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

[bruceh]

Wow! That could be really interesting. Could you share more information?

i finally got a cross beak chick out of a hatch. so i will star this up again

 

[HippieChicken]

HELP! I am new to chickens. I have a 4 week old cross beak who is weak and sleeping almost consistantly. She was the largest chick for the first week and was eating normally. Within 5 days she was the smallest and is dying. I have been syringe feeding baby bird food. What else can I do for her? I guess I am trying to figure out if she is suffering more than necessary and if I need to end that suffering.

 

[Bill Matthews]

To Hippie Chicken......There isn't much you can do unless you want to get an animal surgeon to repair the beak and even that might not work at this stage....A friend of mine actually spent many dollars to fix a chicken and then the chicken died....Tough call...Best Wishes

 

[artsyrobin]

the way i approach it, i provide the food, deep dishes, wet food almost the consistancy of bisquits, and try to make sure they are eating. In a case of a weak chick, probably try making a gruel and drop it on the beak so he can lick it up- i always give a chick a chance- i have heard lots of stories of birds that grow up fine, hopefully your little one will be ok

 

[HippieChicken]

Artsyrobin thank you. I think I am approaching it that way, too. Give the chick a fighting chance!

 

[BullChick]

Hey Bruce! Missed you last night! Sorry about your cross beak. I assume you do FF. It has really saved my chicken.

 

[ilovemy7chicken]

I haven't had a cross beak but as a child we hatched a deformed chick and it never ends good. It's very valiant to do whatever you can to try to save him and give him the best life possible but it rarely ends the way you want it to. I'm just thankful that there are so many people that truly love animals and will go to extensive lengths to save their lives.

 

[HippieChicken]

I ended up putting the poor thing out of her misery. It was hard for both me and my daughter. But it was the best thing for her.

 

[artsyrobin]

it is a hard decision and each one is different- they are a special needs, and alot of time involved, and even then, not alot can be done, particularly as you see them get progressively worse- sometimes they don't thrive and it is the best thing to do. Mine is growing and eating, but i suspect she won't be long lived, just watch her daily and if she begins to go downhill than i will have to decide--

hugs to you and your daughter

 

[HippieChicken]

Thank you for your kind words. I did a bunch of research here and around the web. I asked fellow chicken friends and came to the conclusion that even if I had fed her daily she may not have a long life and that would be hard on her and hard on us. I am always an advocate of not allowing living creatures to suffer. I felt like even if I were able to make her thrive she would always be dependent on me. Although we might have become best buddies with snuggly feedings it was best to end the suffering.