Her face is....crooked - pics included

[dulcimer lady]

I have this one little chick and her face/beak is crooked. It doesn't seem to hinder her any as far as eating or drinking and she is growing fine. Just wondering if anyone has seen this before or know why it happens? The pictures almost look like it could be the angle of the camera, but it's not. Her little face is just crooked.

 

[tinychicky]

calcium deficiency. give her some yogurt for a while and maybe it will help. also,

 

[dulcimer lady]

Don't have any yogurt on hand and it's a flood outside. Can they have milk?

 

[EweSheep]

cottage cheese would work or sour cream.

If it is the runny kind or liquidy or milk, add some oatmeal to it. Be prepared, it will get messy. Be sure they have grits LOL!

I am not sure if it is too late since the damage has been done already. Other than that, the bird will eat and drink just fine.

 

[dulcimer lady]

Thanks so much for these quick responses! Ok, I've got sour cream & oatmeal, a mess will be fine, but I have no grit. Will that be ok?

 

[Dora'smom]

Do you have any coarse sand? Or even regular sand? The idea is to give something that will help the bird grind up what you feed it, if they are not free-ranging. Free-ranging, they will find tiny rocks, etc. to eat, and that will be enough.
We have a bird that had a slight cross beak as a chick, and she grew out of it by 7 or so weeks. It's hard to say if it will get better or worse as they mature.

 

[dulcimer lady]

No, I don't have anything like that because I haven't been giving treats. Just occasional leftover cooked cream of wheat so they haven't needed grit yet. Couldn't I just give the sour cream or milk without grit if they have been handling cooked cream of wheat fine?

 

[Chickenaddict]

I believe you have a bird with a skull deformity and not a calcium deficiency. There isn't much you can do for the bird but as long as it eats/ drinks just fine she should be A ok

I have a tiny cross beaked serama hen who is a few years old and gets along just fine.

 

[dulcimer lady]

It's almost amusing because we also have a dog with a crooked tail and two crooked legs. Maybe they'll be friends, lol...

 

[TreeHugger]

I have a silkie with a crooked face. She came from eggs I purchased from a breeder so I think it was a genetic issue or hatch deformity since she is the only chick I've ever had with a problem. She is a beautiful bird & you really can't even see that her face is crooked because of all the "fluff". The funny part is that I would never sell her because of the deformity. I figured no one would want her & she would end up being culled so she has been in my flock for about 3 years now. I just make sure I don't use her for breeding because I'm concerned it could be passed on to her offspring. She has never had an issue with eating or drinking. However, her top beak curves over her bottom beak just a little & every few months I have to trim the extra growth with toe nail clippers.