From egg to chick!

[TwoCrows]

@TwoCrows @21hens-incharge
Tag anyone else that can help

These two aren't doing great. They are way smaller than the others, their beaks are much worse than they were at hatching, and I think they aren't gaining sufficient weight. I can see the breast bone more prominently in those two than the other bigger floofs.

What to do? Idk my options but I know I can't kill them if needed.

Think mixing some starter feed and water would help them out? Maybe give it to them all mushy?

As hard as it is I think it is severe enough to cull the chicks. It doesn't get better it only gets worse.

Wet mash is much easier for them to eat but with that severity I don't know if it would be enough.

X2 on what @21hens-incharge says above. The cross beak will not get better, usually gets worse as they age. Wet mash is the preferred food however they still need assistance to feed themselves. Don't turn them loose outside, that's inhumane to send them off to a slow death. I totally understand the commitment it takes to care for a crossbeak, a friend of mine recently asked me if I would take hers and I declined. Not everyone wants to care for chickens in this matter, if this is the case, I'd have them put down. The outlook for their future isn't promising for these crossbeaks, generally they don't live long. Many times the cause of a crossbeak is from a bad position in the egg that causes the skull not to grow properly.

 

[fluffycrow]

I wholeheartedly agree, I think you'll need to cull these birds, for their sake. I know many people aren't comfortable doing it themselves, maybe contact someone who can? Don't let them out on their own, their death will be everything but peaceful

 

[GreenJay]

@2ndTink
Some Dolly photos for you to draw on if you want

Gonna use the first Dolly art for "seven showgirls primping"

 

[GreenJay]

sorry about the two cross beak chicks

 

[2ndTink]

@2ndTink
Some Dolly photos for you to draw on if you want

I've added them to my folder! My day job has been getting in the way of my doodles, but I do have Friday off

 

[Liz Birdlover]

@TwoCrows @21hens-incharge
Tag anyone else that can help

These two aren't doing great. They are way smaller than the others, their beaks are much worse than they were at hatching, and I think they aren't gaining sufficient weight. I can see the breast bone more prominently in those two than the other bigger floofs.

What to do? Idk my options but I know I can't kill them if needed.

I do not have any cross beak chickens, but I do have a cross beak pigeon. I see her peck at grain & seed, to attempt to eat, but she cannot grasp the food to get it into her mouth. I must hand feed her every day. I give her a combination of handfeed bird formula & pigeon grain variety & grit. She is quite tame & enjoys my attention. She cannot survive without me feeding her. Due to her deformed beak, she also cannot preen herself, so she hunkers down on my lap as I preen her feathers. She can get along in the pigeon loft with others as she can fly, but she spends half of the time in the house, as I have a bird room with Cockatiels & Ring Neck Doves, so she enjoys time in there, too.
I named her Ziggy, for her zig zag beak. She flies to me when I call her name. Pigeons are quite different than chickens, though. You can try to handfeed your chicks, maybe gently from your hand, and hope they will catch on. I've heard many crossbeak chickens do eat moist foods successfully, or try crumble as opposed to pellets, but you'll probably need to put the crossbeaks in their own area as they eat slower. There are others that have experience with cross beak chickens, so I'd make a crossbeak post or search on this site.
Here are some pics of my sweet Ziggy.

 

[ElfenLied89]

As hard as it is I think it is severe enough to cull the chicks. It doesn't get better it only gets worse.

Wet mash is much easier for them to eat but with that severity I don't know if it would be enough.

That's what I was dreading. Half of me thinks I should let them go in the forest bc there are feral cats etc that could benefit from it but at the same time I feel that is so dang cruel.

They can't even be meat birds. Poor babies.

 

[21hens-incharge]

That's what I was dreading. Half of me thinks I should let them go in the forest bc there are feral cats etc that could benefit from it but at the same time I feel that is so dang cruel.

They can't even be meat birds. Poor babies.

I am a no on release too. It's not humane.

This is the hard part of keeping chickens.

 

[2ndTink]

That's what I was dreading. Half of me thinks I should let them go in the forest bc there are feral cats etc that could benefit from it but at the same time I feel that is so dang cruel.

They can't even be meat birds. Poor babies.

If you culled them and then put them in the forest would work. I can't cull them myself, my hubby has to do it...

 

[ElfenLied89]

I wholeheartedly agree, I think you'll need to cull these birds, for their sake. I know many people aren't comfortable doing it themselves, maybe contact someone who can? Don't let them out on their own, their death will be everything but peaceful

I know. I couldn't do it anyways. I would feel worse than if I culled them myself. Just that small part of me that says "Hey there are hungry cats out there" (they aren't skinny so they hunt just fine). I will look into what to do. Maybe someone locally can take them and raise them until they are big enough for meat? Idk. They deserve better. Poor babies.