Diary of a Crossbeak: Support for Special Needs Chickens and their Keepers

[cindersga]

I have a crossbeak quail antwerp pardin my spelling but i dont know what to do with him. Its hard for him to eat and he's very nice

John ~ Like Motorcycle Chick said try some mash. That is what saved my Broke Beaks life. She was so small compared to the rest and was constantly at the feeder trying to get some grain in her mouth, I mean she lived at the feeder, LOL Poor thing was starving...I found this site and it literally saved her. Now she has plumped out nicely. She is so sweet and is always talking to us. Of course the minute the door opens she runs from wherever she is in the backyard looking for treats. I give her mushed bananas, oatmeal, peanut butter in with her regular food and some water to make it where she can get it up with her tongue. Every once in awhile I give her some greek yogurt but not too much dairy. I know a lot of people who give theirs scrambled eggs, it seems weird to give a chicken eggs to eat but so many do it. I have always wondered if that would give them a desire to eat their own eggs and haven't done it but once. I am probably over thinking this, haha.

All in all just take this as a chance to dote on your quail and develop that special relationship with one of God's creation and just be their for him/her. Enjoy and to BYC!!!

 

[cindersga]

I have a buff orphton that has a cross beak.she had a hard time picking up food and treats. I trimed upper and bottom beak with a toe nail clipper.I CLIPPED WHERE THE WHITE SHOWS NO BLOOD SO I GUESS I DID IT RIGHT.NOW SHE SEEMS TO BE EATING A LOT BETTER. SHE IS SLOWER TO EAT AND DRINK WATER SO I GIVE HER EXTRA TIME TO EAT IN THE RUN BEFORE I SEND HER OUT TO FREE RANGE.

Rosebuds!!! Seems like you got the touch to be able to do that for the first time and draw no blood. Post a picture of your buff for us too. You will just have to watch her and make sure she is growing and putting on weight and if not try the mash routine for her. Good luck and blessings to you for loving one who is different. Cindy

 

[cindersga]

This is our 27 week old Russian Orloff, Sweetie. Her name says it all. She is a total sweetheart! She doesn't seem to have too much trouble eating. But, I'm not sure how to tell if she's getting enough to eat. She's the only Russian Orloff we have, so I'm not sure how big she is supposed to be at this point. She's similar in size to our Salmon Faverelle and our Marans.

HeatherSue ~ What a cutie pie. I think the way you could tell was to google search this breed and look at a bunch of pictures of birds this age. Then you can compare to Sweetie and see if she is up to the standard. The other things would be taking her to a vet and having her looked over for a professional opinion. Blessings and have fun with Sweetie. Cindy

 

[cindersga]

Hi my Cross beak Australop (? cross?) named Bekkie (not Rebecca but Bek - Afrikaans for mouth) that I got at about 3wks, no sign of problems then, but during the next few weeks we noticed the top beak a little off centre, suddenly became exaggerated during the following weeks & seems to have halted? She is now 25wks and was behind in size compared to her mates, she has managed to catch up and is the same size as a few other hens. I do not clip her beak, I think each case is so different you need to read up as much as possible, watch your chick eat/drink etc try things others have found helpful & see what works for your little one. Bekkie is a real little character, I do not hand feed her as such but I do make sure she gets a little extra attention. When I throw scratch grain out first thing in the morning she will run to my feet & wait for me to kneel down with a deep tub full of grain. She manages to shovel some in while the others are busy. I also do this several times a day but only for a few minutes each time, the rest of the time she eats out of a hopper (layers pellets) & manages ok. drinking she drinks out of the waterer or I also have a deep dog dish near the tap which she likes. Unfortunately she can't get greens in too easily, if any so I put some into her mouth. I read all the posts which gave me loads of hope & encouragement & tried the mash thing...no go she didn't like it ! She loves cooked rice, so I always cook extra & we scoop it into our hands hold them in a cup shape & she pigs out ! I don't know how she will do long term, I can only hope she continues to develop nicely. Very proud mamma Miss Bekkie laid an egg yesterday, a really lovely nice sized egg ! Will post a pic of her later for other to see as reference. I looked at some of the pics & there is such a variety of deformaties from mild to really hectic so I think you have to do what is best for your chick, if culling is the kindest then one has to do it, but try everything first, within reason ! Good luck to all those with special need chicks...we have them for a reason, perhaps to learn patience, gentleness, compassion...lets face it they give us so much joy most of the time !!

