Silkie(Bill) has deformed beak, options to treat or not welcomed.

[AllenK RGV]

Just like trimming a dog's nails, only trim/file back to the quick. Left untrimmed it may further distort his beak. As far as breeding, I would be concerned of the genetic component especially if any of the hens are related to him. He is a beauty.

I'll roll the dice with the guy for one generation as I am curious. You have to love/laugh at my wonderful craigslist find of "show quality" silkies Oh well wife adores them anyway. Just thinned out the clears from the 10 eggs that were set and due the 19th and 20th, so we have 7 viable from all four cockerels being set by three broody's. Funny that lady is still advertising them as such but I hope she has cleaned up her breeding pens for future customers.

 

[NNYchick]

Any responsible and experienced breeder will tell you rule number one is don’t breed a bird with a deformity or that has been sick.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Any responsible and experienced breeder will tell you rule number one is don’t breed a bird with a deformity or that has been sick.

I'm not a breeder just a hobby for me as they are just pets and butt nugget makers to me.

 

[NNYchick]

I'm not a breeder just a hobby for me as they are just pets and butt nugget makers to me.

I would think even if you raise pets and egg layers you want a healthy flock that can go on to give you healthy chicks in future generations. Even if some think it can be caused by incubation it still is a genetic weakness that predisposed that chick to the deformity (most believe cross beak is caused by a genetic deformity of the skull not incubation). Everyone raises chickens their own way for me I don’t want to run a hospital so I don’t treat I cull anything that can’t survive without my coddling. But my way is just that my way and your way is what works for you. Just wanted to share another thought on the subject.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

He seems to he doing well, but you definitely should not breed him. A lot of the cross beaks I've seen have been silkies or silkie mixes, which makes me think it's a common genetic defect in silkies, probably stemming from bad breeding practices.