need advice on crossbeak chick

[ray2310]

This is our easter egger, Lady Gaga - She Was born that way She's 2 years old and one of my largest hens. Her cross beak/under bite doesn't slow her down at all. Our feeder is deep and she free ranges a lot.

 

[nbchickfarming]

love lady gaga

..... gives me hope... Ive been checking on line for chicken crop anatomy and trying to check my chick . not sure if I'm in right place: left side of breast bone below neck? maybe she is to thin. if it was full would i be able to see it poof out?

she is eating now or trying.

I'm going to get parts to make feeder very helpful link to PVC pipe- wall set up. just what i was looking for.

i made a new mix : cooked egg crumbles, chopped sunflower seeds, yogurt, cottage cheese ,chick starter,vit texture is easier for her to pick up and i filed beak iwas a little nervous but was very easy

 

[branston]

We hatched our own chicks in April 2011 and got one with a crooked beak. As the months went by the beak got worse despite regular trimming at the vet (you can buy a dremmel at Home depot and do it yourself) and she was unable to feed herself so we took to syringe feeding her 3 times a day with Lafeber's Nutritional Support (only available via a vet) and organic baby food, peaches, green beans, peas etc. She would be waiting at the back door for us to feed her. We'd open the door and she'd walk right in through the garage and into the kitchen and would squawk like crazy if we were running late! My family and I loved that little hen but we sadly had to put her to sleep when her crop just seemed to stop working and she began to not want to be fed anymore. Prior to putting her to sleep (at the vet) she suffered sour crop and impacted crop which we got her through eventually with olive oil, massaging and yogurt. She was just short of a year when she died. It was an incredibly sad day, my kids and I buried her with a peach tree in the yard.
I guess it's a personal choice on wether to keep your crooked beak. We felt responsible because we hatched ours so felt we had to do everything we could for our little Ronald (my kids named her after their granddad as we thought she was a roo). It was a lot of work syringe feeding and we sometimes missed her beak and would then have to wash her chest feathers etc so as to stop the other chickens picking her feathers out, but it was worth it for us because we loved her so. Good luck!

 

[CSisley]

The crop is kind of like a temporary holding place for food until it gets passed on to the rest of the digestive system. The more they eat the more it will stick out but unless they've been piggies you won't notice it unless you feel for it because of how it hides under their feathers. It does tend to set a little more to the left side, if you're facing them, but not a lot. I'd like to say I have a five year old that drew this picture, but if I did I would be lying. The circle represents about where the crop sits on the chicken. It feels like a chicken uni-boob. It can be very squishy or more firm depending on what and how much they've eaten. The more they eat, the more it will take on the shape of a ball. I've felt crops anywhere from the size of a baseball to the size of a ping pong ball. If they've eaten very little, it will not be in a ball shape but you may be able to feel individual food particles. It doesn't always have to have food in it, but if you've just watched them eat, you should be able to feel something. Use your non cross beak chicks for reference. Oh and no matter how skinny she is, if she has recently,successfully eaten you should still be able to feel the crop with food in it, if anything it will be more obvious. Kind of like how pregnancy is more obvious on a skinny woman than it is on a rounder woman; please no one take offense!

 

[nbchickfarming]

no offense taken and well drawn illustration

So last night 2 hrs of yogurt .mash. checked couldn't find crop ...must of mixed it too moist ,her round beak eventually packs the mash flat, she cant scratch it very well so i stir it up for her and she tries again , after a while she goes for dropped feed on the floor-

i tried 3 hrs with big red dog dish half wet/ half dry. finally

.i located something protruding,large grape size mid chest. it was smaller this morning.after same dish mix

i took her weight- 8.3 oz i hope scale dif than vet ,she was a little dirty put tub of sand in coup( wow she can make a mess) but she was so content for about five min then back to the hanging feeder. cant wait til i can get supplies to build the wall feeder. Ive been leaving a red heat lamp on at night thinking she will eat more often, plenty warm temps out, and i check it often. i have indoor outdoor digital remote thermometer.

 

[nbchickfarming]

this last week was too just much for our little crossbeak, it was a very sad weekend.

 

[CSisley]

I'm very sorry to hear that. I've got a sick one now that's not in good shape at all. So it goes with owning pets, joy and sorrow in one package. You win some and loose some but you have to be able to recognize that their sicknesses are not your fault and you've done your best to give them a quality life. In Proverbs it says that the righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Sometimes the kindest thing is to let them go.

 

[nuchickontheblock]

I'm sorry about your chick. Sounds like you did everything you could.

 

[nbchickfarming]

thanks for the support. Ive never had to make the decision to euthanize a pet, Growing up on a farm ,my dogs and cats just "disappeared "when they were older ..thanks to my folks of course. she had a good life with the time she was here and what a life lesson for me..and my husband.

 

[scootertiki]

So I acquired a lil cross beak chick. I was assured by owner that it was just cosmetic and she ate just fine.

I guess I was a lil naive! She is starving to death. She sleeps all day, standing, wobbling having trouble keeping her balance. Ive had her two days and have been syringe feeding her yogurt and chick crumbles. She finally pooped today, but I'm not sure to what I'm going to do...she tries to eat sometimes but I don't think she gets any. I haven't seen her drink on her own yet.

I just don't want to prolong her suffering...I don't want her to starve to death. I have such a big heart for the lil girl. I guess once she gets some nutrition I will observe to see if she can eat herself. I'm not sure beak trimming will help because its so severe and shes only seven weeks old. So sad her lil sister, Nellie (as in nervous Nellie) chirps for her and lets Mini snuggle up under her.

Do you think if she just stands there withe her feathers fluffed out, sleeping all day...that its not a good sign?



This is what she looks like all day :-(