NooNoo that's wonderful that your Bekkie is doing so wonderful. Thanks for sharing your story and yes I believe there is a lesson to learn in any difficult or trying experience. That's what grows character right? I care for my mom with Alzheimer's and taking care of my crossed beak chicken is my relief from taking care of my mom. So BrokeBeak has brought me joy during a very difficult time for me. Blessings and ~ Cindy

 

[littlecritters]

Hi,
We don't have a crossbeak but we do have a silkie youngster who suffered neurological damage due to shipping delays (dehydration and possible stroke). Here is a pic of our little guy getting ready to be tube fed, all wrapped up in a sleeve from a sweatshirt.

Dr Peter Brown from First State Vet Supplies suggested this technique. He also shared important info that chickens don't have diaphragms like humans, so they can't be wrapped tight or they will literally suffocate.

I'm finding tube feeding to be challenging in terms of getting the right consistency of our feed "concoction". It's either too thick or so thin that it is watery but then clogs up with small particles. I'm using aquarium tubing with a 12cc syringe.

 

[kilby]

Very cute. What is his name and does he have eyes. lol

 

[littlecritters]

Very cute. What is his name and does he have eyes. lol

We haven't named him yet. He is a silkie and does have eyes under all that fluff.

 

[NooNoo]

Hi all,
Just thought I would add an update on my Cross Beak Bekkie...she was doing great until about a week ago when I noticed she didn't seem to be able to get enough food in from the deep dish anymore. I watched her to see how she was eating to try and pin point what was the problem (yeh I know it is the beak...but I needed specifics). It is only the top beak that is squonk, so I noticed that over the past weeks it had suddenly grown to a spot where the end was curling around the bottom beak and so catching on it everytime she ate. It would sometimes "hook" ontop of her bottom beak and thus keep her mouth wide open. Time for action...tried the soft food again, which she initially didn't really favour, and that worked, but after a few days I noticed her frustration at not being able to get enough in. Spoke to Hubbie and said we needed to look at trimming (reminder...I was not at all keen on this idea)...out came the dog clippers and I held her firmly against me and hubbie removed a very small tip, and we decided to do a little more to make it move easier...wow what a star patient she was, not fuss, like she knew it wouldn't hurt & it would help ! She is eating like a crazy thing now!! Even tries (and succeeds) to pick up grain off the ground !! I shared this for those that like me are hesitant to snip the beak ! Sometimes a little can help alot ! For those that have done this before, how often do you need to trim ? approx. ? The photos below are of Bekkie taken about a month ago, then one taken a few weeks ago, unfortunately I don't have one at its worst, but I will take one this week of after the snip, just for records sake...

 

[Imprfctme]

Hi Everyone!

So I finally finished editing together all the great information put out on this thread. You can find the article here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...ds-chickens-including-tube-feeding-techniques

Thank you to everyone that contributed to the thread I tried hard to credit everyone but alas I think I missed a few names. In any event it's become a permanent resource now so hopefully more folks will be inclined to save and care for their own cross-beaks instead of culling them.

Happy Mush Making all!

Heather

 

[BullChick]

So Cadbury flies up onto my arm for attention (jealous of the BR on my other arm), and out of the corner of my eye I notice her beak is broken! It has to hurt, but she began preening without a squawk. I touched it to see what was going on. Still not much of a response. The break is actually in a pretty good place. It is like a fingernail that is broken just below where it should be clipped. I am sure it will bleed, and so I need the following info:
Will toenail clippers work okay?
Is flour better or corn starch?
Can I really do this?