Two weeks ago I got some new chicks, they are 3 weeks old today. When I got them home I inspected them and noticed one of them had a beak that wasn't right. I was planning on "watching" her to see how the beak would grow. I noticed today it seems more dramatic. The top part of the beak seems to be okay. The bottom part of the beak seems to grow off to one side. I hope to keep her. I was wondering how this could effect her eating/drinking. She seems to be okay for now but notice "she" always has food/mash on her beak and her fluff on one side of her face has food/water on it. I also worry about if she will be picked on when I put the chicks with my older girls. That won't be for about a month or two. Could the older girls "know" she has a deformaty and pick on her or could they accept her? The pictures was taken 2/22/2012 she doesn't have her beak open. I will try to get a better picture tomorrow.
Unfortunately crooked beaks have a tendency to worsen as the chick's skull grows. The danger is not being able to get enough food and dying of starvation.
she COULD live, but chances are slim. She would have to have special attention, and she would be probably be picked on, mama hens (or other chicks etc) know something is wrong with a chicken before we do, or if its a weak chick, so the older girls would know something is wrong with her, and the beak does get worse with time
I have a hen who is a year old with a cross beak. she is the boss of my twenty two hens. She has to eat out of a deep dish but does very well.
I am on the fence about how this bird is going to do. Crossbeaks that don't show for the first couple weeks of life have a better chance than ones that show up in the first few days. The problem is genetic and progressive, so this bird should never be used for breeding, and may indeed never make it to laying age anyways. The musculature along the skull is deformed causing the lower beak to pull to one side. As the bird ages it gets worse until about 16-20 weeks then it stops because the bird has reached its full skeletal growth. After that if the bird can be maintained it can survive. Deep feed and water dishes are necessary. Unlimited access to resources is a must. Protein dense treats. Some folks choose to feed wet mash instead of dry pellets or crumbles because more of it ends up inside than out. There is also the tube feeding option. You need to decide how much effort you want to put into this bird. There is a thread started by Nimby Chickens over in the Genetics section of the forum on dealing with crossbeaks. You may want to check it out. That may help you decide what you want to do. Good luck.
Hello- I'm curious how this chicken progressed? I currently have a 9 weeks old chick who has developed scissor beak and I'm trying to research her prognosis and care. Thank you!
