One of my Americauna chicks has "scissor beak"...

[gcbsmommy]

About a week ago, we noticed one of the chicks had a crooked beak - "scissor beak" I have seen it called. It seems to get worse every day. I read up on it and heard stories about handing feeding the bird, giving it special deep feeding dishes, etc... Sometimes they make it, other times they slowly starve to death. This is our first experience with chicks. We have 27 of them. I am not sure what to do - just see how she does, try to give her special treatment or, gulp, cull her... What would you do?

 

[sumi]

Personally I would keep the little one alive, but it really is a decision you, as her carer need to make. Special needs chickens can live long, wonderful lives with the right care. If you don't like the idea of culling it have a look at this thread to get an idea of what caring for it would involve and then decide.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-for-special-needs-chickens-and-their-keepers

 

[tadpole98]

I would let him live. If it gets to the point where he can not live a quality life and is suffering, it would be humane to put him down.

 

[gcbsmommy]

Well, the fact that she is constantly at the feeder attempting (?) to eat (not sure how successfully) and that she is noticeably lighter than her siblings makes me wonder if she is suffering... What would be the most humane way to cull her?

 

[koakritters]

i had mine for almost 2 years, he was the best!

they need to be fed a special diet of foods they can eat. Mine grew up on baby food, oatmeal, apple sauce, anything mushy like that they can scoop out instead of pecking.

if you go to petco they have this stuff called kaytees baby bird hand feeding formula, it's like $15. that stuff is also great since it has nutrients they need to grow. i kept his food in a deep dish and he could eat just fine. it's hard fr them to peck normal food, so if you decide to keep it just be prepared to "cook" for it twice a day.

baby food works well if you get the ones with higher calorie contents- bananas and peas were my guy's favorites.