Please give me advice on this chick-*twisted beak*UPDATE Pg.4

[pokey]

wait a minute.... thank goodness for people who want to step up to the plate and care for something in need! you could always put her down, but if you have the time to care for her and she thrives then YOU GO GIRL!!!!

and by the way, what you learn from this experience may save someone(or something) elses life.

 

[Babsadon]

Hi. This is my first post. Two weeks ago I got two Polish chicks who are currently in my chick nursery (a bathtub). When I returned from vacation (a friend was watching my chicks), I saw that one had a crossed beak. I thought that she had been injured, so it was very educational to read the posts about chicks with a similar problem. I am going to follow whatever advice I can get to keep her alive and happy. I am intrigued by the idea of using rubber bands every night to help straighten the bite. Does anyone else have any experience with this? Thanks. Barbara

 

[goatkeepers]

Awesome, I am so glad she is doing well!!

Hats off to you for putting in so much work with her!

 

[mypicklebird]

If you want to keep her, and have her be able to feed herself somewhat- you definitely need to trim her beak on a regular basis. The easiest way to trim (at least for me) will be the same way you have seen with scissor beak in parrots. With a dremmel. You can shape the beak, and will know you have reached the living part before you lop off a big piece like what happens often with nail trimmers. Have on hand styptic power, or even better- a silver nitrate stick to cauterize if needed.

If you do not trim on a regular basis- with severe scissor beak the upper beak overgrows & shoves the lower beak to the side- the chicken version of the TMJ joint dislocates (painful, long term arthritis ect). The pictures posted already look too far gone for the bird to ever be normal, but dremmeling/trimming every 1-2 weeks should allow them to feed them selves somewhat- but they have to to do the shovel method instead of the peck it up method.

Sadly many people think they can eat, as they ARE hungry, and will madly peck at food, but they can't meet their calorie needs and are stunted and eventually starve to death. Pick your bird up at night right before or after it has gone to roost- is the crop full? (full of water doesn't count). if it is not full, more trimming needs to be done, or adjust the feeder, or commit to hand feeding or tube feeding several times a day. Or cull.

I also think trimming a chick is very important- as this is when the bird is growing the fastest- the longer one waits, the more likely permanent damage has been done to the TMJ/jaw joint. You can always go back and shorten or reshape the beak, but if the bird can't open it's beak because the TMJ joint it destroyed, even a perfect beak will not help it eat any better.

Good luck, Jess

 

[cherrychicken]

Quote:
i haven't seen you around for a while!

 

[Turkens-r-Cute]

i have a little male that has the messed up beak and i felt so sorry for it and i instantly became attached because it was like a baby puppy. it followed me everywhere just wanting some attention and wanting me to help it eat and i just couldnt kill it. we call him crooked beak. but i have a little tip for everyone that has one like mine. I found it helpful to give mine starter crumble and make it wet. it sorta becomes a mash i guess. its real easy for them to eat it and it helps them gain some weight. he ate it all by himself. he didnt need me to help him at all. I also let him free range so it can eat bugs and some of the grass. Its a happy little bird. I am glad i didnt kill it. He is now 13 weeks and 4 days old.

 

[Fowl-Language]

My rooster Montgomery Ward has the same deal; he's over a year old now and doing just fine - he's noisy, bossy, pushy, and a very good rooster to his hens. As long as I keep his feed in a deep dish he eats fine. He enjoys yogurt and oatmeal periodically as well. Occasionally I trim the upper part of his beak, but I leave the bottom half alone. Cannot attach any pics since I'm at work, but trust me, he's doing very well!
Good luck with sweet Ziggy!!

 

[lashawnb]

Did I miss something? What causes the beaks to be crooked on some birds?????????

 

[silkiechicken]

Most of the time crooked beaks are a genetic problem. If it comes up in multiple hatches from a single stock of birds, get a new breeding stock, if your bird has a crook beak, DO NOT breed it. It is often a skull plate deformity and not just a beak issue. The plates of the skull don't grow at the same rate, or are fused, or have some other problem and thus results in a twisting bill. I had one for a while, but it eventually had to go. Some do better than others with a crooked beak.

 

[lashawnb]

Fascinating, something to watch for. Thanks.
BYC is AWESOME!!