Scissor beak. Need second opinion

[Chispylandia]

Ok, yall have been incredibly helpful with every post and every question I make, today while checking out the little ones 1 by 1 I noticed that this silkie beak has gotten way worst in the last week. I bought this fella when he was about 2-3 days old and it was barely noticeable. Its almost a month old now and is looking really crooked. He still eats and drinks and is in no way at the bottom of the pecking order. But he is smaller than the others. A local breeder told me to cull him, but I've never had to cull a bird before so I figured I would ask for a second opinion from yall. Should I let him be and continue on or would culling this fella be the most humane option. Thanks in advance

 

[sourland]

With periodic beak trimming, deep bowl feeding of moistened feed, and constant monitoring such birds can be kept alive. It's constant work and monitoring.

 

[Chispylandia]

With periodic beak trimming, deep bowl feeding of moistened feed, and constant monitoring such birds can be kept alive. It's constant work and monitoring.

Thanks for the quick reply, if I've done reading properly, beak trimming can be done with dog clippers correct?

 

[sourland]

It can be done with dog nail clippers - back to the quick just as with a dog. Some grind them down with a dremel.

 

[Dragonfly Farm]

Just as with dog and cat nails, be careful of the quick-1) it hurts like crazy and 2) it bleeds like crazy. (Thank goodness I've never quicked anyone but I live in fear!) I use human toenail clippers. If you were to cull your Beakie, how would you do it? My Beakie is doing well but I'm worried each morning when I open up their house. Mine is a May baby.

 

[Chispylandia]

Just as with dog and cat nails, be careful of the quick-1) it hurts like crazy and 2) it bleeds like crazy. (Thank goodness I've never quicked anyone but I live in fear!) I use human toenail clippers. If you were to cull your Beakie, how would you do it? My Beakie is doing well but I'm worried each morning when I open up their house. Mine is a May baby.

Thanks for your reply, so far little one is doing fine as far as eating, drinking. Size wise he is a little smaller that his flock. As to how would i cull, I have done so much reading and watched videos on YouTube because I'm aware that someday I might have to make that decision, and honestly for me the broomstick method seems like the easiest and the one that would afford me most control.

 

[Dragonfly Farm]

Yikes...Broomstick method?? Yes, my Beakie is also smaller than her sisters. They treat her well, thank goodness.

 

[Stablecoop]

Hello there! Just wanted to share our experience with a crossbeak chick. We got our gals as 2 day old baby chicks, and like you, didn’t notice any crossbeak issues at first. As the weeks went on, it was clear that out lavender Americauna girl had a crossbeak. We did all of the “do’s”, including weekly beak trimming with a dremel, hand fed her hard boiled egg yolks, moistened her feed. She was the first one to hop up onto the chick roost, and was certainly not at the bottom of the social order. As the weeks went on, she became more and more vocal when she’d see us, and especially when it was time for us to leave the brooder/coop. She would loudly cry whenever we left. Her crossbeak only got worse, and we understood the vocalizing was that she was always hungry, never really able to fill her crop, despite the wet food and hand fed egg yolks. As the others grew, she remained the same size. The day came when she was unable to jump to her roost, for her sake we had euthanize her. It was a really bad day. But having exhausted all care options, it was the best and most humane thing for her. After doing research and reaching out for advice from more experienced folks, we decided to use sharp shears to euthanize her. Some folks said using starter fluid or baking soda and vinegar in a closed container would work, but the research we did indicated that these options can cause undue stress and pain.

So that was just our experience, if for nothing else, you’re not alone in having a special needs chick. If she’s eating and drinking, and you can manage beak trimming, you’re in for a wonderful treat of a bird. Crossbeaks can be great companions to injured flock mates who would have to otherwise be isolated (crossbeaks can’t peck or cause further damage to injuries!) Good luck in the weeks that come, and I hope everything works out well!!!