Is this beak ok? Black Ameraucana

[PLW]

It seems to be always open. I'm not sure if she can close it all the way. What do y'all think?

 

[sourland]

Difficult to tell from that picture, but it does look as if something is slightly off.

 

[Mrs. K]

Yes I think that is a problem, how old is she? Often times beaks like this make it nearly impossible to eat enough food.

When they are little, many can keep up, but as they age, the deformity in the beak becomes more pronounced, as the size of the bird increases the feed requirements increase, which work together to starve the bird.

I would expect for her to loose weight unless a lot of human intervention makes it possible to feed her. I would not breed her, and I would probably cull her, if she starts to struggle.

Mrs. K

 

[PLW]

Yes I think that is a problem, how old is she? Often times beaks like this make it nearly impossible to eat enough food.

When they are little, many can keep up, but as they age, the deformity in the beak becomes more pronounced, as the size of the bird increases the feed requirements increase, which work together to starve the bird.

I would expect for her to loose weight unless a lot of human intervention makes it possible to feed her. I would not breed her, and I would probably cull her, if she starts to struggle.

Mrs. K

Thanks for your input. I won't breed her. I'm thinking of grinding or clipping her upper beak to allow her lower beak to close more. She's eating well so far, but I have some concerns. She's almost 3 months old.

 

[Mrs. K]

In my experience, it does not go well. Good luck.

 

[texsuze]

Can't really tell from the angle of your photo, but if the upper beak component doesn't appear to be sitting directly over the lower component she could be a crossbeak. You might want to google or check FB for the folks who have crossbeak chickens to see how best to proceed for care and feeding.

My crossbeak hen, Blanche (an olive egger) is 3 years old with a 'moderate' crossbeak deformity. So far she's holding weight well and is a real 'special needs' pistol! Every 6-8 weeks, on average, we visit my vet for a beak trim. He uses nail clippers (vet quality, not drug store type) to snip her upper beak, then a small dremel to finish the edges. Care must be taken not to damage the nerve endings which sit on the inside edge of upper and lower beak. Blanche also has a bit of 'parrot beak' shape, not unlike your girl, which complicates matters somewhat.