Facial Deformity Assistance

[Aunt Angus]

I use one of those amope file thingies. It is great for beaks, toes, and spurs. I don't trust myself with trimmers. A veritable chicken pedicure!

Auggie sure is cute, deformities and all. I'm glad you're working with him rather than culling.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I use one of those amope file thingies. It is great for beaks, toes, and spurs. I don't trust myself with trimmers. A veritable chicken pedicure!

Auggie sure is cute, deformities and all. I'm glad you're working with him rather than culling.

Thank you! I think he has such a gorgeous face, even with the major underbeak. His eyes are just amazing. I'm not sure if the deformities have made other features so noticeable or what but he does have a very handsome face. I am too much of a softie, but his cuteness factor seals the deal that he deserves whatever I can do to help him. He's a solid booger too, so I know he's eating well

 

[rosemarythyme]

Unfortunately it won't be possible for them to meet in the front since his top beak is so short. Maybe the sides will be able to close after this though. I worry that something is wrong with the growing of his top beak since it's so short. The difference wasn't this much at hatch. It's gotten worse as he's grown. He's 3.5 months old now.

Yeah you're not aiming for a perfect match (it won't happen), just "close to normal". I find that if I don't maintain the beaks of the few birds that have issues, they can chip and do extra damage to them (and make any misalignment worse), so a somewhat matched up top/bottom is good enough.

Even with his beak like this, this guy doesn't miss food or treats, thankfully. He is the first one to push through the others to be first in line, if he even thinks I might have a raisin in my hand.

Yeah I don't see a reason he shouldn't be able to live a fairly normal life. Wouldn't breed him, in case there's a genetic component to the deformity, but otherwise I bet he'll do pretty well with occasional maintenance.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Yeah you're not aiming for a perfect match (it won't happen), just "close to normal". I find that if I don't maintain the beaks of the few birds that have issues, they can chip and do extra damage to them (and make any misalignment worse), so a somewhat matched up top/bottom is good enough.



Yeah I don't see a reason he shouldn't be able to live a fairly normal life. Wouldn't breed him, in case there's a genetic component to the deformity, but otherwise I bet he'll do pretty well with occasional maintenance.

Thank you for telling me this! Apparently beak maintenance, especially for one's with oddities, is very important and a task that I will need to stay on top of. It definitely makes sense now that you have mentioned it but it just didn't seem like anything other than something I could do to help. It's more like something I should do for his well being. Thank you from Auggie and myself! Good point about breeding! I don't have any breeding plans, but this is a good reminder. Thanks again. I really appreciate it

 

[Kris5902]

I find in the few birds I have had to trim here (factory farm debeaked rescues) that they prefer a good sharp pair of nail clippers to the file. The files seem to upset them more with the vibration/grinding. Unfortunately there isn’t much here you can remove to even it up

You can’t trim or file too close to this white line or you will cause pain and potentially bleeding as well! Use care and go slowly with any modifications.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

@Kris5902 thank you for your reply. I agree, there isn't much there to file or trim without causing him significant pain and blood loss. With everything I've learned from this thread and knowing Auggie's overall health right now, I'm beginning to wonder if I should just let him be for now. Of course I'll need to keep a close eye on him, but if he's getting along fine without any intervention, I'm starting to feel like I should just be grateful that he's doing well. The old saying "if it ain't broke......" keeps popping up in my mind. Regardless, this post has certainly armed me with information if an issue arises. I wonder if the wonderful members that have replied here have this experience and knowledge because their bird had beak problems that they learned to address or they just noticed the beak issue during a visual and decided to address it before any problems arose?

 

[Kris5902]

Early this summer one of my Roosters was bitten by something on his face (my bet is spider) I came home and he had ground off his upper beak until it was bleeding his beak was perfect before. It has regrown fairly well.

He is fully recovered, quite the ladies man, but it was a rough month initially as he was in such pain he was hardly eating (wet mushy feed only, from my hand as he wouldn’t touch it to a feed dish). A day or two later:

That was an injury though. My trimming (I don’t have a before pic but the orange line was where her beak extended to.

she moved her head so the flat bit got a little too close to that line for my comfort yellow lump is treat of scrambled egg for being such a good girl.

She does just fine, and is actually being quite the bully to some younger hens now that her molt is done.

 

[Coops Dad]

I had a RIR who had a mild lower cross beak. I occasionally had to catch her to dress it with a file, which she really hated. I'd wrap her in a towel to keep her wings and legs immobile, then put a band of first aid tape over her eyes- the type that sticks to itself but not to your skin. It worked great; the only downside is I'd have to grab her off the roost first thing in the morning because she became distrustful of me handling her.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Early this summer one of my Roosters was bitten by something on his face (my bet is spider) I came home and he had ground off his upper beak until it was bleeding his beak was perfect before. It has regrown fairly well.View attachment 2426838 He is fully recovered, quite the ladies man, but it was a rough month initially as he was in such pain he was hardly eating (wet mushy feed only, from my hand as he wouldn’t touch it to a feed dish). A day or two later:View attachment 2426844
That was an injury though. My trimming (I don’t have a before pic but the orange line was where her beak extended to.View attachment 2426843she moved her head so the flat bit got a little too close to that line for my comfort yellow lump is treat of scrambled egg for being such a good girl.View attachment 2426841
She does just fine, and is actually being quite the bully to some younger hens now that her molt is done.

Her beak looks a lot like Auggie's. The length difference looks to be worse, but I expect his to get worse as he ages, like it's done so far. He hatched Aug 13th so he still has some growing to do. I can't decide if I should try to some maintenance on his beak leave him alone.