, her whole face is crooked). When she arrived as a day old chick, there was absolutely no difference between her and the other chicks. About day 5 I noticed her beak was just very slightly misaligned and it slowly progressed from there. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to eat enough to grow, or if she did that once she reached POL she wouldn't be able to eat enough to maintain herself and produce eggs. But she was not suffering and I decided that as long as I didn't have to do anything more drastic than trimming her beak and making sure she had access to deep feed containers I was going to see how far she could go. She can't pick up any of the treats I put out (except leftover soup or oatmeal) and it is kind of sad watching her try to pick things up off the ground when the others eat treats, but she's maintaining weight (we weigh her about once a week to keep an eye on how she's doing) and through the day her crop gets bigger just like everyone else. She can't pick up grit, but since she also can't manage to eat anything but the crumbles really I'm not sure it matters. And I do have oyster shell in a small deep dish so she can manage that. She did start laying about 2 weeks ago and so far is a consistent producer of med-large pale olive eggs.

Beak trimming is best done with a dremmel or similar tool (the pedi-paw type grinders work too) because they work faster than manually filing with a nail file/emery board and if you do happen to go too far they will usually cauterize the "quick" and stop or at least minimize any bleeding. I check Buffy's beak each week when we weigh her, clean out any gunk trapped in her beak (her lower beak curls in on itself and stuff gets trapped there), and trim if needed. So far it seems I need to trim her beak about once a month. You can hold a bright light behind the beak so that you can see the shadow from the "quick" and do not trim past that point. I would not recommend cutting the beak with nail trimmers far enough back so that it bleeds. Yes, it hurts a lot when you cut into the living tissue. I also don't recommend trimming with nail trimmers because you run the risk of splitting the beak, which might cause even more issues with growth abnormalities.

Good luck!

 

[timowaltz]

wow thanks this thread is really informative

 

[NewToFarming]

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I agree!!! Now to get up the nerve to do this! LOL I plan to do it on the weekend. I will update to let you know how it goes but yes, I am so thankful for the responses because I think I have a better knowlege on attempting this for the first time. it is also good to see the survivors and how good they are doing! They really can lead a fairly normal life by just trimming and making some adjustments with their feed.

 

[chickened]

Might be why she is the skinny one
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