crossbeak?

[Justin P]

I got five baby chicks on saturday, three buffs and two barred rocks. This little Buff looks like it has a problem with his beak. Is it possible for it to straighten out on its own? I didnt notice it untill today. I hope she turns out ok, im a little bummed.

 

[Justin P]

here is another

 

[Clay Mudd]

I had an Easter Egger chick whose beak was a little more crossed than yours. I read all the posts here about trimming the beak, tube-feeding, and all that... then what I did was just give her a chance. She ate crumbles just fine, then when she was older and I saw she could get whole corn down, I knew she'd be fine. Now, almost a year old, she's a bold forager, a good layer, and one of the most entertaining chickens I've had.

Don't panic.

 

[Justin P]

I sure hope she turns out like yours. I really didnt want to have to deal with anything like this. There is no way i could have a "special needs" chicken. Maybe she will be ok but all the stuff i can find to read about it doesnt look good at all.

 

[tadpole98]

dont worry, its slight. It will get a bit worse as time goes on but i think she will be okay.

 

[Justin P]

I hope your right, the bad thing is now that i have been looking at it the chick is starting to like me more than the rest.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I had one in my last batch that started looking like that at about three weeks old. It was very slight, looked just like your birds, and did not progress. In fact once she started going outside and getting some sun every day it completely corrected and she is completely normal now. I asked my avian vet about this and he said that it's usually a genetic thing and it usually progresses. However he suspects that occasionally you might see a mild case if there is a vitamin D deficiency. So just keep an eye on your bird and see if you notice it progressing as she grows. Even if she does have a mild cross beak a lot of those birds get along just fine without any special daily treatment, especially if you file it down once in a while. It's the ones with a severe cross that have difficulty.

 

[koakritters]

I had my rooster with a cross beak that I only just lost a couple weeks ago, he was almost 2 years old.

He couldn't peck anything, so I cooked for him - oatmeal and baby food were his favorites. He also loved rice bran with chick mash and applesauce... Give her a chance they end up being the best chickens I miss mine horribly everyday I go out and he's not there and it still hurts.

 

[Justin P]

Well i cant explain it but now i cant even tell whick of the three i was worried about. They all look perfect now, i guess it was just a wierd growth thing. im happy again lol

 

[jbs]

Thanks for posting this. I just noticed that one of my 2.5 week old chicks has a slightly crossed beak, and yours is one of the very few stories I found that has a happy ending. I don't think mine is going to end so well tho, as it looks like my chick's beak is a bit worse today than it was yesterday. She's still eating normally, but I can't watch a chick starve to death or force feed her. I don't fault anyone for taking care of a special needs chicken, but I can't do it.

I've had very bad luck with these chicks, I lost 6 of this batch of 15 due to being shipped in cold weather. It would have been nice if the cross beak chick had been among the 6 that already died, but now it looks like I'm probably going to have to cull this one (which is a source of great anxiety for me as I've never done it before). I'm glad that things turned out well with your chick. I'm hopeful with mine, but trying to be realistic. I started putting vitamins in their water in case it's some sort of deficiency, but that doesn't seem as likely as some sort of genetic defect. I guess I just have to wait and see.