Is there something wrong with her beak?

[GemW]

I have a 6 week old chick that is struggling. I have her hatch mate, who I think may be a roo and it's way bigger than her. I thought it was just that that one was a rooster but now the size difference is glaring. Her feathers also have not come in like the others. Someone on here mentioned she might be failure to thrive, which i think is absolutely correct. I started treating her for cocci thinking that might be the issue and maybe that's helped a little. She drinks fine and I see her pecking at the food and it looks like she's eating. She cheeps constantly. When I pick her up she stops and falls asleep on me. Tonight I made her some mash and she gobbled it up like she's never eaten before. So I will for sure be making her mash so she can eat but is there something wrong with her beak? I thought maybe it was parrot beak but it doesn't look that different from my other chicks but she does have a wide area that looks different. She looks like a witch lol. Any ideas?

 

[nuthatched]

It has a severe skull deformity, plus the failure to thrive. She's not likely to be in any pain but she's not likely to live long. I'm sorry.

 

[GemW]

Oh man
Chicken keeping is so humbling. These are the first chicks I picked out myself...I literally stared at the 2 of them for an hour and couldn't figure out how to tell them apart. Should I have been able to tell? It's something she was born with right?

 

[The Chick Addict]

I have a 6 week old chick that is struggling. I have her hatch mate, who I think may be a roo and it's way bigger than her. I thought it was just that that one was a rooster but now the size difference is glaring. Her feathers also have not come in like the others. Someone on here mentioned she might be failure to thrive, which i think is absolutely correct. I started treating her for cocci thinking that might be the issue and maybe that's helped a little. She drinks fine and I see her pecking at the food and it looks like she's eating. She cheeps constantly. When I pick her up she stops and falls asleep on me. Tonight I made her some mash and she gobbled it up like she's never eaten before. So I will for sure be making her mash so she can eat but is there something wrong with her beak? I thought maybe it was parrot beak but it doesn't look that different from my other chicks but she does have a wide area that looks different. She looks like a witch lol. Any ideas?

I think your doing good with what your already doing. I hope she will be okay!

As nuthatched already mentioned, she may not live too long, but I will be hoping she will pass the odds! Good luck with her!

 

[GemW]

I think your doing good with what your already doing. I hope she will be okay!

As nuthatched already mentioned, she may not live too long, but I will be hoping she will pass the odds! Good luck with her!

Thanks! I carried her around with me for an hour today because she seems so comfortable everytime I hold her. She is incredibly sweet. She looks pretty rough but runs around with everyone, she just absolutely wants to be close to someone (me or the other chicks) all the time.

 

[NatJ]

Should I have been able to tell? It's something she was born with right?

It might not have been obvious when she was very young. Some things start out looking normal and then become visible as the chicken grows, becoming more obvious over time. (Crossbeak is a common thing that does this, but I suspect your bird's condition may be another such thing.)

She drinks fine and I see her pecking at the food and it looks like she's eating. She cheeps constantly. When I pick her up she stops and falls asleep on me. Tonight I made her some mash and she gobbled it up like she's never eaten before. So I will for sure be making her mash so she can eat

It sounds like she may have trouble eating normal food for some reason, so the wet mash is a great idea. Some of her problems (like the small size and slow growth) might be partly from not being able to get enough food, and it sounds like the wet mash should help with that.

 

[GemW]

Just an update on my little Margo. I've been giving her mash 1-2 times a day and she gobbles it up. I'm pretty sure she still isn't doing well with eating the crumbles. But she is much, much perkier and active. Quite a little snuggle bug. I've moved them outside to the coop (but still inside) with a brooder plate for her since her feathers are still sparse, but i dont think she uses it much. I think she is having some new feather growth (prob not good enough for winter yet). But she's hanging in there!

 

[NatJ]

Just an update on my little Margo. I've been giving her mash 1-2 times a day and she gobbles it up. I'm pretty sure she still isn't doing well with eating the crumbles. But she is much, much perkier and active. Quite a little snuggle bug. I've moved them outside to the coop (but still inside) with a brooder plate for her since her feathers are still sparse, but i dont think she uses it much. I think she is having some new feather growth (prob not good enough for winter yet). But she's hanging in there!

I'm glad she is doing better!

It sounds like the mash is really helping her get enough to eat, and that is fixing some of her troubles

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Just an update on my little Margo. I've been giving her mash 1-2 times a day and she gobbles it up. I'm pretty sure she still isn't doing well with eating the crumbles. But she is much, much perkier and active. Quite a little snuggle bug. I've moved them outside to the coop (but still inside) with a brooder plate for her since her feathers are still sparse, but i dont think she uses it much. I think she is having some new feather growth (prob not good enough for winter yet). But she's hanging in there!

That's great!