I REALLY NEED HELP!! I HAVE A CROSSBEAK CHICK!!!!

[JustBabyMargo]

Can Shelly eat by herself?

Yes, she can, but I have to keep her beak trimmed so that she can. She goes to bed with a full crop every night.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

Shelly is so precious

Aww, thank you! I love those two to pieces.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

her feathers are beautiful!

I know! She's gorgeous, and tiny!

 

[rosemarythyme]

We give our ADULT chickens pellet feed. (The chicks eat crumbles) should we change the pellet to crumbles when it moves to the flock?

Consider wet mash like ThinMintTheChicken described below, as it's far easier for a crossbeak to eat. Mine does fine on a combination of fermented feed and pellets, but she only has a mild case of crossbeak and I maintain her beak shape regularly by filing the edges.

It depends on how badly its beak is crossed. ThinMint needs to have mash because, while she can still somehow eat pellets (one of her favorite things to do is sneak into our bin of pellets and try her hardest to eat them, I can actually sometimes feel pellets in her crop so I have no clue how she does it). It will also need to eat separately from the other chickens so that you can monitor their weight and make sure their eating enough. I'm pretty sure you can get dry mash from feed stores, I can't remember though, because we've been getting our feed from our local Amish feed store. I wet down ThinMints mash because it makes it easier for her to eat because her crossbeak is severe. The wet mash sticks to her beak long enough for her to eat it. For now, your chick should be able to eat the crumbles, but you will need to keep an eye on them (which you probably are already doing). You can also wet down crumbles and pellets, it will absorb the water and turn into a mash-like consistency.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

How's penguin?

 

[Pierre duck drake]

How's penguin?

Great! She can still eat and drink by herself and her crossbeak is exactly the same!

 

[Pierre duck drake]

Here Penguin is!

 

[ThinMintTheChicken]

Here Penguin is!View attachment 3024975

Aww she's adorable!!!

 

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

I personally have had a very different experience to what everyone is saying with my cross beak rooster. We named him Crook, because he was crooked and kinda looked like a bank robber! Unfortunately, there was an accident and another one of my roosters killed him a couple months ago Roosters that were kept separate, but accidentally got out together and I didn’t see

His cross beak, I would say was quite severe but he was totally independent. He was such an admirable little guy and so strong! I don’t think he ever even realized he was any different, he was so confident. When they have cross beak, all you can do is file down the beak as much as you can without hitting the quick. We took him to the bird vet once when he was younger, because we were concerned for him and didn’t know how to do it ourselves. They showed us how to do it, but what ended up happening was we never needed to. He was able to eat just fine by himself, and had no problems except for maybe when eating scraps, but if he wanted it he found a way! As long as it was in the feeder and he could eat from the “pile”, he had no problem. He was actually one of our biggest and heaviest roosters! No starving for Crooky Pants!

And he was never bullied. At least, not by most of the roosters. We do have too many roosters, so they are separated, and they all have their own groups they get along with. That’s just normal rooster behavior, though. He wasn’t bullied and had his own group he fit into. I don’t believe he was bottom of the pecking order in his group either.

I have quite a few disabled animals, and I’m always amazed at how well animals are at coping and finding their way. They don’t complain, and just keep marching on. Especially when they are born different, they don’t know anything different. They’ve never lived any other way, it’s normal to them and just apart of life. They find a way that works for them to eat and get around. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well your cross beak rooster will do. I know I was!

Just keep an eye on him as he grows, and if he appears to be having trouble eating and/or losing weight, learn how to file down his beak to even it out so it will be easier for him. I wouldn’t separate him from the get go, either. If he grows up with the rest of the flock as chicks, he’s more likely to be accepted and be able to remain apart of the flock. Believe in him!

 

[1chip2chicks3cheeks]

Here’s our sweet Crooky