My EE's beak is a little off, will she be ok??

[SIMPleChick]

As my little Dixie has grown I have noticed that her bottom beak seems to be a bit too long, not allowing her beak to fit together like the others. There is always a little space between the upper and lower. I know it's not a big deal now, but is this something that could get worse? She has things to rub her beak on and stuff...what do you think???
She just finished eating here so there is food on her beak

hehehe

 

[greening]

as long as she can eat and drink like a normal chick, it doesnt seem to slow her down, and she doesn't seem to be in any pain, i think she should be just fine

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

I know beaks can be trimmed a little, in fact I've seen awful pics where they "debeak". If it does seem to be a problem, perhaps you can shave it down a little with one of those Pedi-Paws things. I doubt that would hurt anything.

 

[Moxiechick]

She should be fine. I have one like that, who in addition to the beak gap, has a hard time picking up individual bits of food, such as freeze-dried mealworms. If given a small pile in a cup, she does fine. Same with eating food out of the feeder. I think her beak is too long for her face, and it throws off her vision. We've named her "Magoo".

You can see the gap in this photo. My Australorp, Delilah, had this a little bit when she was young, but seems to have grown out of it. Not sure if Magoo will grow out of it or not, as hers is more extreme than Delilah's was. As long as they get enough to eat, they'll be ok.

 

[SIMPleChick]

Good to know! Thanks!

 

[Dingo]

My EE has the same thing, I wouldn't worry unless she can't eat.

 

[chickenboots]

I have a RIR hen (lips) who has a severely deformed beak. Most probably would have culled her but I think it adds character (as long as she is not suffering). She eats fine and is the same size as my other RIR's. She even lays bigger eggs. I have had the vet trim her beak once. It was pretty inexpensive. From what I understand you have to be careful not to trim too much. To be on the safe side I would not use her for breeding since it may be genetic. I think she will be fine.