Crossed beak not putting on wt. @ same rate. *New Pics*

[Barry Natchitoches]

I got a twp hatchery EEs back in 2009.


I asked for twol pullets, but one turned out to be a roo.


It was the roo that had the cross beak problem.


The boy's problem was no where near as bad as the two birds whose photos are in this thread, and I made sure that he had a deep feeder that he could eat out of. When it was time for sunflower seeds or scratch treats, I feed him out of my cupped hand, and he was able to dig his treat out that way.


He got enough food and grew to be a big, strong, healthy young man. He grew up to be the man of the henhouse, and a good roo guardian he turned out to be. He liked to mount his ladies, and with the help of a broody hen, we got two clutches of EEs from him.


But his crossbeak grew to be a greater and greater problem, and last January, I began to notice that he was bloodying the heads of hens who did not submit willingly to his advances. Roos always use the top of the head/back of the neck to hold a less than willing hen down, but because of the unique shape of his beak, he was cutting into the poor girls when he did this.


It was a very painful day when I had to cull him, for the sake of my hens.

 

[Gypsi]

Well, I built a new feeder for the chicks, they are now sleeping out in the greenhouse overnight, with a heat lamp, in a pen secured from predators including snakes, rats and mice; in a greenhouse secured from all but mice and maybe a really small rat or snake - all openings very high up and just the result of wavy corrugated meeting wood.

I built a deep deep feeder. My granddaughter opted not to hand-feed, we named the other chicks, so penguin wouldn't be the only one with a name. And with the new deep feeder, easy to fill from outside their pen btw, she has nearly doubled in size in 3 days. She is not as big as her siblings, but she is catching up. I am trying not to get too attached, but I'm not going to cull her now. she is not suffering, she is not as hungry, she is feathering out, I'm just going to let nature take its course. But I am not hand-feeding either. If she worsens, and seems to be suffering, then I will cull.

Thank you all for being here, I had no idea how common this was either.

Gypsi

 

[cyanne]

I managed to get 2 cross-beaks this year. The first was hatched from my own chickens and has a very severe cross, but I guess that the shape is still okay for eating because she has no problems eating. The only change I made was to switch from layer pellets to crumbles because those were easier.

The other came from the feed store and is a worst-case scenario. Her lower beak is extremely crooked and her upper beak hooked downward, blocking the opening to her mouth. As she got older and the beak got worse she got very skinny, but still seemed happy and active so I couldn't bear to put her down. As a last-ditch effort I did a severe beak trim, cutting the top beak back almost to the nostrils to get it out of the way(yes, it bled, but I was able to cauterize using a disbudding iron). This helped considerably, but she still had trouble getting enough to eat. I switched her to a liquid diet which I make by blending 20% layer crumbles with eggs and warm water in my blender....sort of a chicken smoothie. I also sometimes add olive oil for extra calories and if the rest of the flock is getting a special treat like pumpkin I will blend some into her food so she gets some as well.

She has learned to come running to her name and loves her daily smoothie. I carry it out and call her name (Sweetie Pie) and she comes running. I put her and her food into the horse trailer so she can eat without competition and she gobbles it up. She is still thin and I don't think she will ever be a fat chicken, but she seems happy and has a lot of energy.

 

[Gypsi]

Good for you Cyanne!

I am not at home enough to make smoothies, so I think we will have to muddle on through with less human intervention, and the deep dish she hops into to make a mess and get food. (and I have another thread on my messy adult hens I'm trying to get to clean the food out of their coop.

I am happy that she no longer cries with hunger, and is growing. A small blessing in life, is my Penguin. But if I hand fed I would get so much more emotionally attached and invested, and it would hurt that much more when I lose her. I try to have lots of pets & chickens and just love them all. It makes me happy.

Gypsi