Scissor Beak in almost 2-week old chick

[bruadarach]

Hi there!

I am brand spankin’ new to this forum. In fact, I joined specifically to get some insight on this, although I imagine it will help in many other ways.

About five weeks ago, I got my first chickens. We got six “mutt” pullets locally who are all doing great and are healthy.

Two weeks ago tomorrow, I got 11 Easter egger chicks (supposed to be 10, but you know, bonus chick). They are all living inside our guest bedroom right now in a large brooder I created myself. They are all active, healthy, and beautiful. I will not be keeping all of them and have homes for 5 once they are feathered out.

One of the chicks is a sweet little girl I call Carly (based on the character Carl from Caddyshack... sideways lip), who has a scissor beak. My son noticed it first, maybe 5-6 days ago. Since then, it has gotten significanly worse. Like, it feels like it happened overnight and my jaw is on the floor. (I’ll see if I can get some good photos tomorrow as the photos I have, even only a few days old, are not reflective of her current state).

Carly is healthy and active for the time being, but I suspect she will be declining soon as the deformity progresses. I am so committed to her... I’m willing to do whatever I can if it is reasonable and respects her dignity and comfort.

What I’ve read so far suggests a few things...

1.Weighing her on a gram scale daily to make sure she is getting enough to eat.

2. Feeding her separately, giving her moistened food made into a paste.

3. Clipping her beak down. I’ve order clippers, but I’ll be honest, I’m terrified to attempt this and would probably take her to a vet to have it done if needed while she is so little.

I am looking for any and all advice on how to give Carly the best shot at life! I was actually aware of this condition before I got the chicks, but never expected to have my own scissor beaked chick!

ETa: I said I have had them two weeks as of today, but I messed up. I meant they are two weeks old today. I’ve had them for 11 days!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Welcome To BYC!

She sounds so sweet! Looking forward to the photos.

I believe you have done your research and have a good plan for her care. Sometimes birds will learn to adapt and thrive, but you may need to check her daily. It's possible that there may be more developmental problems that appear as she matures and sadly, some birds with these problems don't make it even with the best of care.

Hopefully others will chime in with tips. You probably have seen this, but if not - this article may be helpful to you. https://the-chicken-chick.com/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it/

 

[bruadarach]

Thank you for your reply! I really don’t feel good about this, but I tend to catastrophize (pretty sure that’s not a word). It’s funny, because she was actually one of the more timid chicks and I wasn’t planning on keeping her (the ones I am not keeping are going to my brothers neighbor and I get to pick which ones I send away). As soon as we saw her beak and decided to hang on to her, she started getting super friendly, and then I started to get attached. There are several of them that greet me at the front of the brooder and she is one of them. Poor baby!

 

[333113]

My vet feels that a substantial number of scissors beak cases are due to injury, not genetics. He recommended to me that I hold the chick's beak in the right position several times a day, and it does seem to help in some cases, and cure in a few.

I have noticed in my breeding program that scissors beak does not appear to be genetic. With some accomodations, mostly deep feed and water dishes, the birds seem to have a healthy lifespan.

 

[bruadarach]

My vet feels that a substantial number of scissors beak cases are due to injury, not genetics. He recommended to me that I hold the chick's beak in the right position several times a day, and it does seem to help in some cases, and cure in a few.

I have noticed in my breeding program that scissors beak does not appear to be genetic. With some accomodations, mostly deep feed and water dishes, the birds seem to have a healthy lifespan.

Interesting... I had actually read about trying to hold the beak, but I wish I had known that sooner due to how much is has shifted in just a few days. I may give that a go! She has gotten friendlier, but I don’t know if she will tolerate pressure on her beak. I’m going to go back through my Instagram stories and figure out the first day we noticed it.

