Extreme Curved Beak

[Kempsquad]

I have a 4 week old Araucana who has developed a hooked upper beak. Her lower beak is too small for her upper, making it very hard for her to eat. The food gets stuck in the hook, out of reach of her lower beak. She's frantically trying to eat, but not making much headway.
And a day or two ago she developed a swollen area or growth the size of a pea beneath her lower beak.

What should I do?

 

[SD Bird Lady]

I would start by trimming off the end of the beak. You will have to take it slow so you don't cut into the blood supply. You should be able to see where the pink shadow inside ends and trim only to that don't cut into it. I don't know what the bump would be.

 

[Kempsquad]

Thank you so much for your quick reply. By trimming do you mean cutting, clipping or filing? I have nail clippers meant for humans and some meant for cats. When I look closely at her beak the "pink" area you spoke of is actually in the curve. So I can't trim much and her bottom beak is so short compared, there will still be a big difference between the two.

I am not as concerned by about the bump at the moment as I am getting her to be able to eat. In the last 45 minutes, she has been able to get one bite of scrambled egg. But she keeps on trying Thank you for helping us help her.

 

[animallover505]

The "Quik" (pink shadow) will recede as you trim it. Just trim it a little, say, every week or every other week.

 

[Kempsquad]

The "Quik" (pink shadow) will recede as you trim it. Just trim it a little, say, every week or every other week.

I've trimmed what I can, but the beak is still severely curved. She is trying to eat normally, but only hits the outside of the beak against the food. I don't know if we can get enough food in her to keep her alive for that long.

 

[SD Bird Lady]

Try wet cat food. It isn't something you should feed as a primary diet but it has higher protein so will take less and will digest easily. Or make a mash out of her feed so she isn't picking up granules but more of a paste.

 

[amnich]

Here is a thread for beak abnormalities:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-for-special-needs-chickens-and-their-keepers

A lot of these cases are much more severe than that of your bird, so when some people say that they tube feed their bird don't feel like you need to do the same. If you keep up on filing the top of the beak down so that it is more level with the lower part that should take care of the problem. For now until you can get the beak lengths close, I agree that you should try to make some sort of mash out of the food. Basically you can add water to the crumble to make it soggy and easier to peck at. Yogurt is good for this kind of thing also, it's quick protein, sugar, and calories for the bird.

Good luck! I think with a little care your bird will be fine.

 

[Kempsquad]

Cat food is a good idea and I happen to have some on hand! I have been making mash with her crumbles and with yogurt. Although at the moment we are still hand feeding it to her. It is good to know I am on the right track. Thank you !

 

[Kempsquad]

Your words are so encouraging! I trimmed at bit more of her beak this morning and as careful as I was there was a small amount of bleeding. We have it stopped now and will just cater to her until the blood vessels shrink enough to let me trim or file a little more. The yogurt, water, mash solution is working pretty well, but only in a syringe. I will continue to offer it to her and supplement by hand. Thank you for the link and for taking the time to care.

 

[BocBocBagoc]

I know this is an old thread but I'm curious as to what happened with your chick? As I have the same problem with my amerucana chick. And the same small bump under her lower beak. I trimmed what I could for now and the pic is a few hours after.