Silkie chick, scissor beak?

[Smileybans]

This little cutie is four weeks old. I just noticed today her bottom beak is straying a little. She has been eating and drinking fine but is there anything I can do for her? Will it get worse? Sorry for the red light. They were settling down to sleep and I didn’t want to stress her out by moving her around.

 

[Docdetective]

I’m so glad you are keeping her! Cross beaks are the best I think. I have a young pullet with a cross beak and she was on mash for a little while, but she is now eating the normal food fine. She has also learned to pick up things and can eat fruit and leaves. Thankfully a the crop is a good way to tell if they’ve gotten enough to eat. Deep food and water bowls work well.
Trimming is also important. Since you caught it early, I would recommend filing it ever once a week or so, starting in a few weeks. That way it doesn’t get too long. My pullet was caught rather late and it’s longer than it should be. I use a nail file. If it’s maintained it will be a lot easier for her to eat and groom

Here’s my girl:

As you can see, it gives her an adorable little expression!

 

[elisabeth_]

Hi!! I couldn’t help but click on this thread when I saw it because it reminded me of everything I went through as a first time silkie owner dealing with my first case of scissor beak. I didn’t notice Skippy’s beak right away, but I knew as she got bigger that something wasn’t right and it was getting worse. I didn’t know whether I should put her down or if I would have to file her beak and give her special food... I was just brand new to it all and completely stressed. But I decided to just sit back, relax, and see what happened as long as she was eating perfectly on her own and just wait. Turns out, I have never had to lift a finger once to mash her food, she can eat just as good and fast as the others, and I have never had to file her beak... she files it herself! Our silkies free range, and we have concrete blocks around the coop and a concrete sidewalk that she files her beak down on. Skippy will be turning 2 years old next month and she is one of my happiest healthiest girls.
So my advice to you is... watch her/him closely and just wait. If you see any signs of struggling at all, that is the time to intervene. If not, your little chicken will adapt and do what she needs to do. That’s a cute little chick you have on your hands and I wish you luck ❤

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This little cutie is four weeks old. I just noticed today her bottom beak is straying a little. She has been eating and drinking fine but is there anything I can do for her? Will it get worse? Sorry for the red light. They were settling down to sleep and I didn’t want to stress her out by moving her around.

A little hard to see with the red light, but if she's eating/drinking fine that's a good thing.
No one can know if the beak will get worse - it's possible as she matures. I don't know of anything you can do to prevent it.
You may want to weigh her once a week to make sure she's gaining weight.
Here's some info about cross/scissor beak https://the-chicken-chick.com/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it/

 

[Kiraeh]

Yeah! And you see a lot of really bad cases and that might be where you're ends up but it's no guarantee.
Here's mine:

She's due for a little beak trim, I gotta do that tomorrow.

 

[Smileybans]

A little hard to see with the red light, but if she's eating/drinking fine that's a good thing.
No one can know if the beak will get worse - it's possible as she matures. I don't know of anything you can do to prevent it.
You may want to weigh her once a week to make sure she's gaining weight.
Here's some info about cross/scissor beak https://the-chicken-chick.com/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it/

I’ll try to get better pictures in the morning after they have woken up and are more active. She’s settled down for the night and I don’t want to disturb her. I do have a scale for baking I could use to weigh her. I didn’t think of that.
Thank you for the reference.

 

[Kiraeh]

Cross beak does usually get worse as they grow but should stabilize when they finish growing.

My scissor beak girl started to show at the same age, and she does fine, it's not a severe case so she's never needed much special care or extra feeding. Keep an eye on yours, make sure your feeders and waterer are deep and easy to get into, but until/unless it gets much worse you shouldn't need to do anything else.

 

[Smileybans]

Cross beak does usually get worse as they grow but should stabilize when they finish growing.

My scissor beak girl started to show at the same age, and she does fine, it's not a severe case so she's never needed much special care or extra feeding. Keep an eye on yours, make sure your feeders and waterer are deep and easy to get into, but until/unless it gets much worse you shouldn't need to do anything else.

Thanks. That makes me feel better. This is my first time keeping chickens and I had read about this before. But seeing other people deal with it and dealing with it yourself is something completely different.

 

[Dragonfly Farm]

Here's my Beakie. 7 months old now. I make her smoothies and serve 2-3 times a day....She also has a shower in the kitchen sink 2xweek and a blow-dry. Luckily, her 5 Buff Orpington sisters are kind to her. They do enjoy snacking from the smoothie dish (I use a bigger, deeper dish now) but I bribe them away with mealworms when Beakie is dining....Good luck.

 

[Dragonfly Farm]

I’m hoping this little chick, who I named Beakers, is a girl. But I told my husband we’re keeping her no matter what. Boy or girl. I like the smoothie idea. She eats FF now and can eat some crumbles. But I have a feeling that might change as she grows. Are your smoothies just FF? Or watered down feed?

Hi-I hope your little Beakers continues to grow and doesn't cross out any more. Hers is pretty mild compared to what we have going on here! I'm not sure what you mean by FF...I put mealworms and layer crumbles in the Cuisinart then add whatever I have leftover in the way of fruit/veg such as apple, raisins, carrots, often yogurt, an occasional egg (shell included). As this whizzes, I slowly add hot water. Beakie prefers her smoothies thick but not too thick...OY....