Silkie developed scissor beak.....

[Natalierose]

I have 7 chickens right now- 5 that are 3 months old....

and 2 silkies that are about 2 months old (kept separately from the older chickens)

I just finished up the coop and was planning to introduce the two groups to each other before putting them all outside- and that's when I noticed the splash silkie has fairly bad crossed over beak.

I am planning to call vets on Monday to see how much it will cost to have the silkie culled....

My questions are :

- Does having it culled seem like the best option? I am not really comfortable shooting it or breaking it's neck I'm not sure how else people put them down?

- Should I still try to introduce the other younger silkie to the group on her own ?

 

[my sunwolf]

I would introduce the chicks together to the new group, let them get settled, and then cull the scissor beaked one (you can use scissors to cut the head off or have someone else do it). Others would try to save the scissor beaked one by correcting it, but I have never been successful with this so I usually just cull before they lose weight and die on their own. And I would never introduce a Silkie to a group of chickens bigger than her without a buddy, because it can get really mean

At 12 weeks your other chickens will probably already be too big to just throw them together. You can use a wire barrier to separate the two groups of chickens so that they can see each other but so that the larger chickens can't pick on the smaller chickens. Let us know what you decide to do.

 

[Natalierose]

Two of the older chickens I have are silkies. Would it be better to try introducing the younger silkie to just these two first? Then theb3 silkies into the flock?

( the other birds are a Cochin, slw, and English orph)