In my zealousness to get chicks, I may have gone a bad route. I used Tractor Supply (can’t remember the hatchery name they use). I had contemplated getting chicks locally, as there were some in my area, but I wanted to raise the six together. I didn’t think I could have found six chicks the same age locally to raise (I did look, but was unfruitful). I didn’t want want to have to introduce several batches individually to the existing pullets; I wanted to do it all at once.

After they were ordered, I started to actually consider what those conditions are like, and I felt a little uneasy. Of course, if it was injury, it could have happened at any time, but this showed up VERY early. I assumed it was genetic.

Next time, I’m doing things differently. I hate the thought of casualties due to my stupidity.

 

[333113]

Hey, we all live and learn. You do the best you can at the time, that's all you can do.

 

[bruadarach]

I got several pictures today, but none are great. The beak was slightly off a few days ago, and now it’s way off.
ETA: she is two weeks old today!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Awww!
I hope she does o.k.! Track her weight and see how it goes.

 

[bruadarach]

I am coming back to this post because I need some advice. Carly is not doing well. She was holding her own and was never the smallest chick until the middle of last week. She is either losing weight, or not gaining, I’m not sure.

I’ve done moistened food, both with water and egg. She doesn’t want it. I’ve tried scrambled eggs. She doesn’t like it. I’ve tried deep dishes, she prefers to try and eat off the ground (which doesn’t work). Today I was able to get raw egg into her with a syringe and she ate it okay, but I don’t think it’s sustainable as she just won’t eat enough. I also tried plain yogurt with food today, but she doesn’t like it.

I trimmed her beak last night, but her quik is long and it didn’t make a difference. I know it shrinks over time, but I don’t think she has time for that.


She almost seems neurotic with her constant attempts to eat, even after I got the egg in her. I worry she is hardly sleeping because she is always pecking at the ground. I just don’t know what to do for her.

I’m looking for any other options to try and also would like to know how others put their chicks down when needed (and if this is one of those times it’s needed). She’s a sweet girl and I want her to survive, but I can’t imagine she is enjoying life at this point.

ETA: I don’t have any recent photos, only videos, but the beak is very severe right now. It went went from minor to as bad as it can get in a very short period of time.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am coming back to this post because I need some advice. Carly is not doing well. She was holding her own and was never the smallest chick until the middle of last week. She is either losing weight, or not gaining, I’m not sure.

I’ve done moistened food, both with water and egg. She doesn’t want it. I’ve tried scrambled eggs. She doesn’t like it. I’ve tried deep dishes, she prefers to try and eat off the ground (which doesn’t work). Today I was able to get raw egg into her with a syringe and she ate it okay, but I don’t think it’s sustainable as she just won’t eat enough. I also tried plain yogurt with food today, but she doesn’t like it.

I trimmed her beak last night, but her quik is long and it didn’t make a difference. I know it shrinks over time, but I don’t think she has time for that.


She almost seems neurotic with her constant attempts to eat, even after I got the egg in her. I worry she is hardly sleeping because she is always pecking at the ground. I just don’t know what to do for her.

I’m looking for any other options to try and also would like to know how others put their chicks down when needed (and if this is one of those times it’s needed). She’s a sweet girl and I want her to survive, but I can’t imagine she is enjoying life at this point.

ETA: I don’t have any recent photos, only videos, but the beak is very severe right now. It went went from minor to as bad as it can get in a very short period of time.

I'm so sorry to hear that Carly is not doing well

It sounds like she's starting to fail. Tube feeding her is an option for you, but I think that would be from now on and would need to be done a few times a day - something to look into.

Quality of life does need to be considered and sadly, sometimes they do decline regardless of what we try. If you decide she is in misery and needs to be put down, depending on how large she is now, the article below (which is well written) is what I would choose to do (I do similar, but with a heavy knife). This method is for fairly small chicks. For older birds or large chicks, personally, I use cervical dislocation.

I really am sorry, I know it's hard. If she's in a panic over food, then she's not getting enough.


https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-q-and-a.1215032/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tube-feeding-info.799802/

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-for-squeamish-people-slightly-graphic.74734/