Scissor-Beak Chick

[Tiny Turtle]

I have this chick, well, don't know if you would call her a chick anymore. But when she was younger I realized she had something different about her beak, she has scissor-beak. So far I've been helping her out by wetting the chick feed and that seemed to help her out a lot, but she's almost of age to be moved into the big hen area and I certainly can't feed THEM the chick feed I use for these guys. I was simply wondering what you guys think I should do to assist her in eating in the future, something cheap and easy hopefully. I may try to clip her beak some day but culling is a big no deal, what do you guys think?


(She is the buff brahma on the very end, she likes to hang around our Ameraucana chicks)

 

[Folly's place]

She needs to eat crumble out of a deep dish, and won't be able to eat many things off the ground. She may do okay for a while with her special needs met, but if that's not going to happen then have another plan for her. Mary

 

[Tiny Turtle]

I do plan to try to keep her alive as long as I can until mother nature takes her in from lack of food, I plan on giving the chickens Laying and Breeder feed (crumble/pellets) and wetting it so she can scoop it up, the others don't seem to mind it.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I had a scissor beaked silkie once. She did fine for a few years and was a happy member of my bantam flock. You will have to keep putting out a bowl for her if that's how she eats. You may even find that she does better eating pellets.

 

[chicken87]

well you can buy laying pellets but u can get crushed just like chicken starter thats what i think

 

[Folly's place]

The all-flock diets like Flock Raiser pack more nutrition than layer, and will help her. Mary

 

[Tiny Turtle]

Thanks! I have a mix of both pellets AND the crumble, I'm surprised shes made it this far, it's pretty bad scissor-beak, I might try to trim it back, would you agree with that?

 

[Tiny Turtle]

I went to my local feed store and they said they didn't have an all flock type of food, maybe I said it wrong but I'll be sure to check it out next time.

 

[Folly's place]

Some trimming may help, but it's hard to make a big difference when it's a bad deformity. Mary

 

[Jensownzoo]

I have a cochin cockerel with significant scissorbeak. He's probably six months old now or so. I have everybody on fermented feed, so he does just fine getting food in. Hasn't needed his beak trimmed yet although it is getting close to needing to be done as the top beak is starting to hook.

I do have a neurologic pullet that needed her top beak ground down with a dremel recently as it had developed quite a large hook, presumably because I don't think she pecks at things like a regular chicken.