Hello from Delaware!
I've had a few cross beaks, (pigeons but not chickens). Some can manage to eat & drink just fine, but you may need to gently shape or trim the end occasionally with some. I gently use an Emory board.
Sometimes it may be difficult for them to compete with others that are faster eating, so I've created a smaller section for some slower eating elderly & special needs birds. That way, they do get plenty of time to eat. I have an elderly section for chickens, as some are slower these days at 9 yrs of age. Yours may be fine, unless chicken math happens & you suddenly expand your flock (it happens lol) so you may need a special needs section in the future, or as some people have done, have a house chicken. She may be fine eating, we don't know just yet.
I have 1 Homing Pigeon, I named her Ziggy for the zig zag beak, that cannot feed herself at all, even though she tries. She is in a smaller section in the loft, so she can make friends, but since she was a chick I have hand fed her daily & it is a routine we've both come to love. She snuggles under my chin, gives me pigeon kisses & preens my hair & eyelashes, coos & does a dance afterwards. I feed her typical pigeon grain along with baby bird formula by oral syringe.
You'll find this site an excellent resource for information & people with experience willing to help & share. Unfortunately, many bird species can develop cross beaks, while it can be challenging for them to eat, it does not necessarily have to be a death sentence, depending upon the severity of the beak deformity. When the birds are ours, at least we can help care for them.
I've had a few cross beaks, (pigeons but not chickens). Some can manage to eat & drink just fine, but you may need to gently shape or trim the end occasionally with some. I gently use an Emory board.
Sometimes it may be difficult for them to compete with others that are faster eating, so I've created a smaller section for some slower eating elderly & special needs birds. That way, they do get plenty of time to eat. I have an elderly section for chickens, as some are slower these days at 9 yrs of age. Yours may be fine, unless chicken math happens & you suddenly expand your flock (it happens lol) so you may need a special needs section in the future, or as some people have done, have a house chicken. She may be fine eating, we don't know just yet.
I have 1 Homing Pigeon, I named her Ziggy for the zig zag beak, that cannot feed herself at all, even though she tries. She is in a smaller section in the loft, so she can make friends, but since she was a chick I have hand fed her daily & it is a routine we've both come to love. She snuggles under my chin, gives me pigeon kisses & preens my hair & eyelashes, coos & does a dance afterwards. I feed her typical pigeon grain along with baby bird formula by oral syringe.
You'll find this site an excellent resource for information & people with experience willing to help & share. Unfortunately, many bird species can develop cross beaks, while it can be challenging for them to eat, it does not necessarily have to be a death sentence, depending upon the severity of the beak deformity. When the birds are ours, at least we can help care for them.










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