Hello! New Mom to a sweet "Cross-beak"

[HelloChickies]

Hello, there! I'm Jennifer in Indiana, and I am so happy to be among such wonderful chicken people! I'm a brand new chicken mom to 7 sweet chicks, now 6 weeks old. One of my Americana chicks turned out to be a 'cross beak'. She looked totally normal until about her 2nd week. When I realized something wasn't right, I turned to the internet, and found this site with tons of great info about cross beaks. My little Cleo probably wouldn't have made it without the advice I got here! She has a pretty tough time eating, but now I make her a special porridge out of her chick starter, that she merrily gobbles down, and she's finally gaining some weight. I've committed to helping her thrive, rather than sending her to the rainbow bridge so soon. I'm totally in love with her sweetness! Anyway, thanks for reading, and I can't wait to learn so much more here. Here's a couple photos of little Cleo. Isn't she cute?

 

[sourland]

Hello, Jennifer, and welcome to BYC. That may be as bad a case of cross beak as I have ever seen. Good luck with her.

 

[HelloChickies]

Hi Sourland! Yes..... it's pretty bad, huh? :-( Ten years from now, maybe the word 'cull' will sneak into my vocabulary LOL. But since this is my very first batch of chicks, I'm going to give her a go. The other 6 don't pick on her, so maybe she'll be alright.

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC - glad that you have joined us. I hope you manage to find a way to ensure that she thrives.

Best of luck
CT

 

[drumstick diva]

Agree with Sourland, that is the most extreme case I have ever seen, in fact it just looks like a severe deformity beyond crossbeak. I am wondering if it would be easier for her to eat if her beak could be pared down -especially the off to the side part, so what beak is left would be close to her mouth. I know they de-beak(most of beak) in some egg factories and the birds are still able to eat.

I think there is a "cross beak support" thread on BYC. Maybe you could find via the searchbox. I do have to say that most will get worse as they mature.

 

[Lil Peeps]

HelloChickies, Oh my gosh I LOVE Cleo!!! She is SOOOO CUTE!!! We had a Silkie rooster with scissorbeak/crossbeak and his was just as bad as that and started when he was a chick too. He was able to eat by himself all through his chickhood. And we actually did the exact same thing, mixed warm water with his food and he could eat it better that way. But when he was an adult part of his beak broke off and he lost the will to eat. But since we were to stubborn to give up on him and loved him with all our hearts, we started feeding him wet food through one of those syringes. And we did that for months and even after his beak grew all the way back he still wouldn't eat food so we kept feeding him through a syringe. He was the sweetest chicken we have ever owned. He was only one year old when he died, but it wasn't because of his scissorbeak! Some animal somehow came and killed him! =( We cried for days!!! This only happened about a year ago. But I definitely tell you don't give up on her! You are doing great with her so far! And I'm sure she really appreciates it too. I also wouldn't recommend trimming her beak at all. Because even though only a little bit of our little guys beak broke off and he just couldn't eat after that. He would 'prentend' to peck the food and peck right above it where that little piece of beak used to be.
Here's some pics of him for you to see:

 

[Lil Peeps]

When I said not trimming her beak, you actually will have to trim her beak every once in a while because scissorbeak/crossbeak chicks and chickens can't wear their beaks down like other chickens, and their beaks can get really long. But I was meaning not cutting off any parts of her beak that are supposed to be there. Like in the top picture out little guy really needs a trim on his top half of his beak, but only a small one. Because he liked his beak pretty long, he ate better that way. On trimming their beaks when it does get overgrown you could take her to the vet to get it trimmed or if you feel confident enough you can do it at home. You can decide how short it should be by what she prefers. If she likes it shorter you can trim it that way or same with longer, whatever works for her. I am so happy you are giving your little girl a chance and not just putting her down because she has a problem, but helping her get through it! Hope your little cutie makes it all the way! I am already so in love with her!!!

 

[pattyhen]

Hi Jennifer and welcome to BYC. I'm glad to see another hoosier I'm from Indiana too.

Cleo is precious and I'm glad to see that you haven't given up on her. She is going to need a lot of TLC but I think she has come to the right home. Good luck with her and thanks so much for giving her a chance. Please keep us updated on how she is doing. Bless your heart.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[HelloChickies]

Drumstick Diva-- I found the cross beak support thread! Thanks for bringing that to my attention!