Pullet's beak does not fully close, top is shorter, should I trim it?

[ChickInnMama]

Good Morning, I have a EE Pullet that's beak doesn't fully close due to her upper beak being shorter than her lower beak. We had another EE with this issue before her and Charlotte's wasn't as bad so we never really needed to address it. This is Bea (I'll add some pictures), she is super sweet and kinda hangs by herself doing her own thing but she does struggle to eat as well as the others. She is smaller than the others and is supposedly the same age as them. I bought this 3 pullets as 3.5 week old chicks (they are now about 15.5 weeks) and we noticed her beak then, but since our Charlotte had had the same issue and been fine we figured that she would too. Should I try to trim the bottom beak? I'm not sure how to do that, I tried to find a video but all I could find were videos of people trimming the top beak. With her tongue right there on the bottom I feel nervous to do it. We have a bird store near us and about 5 weeks ago I took her in and he said she was fine and was able to push her beak up to meet and when you pushed on it it would close, but now it doesn't. Thank you for any advice!! She's a great addition to our little flock and we want to see her thrive! Just to be clear, she is able to eat, I just notice her crop isn't as full as the others and she is growing at a much slower rate and since it's gotten worse just in the last 5 weeks I want to get it fixed before it might cause issues. Thanks!!

 

[thecatumbrella]

Poor thing. This looks like a deformity, which EE's are prone to. Even if you were to file the beak, it would likely grow back the same way. Her lower beak is too long, and the upper seems to want to curve down prematurely. Could also be a problem with how her jaw sits. I would consider gently filing the upper curve if it's at risk of pinching her tongue. I'm sure someone with experience will chime in on the best way to do that. I know there's a blood supply that you absolutely do not want to hit.

Otherwise, I'd treat her like a cross beak. You might need to supplement her food if she's not getting enough. I know Purely Chickens (who has multiple social media accounts and a website) makes these sort of pureed chicken feed nuggets for hers to eat. I'd also monitor how well she's able to drink from whatever style drinker you're using.