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

[elliechooks]

Well the good news is our little cross beak has been spotted attempting to eat and drink today (now 3 days old) and seems to be growing in line with the others. Not sure how successful his attempts are but I am not going to keep him alive artificially, he needs to be able to fend for himself!

 

[KelsiNS]

Chewi at 2 days old

two weeks old

Chewi at one month.
She eats and drinks (she has a favorite feeder that is an old salsa/chip tray) unassisted. Soft treats like melon and banana are her favorites, but if i do a small chop on anything (cucumber, corn, nuts, etc) she munches like a champ. If her beak grows too long, i have a file for my dogs nails that i will trim with but for now she has no idea she is special!

eta: reading all the other stories is heartwarming! Chewi is so NOT a lap bird! She is so independant it is crazy! I have red stars that are gluttons for attention, and Chewis hatchmate Ghiradelli is a shoulder bird-but Chewi is aloof at best!

 

[karhernandez33]

here is my sultan she stays with the girls and is doing good .hope it stays that way

 

[LisaYolkUm]

I took Violet to the vet to get her beak trimmed the first time. Tonight I started filing it on my own... it went ok, but I am so worried about hurting her! I guess I will get better at it with practice. I would love to see your picture guide, if you ever get a chance to do it. I thought about trying to get someone to take pictures of Violet before and after, but didn't get to it today. Maybe next time. How often do you end up filing your chicken's beak?

I would be most interested in seeing pictures about peoples attempts to file or trim the beaks...........I have a 11 wk old cross beak...........silver laced Wyandotte...........I think she had an injury as the lower beak seems to have broken off a bit.........and she did not have this situation when I got her at 6 wks of age.............

she seems to be eating well enough.........but if trimming or filing would help her in some way...........I would like to learn about this.

At this time I am not really sure what parts I would trim............ie what the exact end goal would be.


here are some pictures from last week.............its hard to see it .........

 

[BullChick]

this is my silver laced cochin hen. I didnt notice her crookbeak until she was about a month or two old. but she does great. she eats with the others and is justa as big as her hatchmates. I hope it continues.

Has anyone tried to trim the beak back and see if that helps them eat?

Lisa, I am using this picture to try to answer your question about beak trimming. This is the best this girl is going to look, and this is the goal you want to achieve. The beak is a dog's toenail. If the bird doesn't scrape it against something rough (like a cement block or rocks) it will grow out of control. That is when you get out the Pedi Paws file or nail clippers, and take off the tip of the beak. Just like a nail, it has a quick in it. The longer you let the beak grow, the longer the quick gets. Frequent trimming makes the quick recede.
Wrap the chick up in a towel, lay her on your lap or a table (I use a bench I keep outside the main coop) and just clip a quarter inch at a time. If she bleeds, use corn starch or flour to stop it.
BTW, some people find that their chickens (even "normal ones" need their toenails clipped. If you have never clipped a dog or cat's nails before (practice for the beak) start with chicken toenails.

 

[suzyQlou]

Uh-oh. I see trimmers in our future. I've been wondering why my crossbeak runs to the road when I let her out. I thought she was eating the gravel, but she won't touch the extra grit I've been leaving for her. I think she's been trying to scrape her beak, like MotercycleChick mentioned about. Thanks for the post. We live on a dead end, but I really need to keep that girl out of the road!

I'll be adding some hard stuff to the coop first, then we'll trim if it doesn't do the trick. I've been hesitant to break out the trimmers since we drew blood the first time we tried it. Since then she's been eating, growing, and even laying well. <sigh>

 

[Rebeccaraye]

Hi,

I am new to chickens and just got four Easter Eggers last week. I new realize one of them has a crossed beak.

I am very happy to find this fourm to learn more on care and future issues.

So far she appears to eat and drink without a problem, but I have no idea how long this will last.

Follow-up: turns up she is taking longer to drink than the other chicks. We raised a waterer with a brick. She went over, started drinking and drank and drank! So happy to have this thread. She must have been dehydrated. We never would have known to raise the waterer.

RebeccaRaye

 

[BullChick]

Hello, Rebecca. I think the "juicy" stuff is touched on in the last few pages. The whole thread is important and informative. Most frequent concerns (IMO) have come up recently.

 

[Rebeccaraye]

Well my chicks crossbeak is getting worse, just as everyone indicated it would. It's upsetting to watch. She is the second largest chick so far and holding her own, but at 4 weeks old, I'm worried about how bad it will get.

We are going to talk to the person we got her from and see if she will take her back and give us another one. I'm afraid I can't deal with the emotional bonding that's already happening and the fear of what's to come. I'm a whimp, but I know myself. I'll do better with the idea that her original momma took care of her as best she could, if she will take her back. I think she will, as she loves her chicks.

I'll post more photos shortly.

Rebecca Raye

 

[KelsiNS]

Rebecca, im sorry

My Chewi is six weeks old and thus far it seems like she may need a trim before halloween. I noticed her top beak angles down, causing her face to appear flat.

The only special care i take with her is keeping her favorite food dish outside. She eats like a horse, and figured out she can climb the fence by hookinh her beak and walking her legs up the chainlink. (I told my papaw she doesnt have a special need, she has a superpower).

I hope you and your little CB the best!