Scissor beak

[ChickenMom74]

I have nine babies in the brooder right now that are 11 days old. I just noticed that one of them is developing scissor beak. I am heartbroken since I am already attached to it. I've looked at the options and I really want to try to keep her and help her. I really need to hear some stories of happy health chickens with scissor beak. Not so great stories are welcome too since that may help me make a difficult decision if I need to.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have nine babies in the brooder right now that are 11 days old. I just noticed that one of them is developing scissor beak. I am heartbroken since I am already attached to it. I've looked at the options and I really want to try to keep her and help her. I really need to hear some stories of happy health chickens with scissor beak. Not so great stories are welcome too since that may help me make a difficult decision if I need to.

Hi @ChickenMom74 Welcome To BYC
Can you post some photos of your chick?
A lot of people keep successfully keep a chicken that has a scissor or crossed beak. It does depend on how severe it gets, but you may be able to take steps to help her along as she grows. Deeper dishes to eat/drink out of, trimming or filing the beak if it's overgrown, etc. Since she is only 11 days old, I would not do any trimming/filing at this time if it's only slightly scissored. Watch her to see if she's eating/drinking well.

Now. Scissor beak is usually genetic, sometimes a bird with an outward deformity may also have other developmental issues that become apparent as they mature. You never know. If the beak becomes very severe where she can't eat/drink by herself, then you would want to re-evaluate then - what her quality of life is and if you have time to give her direct care several times a day (tube feeding). This is all speculation at this point, so I would not borrow worry - wait and see what happens. Of course if you plan on breeding in the future, you would not want to hatch any eggs from her.

You may find some helpful tips here too
https://the-chicken-chick.com/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it/

 

[Norcal527]

I kept a little Easter Egger with scissor beak for several years... she was one of my favorite chickens. She was able to eat and drink on her own in her own way she kind of climbed up on the food dish. Occasionally I would take a pair of nail trimmers and just even out her top and bottom beak when they got a little overgrown. I know some cases are worse than others so you'll have to wait and see how bad it is but my girl did very well.

 

[ChickenMom74]

Hi @ChickenMom74 Welcome To BYC
Can you post some photos of your chick?
A lot of people keep successfully keep a chicken that has a scissor or crossed beak. It does depend on how severe it gets, but you may be able to take steps to help her along as she grows. Deeper dishes to eat/drink out of, trimming or filing the beak if it's overgrown, etc. Since she is only 11 days old, I would not do any trimming/filing at this time if it's only slightly scissored. Watch her to see if she's eating/drinking well.

Now. Scissor beak is usually genetic, sometimes a bird with an outward deformity may also have other developmental issues that become apparent as they mature. You never know. If the beak becomes very severe where she can't eat/drink by herself, then you would want to re-evaluate then - what her quality of life is and if you have time to give her direct care several times a day (tube feeding). This is all speculation at this point, so I would not borrow worry - wait and see what happens. Of course if you plan on breeding in the future, you would not want to hatch any eggs from her.

You may find some helpful tips here too
https://the-chicken-chick.com/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it/

Pictures of my chick. So far she is eating and drinking okay. I just worry about what could happen down the road.

 

[Norcal527]

View attachment 1744435 View attachment 1744436

Pictures of my chick. So far she is eating and drinking okay. I just worry about what could happen down the road. View attachment 1744435 View attachment 1744436

That's pretty mild for right now. I'm guessing she'll be able to eat okay unless it gets worse. You may have to trim the top bake if it it's too long. I would just keep an eye on make sure that she has a full crop and is eating okay and drinking.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1744435 View attachment 1744436

Pictures of my chick. So far she is eating and drinking okay. I just worry about what could happen down the road. View attachment 1744435 View attachment 1744436

It's good that she's eating/drinking o.k.
I do understand you are worried about what can happen down the road. It may not get any worse or she may develop problems - there's no way to know.

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

@ChickenMom74
I have a cross-beaked chick, too... A Tractor Supply Rescue.

Here's what I can tell you based on what I've read and what I've been dealing with...

- It generally gets worse as they age. I've read SB can be caused by injury to the growth plates or by vitamin deficiency , but I don't think that's the case w/ yours. Based on her age, I'd say it's a cranial deformity caused by being improperly positioned in the egg. Your little one's case appears to be mild so it may not get much worse. The first year will be the hardest.

- A cross beaked chick will grow slower and will likely be smaller than flock mates. It's important that you give her extra time to eat. Feed her separately, if you can. Monitor her food and water intake and make sure she gets her vitamins. Either in her food as a supplement or in her water. Electrolytes and probiotics are good things to add to her water, too. This came highly recommended as a feed supplement. If you can, I'd start a health chart - include her weight and make notes. I'm really glad I did. Regarding weight, always pick her up. Starving chickens can look filled-out because of their feathers.

- In addition to beak trimming, you may find you'll have to assist her with grooming. She may not be able to it well enough.

- I've not touched base w/ my vet about this, but I've read some people caught the deformity early and performed a bit of physical therapy on the beak by gently applying pressure to it for 10 minutes at a time, several times a day. I've also read people have applied a sort of chicken muscle relaxer to the jaw and that helped w/ re-alignment. I'd take that with a grain of salt.

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Here are photos of my little guy. His lower beak comes out at a 45 degree angle. It's pretty severe, but so far he's doing all right. I don't expect him to have a long life, but like you, I got attached and want to do the best for him that I can.

Day 1-ish.


1 month-ish