Feeding my sweet scissor beak

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

I have been wetting my chickens crumble and my Roxie girl seems to be eating it ok. She is about the same size as her sister so that is good. I worry about her face. she gets it everywhere and it gets hard and crusty. My question is, anyone that has a scissor beak, how do you clean their faces after they eat? My girl has a really bad beak and I try to wipe off or pick off as much of it as she will let me. I am afraid I will hurt her. Any suggestions on how to get it off her face?
Thanks ya'll!

 

[TundraFang]

I give my girl baths every day! She can't preen and gets food all over her! I've recently started tube feeding so I don't have to do it as often now. You can use dawn soap if you need to.

 

[TundraFang]

Here's my girl!

 

[DonyaQuick]

I haven't dealt with scissor beak specifically, but have had to clean dried, crusty messes off of other birds in the past, mostly parrots and finches, either babies being messy eaters or when regurgitating has gone wrong and the goop has gotten dried in their feathers. I can't help with how to stop the chicken from getting messy but can maybe add a bit about cleaning the bits that are hard/crusty.

If you need to clean one specific area and can't or don't want to bathe the whole bird, small syringes or pipets make it a lot easier to remove stubborn bits. Just keep adding a drop here and there onto the gunk until it breaks up and either wipes off or kind of "pulls" free from the feathers. It is time consuming but is the safest way to remove dried stuff in sensitive areas without damaging the feathers. Do try to get crusty messes out of feathers fast if you can't prevent it from forming, since it can lead to infection if it gets around the base of the feathers and skin. For example, I had a parrot manage to hide a small patch of mashed up, wet food bits stuck in the feathers under his chin from me for some time and it was a nasty raw mess under the caked on material when I finally realized he was scratching at something and used the syringe method to clean it away.

Also (and you may have already done this), getting the bird used to having its face touched when it's not a cleaning situation will make things a lot easier for cleaning around the head, especially if you need to clean a nostril or near the eye, etc. If you only touch the bird's head when it's cleaning time, they will fuss more than if they're used to it as just a regular part of getting attention.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

View attachment 2859772
Here's my girl!

She is beautiful. Here is my girl.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

I give my girl baths every day! She can't preen and gets food all over her! I've recently started tube feeding so I don't have to do it as often now. You can use dawn soap if you need to.

This might be a stupid question but... how do you bathe a chicken? I don't mind bathing her I am just not sure how. Also, how do you tube feed her and how often? Maybe I will do that with Roxie.

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

I haven't dealt with scissor beak specifically, but have had to clean dried, crusty messes off of other birds in the past, mostly parrots and finches, either babies being messy eaters or when regurgitating has gone wrong and the goop has gotten dried in their feathers. I can't help with how to stop the chicken from getting messy but can maybe add a bit about cleaning the bits that are hard/crusty.

If you need to clean one specific area and can't or don't want to bathe the whole bird, small syringes or pipets make it a lot easier to remove stubborn bits. Just keep adding a drop here and there onto the gunk until it breaks up and either wipes off or kind of "pulls" free from the feathers. It is time consuming but is the safest way to remove dried stuff in sensitive areas without damaging the feathers. Do try to get crusty messes out of feathers fast if you can't prevent it from forming, since it can lead to infection if it gets around the base of the feathers and skin. For example, I had a parrot manage to hide a small patch of mashed up, wet food bits stuck in the feathers under his chin from me for some time and it was a nasty raw mess under the caked on material when I finally realized he was scratching at something and used the syringe method to clean it away.

Also (and you may have already done this), getting the bird used to having its face touched when it's not a cleaning situation will make things a lot easier for cleaning around the head, especially if you need to clean a nostril or near the eye, etc. If you only touch the bird's head when it's cleaning time, they will fuss more than if they're used to it as just a regular part of getting attention.

Thank you so much! I will try this with her tomorrow after she eats breakfast.

 

[TundraFang]

This might be a stupid question but... how do you bathe a chicken? I don't mind bathing her I am just not sure how. Also, how do you tube feed her and how often? Maybe I will do that with Roxie.

Bathing is pretty much the same as bathing a small dog. I fill my sink with water and let her soak (she loves the warm water). I scrub the dirty areas with dawn soap and use a wet washcloth and cotton swabs for her beak and face. It's very important to keep her beak clean because she can get an infection if food is stuck too long.. Afterwards I wrap her in a towel like a burrito and let her dry under a heating pad. The heating pad is only necessary if it's cold because wet chickens get chilled easily.

Tube feeding is the best way to ensure your chicken gets enough food. I use a 15ml syringe with aquarium tubing. I fill her crop completely with a mixture of ground chicken food, baby bird formula, cat food, and leftover fruits and veggies twice a day. Basically, I throw a bunch of stuff in a blender and water it down. If you look in a chicken's mouth you can clearly see the trachea.

It's the center hole behind the tongue. If you are facing the chicken you want to feed the tube into the left side (her right) of her throat. If you are in the correct hole the tube will slide easily into the crop with no resistance. You will be able to see it slide down and feel it in her crop. If you are in the wrong hole you will have to force it and she will cough and fight because you will be in her lungs. The first few times you do it you will be scared of getting food in her lungs but don't quit. Once you get the hang of it you can do it without looking. This is a very uncomfortable process for you and your bird in the beginning. Eventually she will associate the tube with food and get excited when she sees it. I'll link some BYC articles on tube feeding for a more in-depth explanation. I recommend watching YouTube videos on the process also. In my opinion, tube feeding is the easiest and most convenient way to feed crossbeaks.

 

[TundraFang]

Here's the video I used when I first tried it:

Here's some articles about tube feeding and crossbeaks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...kens-including-tube-feeding-techniques.64321/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-guide-pictures-under-construction.1064392/

 

[Missys Chicken Ranch]

Bathing is pretty much the same as bathing a small dog. I fill my sink with water and let her soak (she loves the warm water). I scrub the dirty areas with dawn soap and use a wet washcloth and cotton swabs for her beak and face. It's very important to keep her beak clean because she can get an infection if food is stuck too long.. Afterwards I wrap her in a towel like a burrito and let her dry under a heating pad. The heating pad is only necessary if it's cold because wet chickens get chilled easily.

Tube feeding is the best way to ensure your chicken gets enough food. I use a 15ml syringe with aquarium tubing. I fill her crop completely with a mixture of ground chicken food, baby bird formula, cat food, and leftover fruits and veggies twice a day. Basically, I throw a bunch of stuff in a blender and water it down. If you look in a chicken's mouth you can clearly see the trachea. View attachment 2859847It's the center hole behind the tongue. If you are facing the chicken you want to feed the tube into the left side (her right) of her throat. If you are in the correct hole the tube will slide easily into the crop with no resistance. You will be able to see it slide down and feel it in her crop. If you are in the wrong hole you will have to force it and she will cough and fight because you will be in her lungs. The first few times you do it you will be scared of getting food in her lungs but don't quit. Once you get the hang of it you can do it without looking. This is a very uncomfortable process for you and your bird in the beginning. Eventually she will associate the tube with food and get excited when she sees it. I'll link some BYC articles on tube feeding for a more in-depth explanation. I recommend watching YouTube videos on the process also. In my opinion, tube feeding is the easiest and most convenient way to feed crossbeaks.

Wow! I had no idea. This was a thing. Thank you so much for all the information. I will definitely watch videos on it before I attempt it. I love her, she is my favorite. I definitely do not want to hurt her. How long is the tube you use?