scissor beak: what next?

[lucy8821]

We have a scissor beak chicken and she is the friendliest one; culling her is not an option but I am wondering what else we can do for her. She is about 6 weeks old now. Her lower beak is the one that is crooked-- it juts out to the left at a 45 degree angle. The upper beak is straight but curves over more than it would if the lower beak opposed it normally. It seems that the length of the upper beak and the downward curvature prevent her from really getting in to the food. We have been feeding her a powdered calorie supplement twice daily for the past 3 weeks and she has tripled her weight. She also does pretty well with wet food. She doesn't groom herself well but seems otherwise happy and active. Grooming would be better when she takes a dust bath outside, I think. Soon we will move her and the others out to their coop. At that point we'll plan to stop the supplement and possibly the wet food too. But I am wondering if she would benefit from clipping her upper beak down. Has anyone tried this?

 

[Mr MKK FARMS]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you joined us!

 

[Reurra]

Welcome to BYC!

I hate to say it, but any chick that has special needs will likely need it for the rest of their life. Its very likely you will need to make sure she gets a special diet from here on out. Especially wet meal since she cannot pick up things with a crooked beak. Be aware that caring for her could be several years, depending on how long she survives. She will need to eat frequently, like most chickens do, so a meal 4-6 times a day, or an area where only she has access to the food.

Let see a picture of her, if you are able!

 

[drumstick diva]

scissors beak is actually considered Crossbeak. I mention that because Crossbeak in the search box will turn up entries and scissors beak will not. You can' t do much clipping or the beak will bleed considerably. It will never be close to normal but, eventually you figure the best to feed etc.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

 

[redsoxs]

Howdy from Kansas, lucy8821, and

! Great to have you with us! Best wishes to you and your birds!

 

[lucy8821]

Here are pictures of our little special-needs chicken. Still haven't come up with a good name for her. At 3 weeks (first picture) she was 85 grams. Now at 7 weeks (2nd picture) she is 318 grams. We have been giving her watered-down starter feed (the other 6 chicks love it too!) and the calorie supplement from the vet. She seems to be doing okay for now.

 

[liz9910]

good luck with your chick.