Silkie thread!

[sunnysongbird]

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That's what i was wondering too, I have a silkie with a crossed beak as well. She was fine and had a perfect beak when she was young but after a while, she had a crossed beak. Weird... i fed her celery when she was young and it was hard celery so could that be the cause? are beaks really soft when chickens are younger and so they grow apart if force is applied (biting a celery stick) ?

 

[NewToFarming]

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That's what i was wondering too, I have a silkie with a crossed beak as well. She was fine and had a perfect beak when she was young but after a while, she had a crossed beak. Weird... i fed her celery when she was young and it was hard celery so could that be the cause? are beaks really soft when chickens are younger and so they grow apart if force is applied (biting a celery stick) ?

Yes, I have heard that can be one of the causes if they peck something hard when they are very young, especially if the crossbeaked shows up later on at a few weeks of age. If it is there from hatch, it most likely could have been an incubation or genetic problem. Their beaks are soft for the first 48 hrs of life especially.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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There are a lot of different causes of crossed beaks, some are genetic, others are various types of physical trauma.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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Pretty sure these are the crossbeaked chicks she said are now at her grandmother's, not the hens she replaced them with.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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That's what i was wondering too, I have a silkie with a crossed beak as well. She was fine and had a perfect beak when she was young but after a while, she had a crossed beak. Weird... i fed her celery when she was young and it was hard celery so could that be the cause? are beaks really soft when chickens are younger and so they grow apart if force is applied (biting a celery stick) ?

How old was she when you fed her celery? Food can impact into the inside edge of the beak, and if on one side that can almost act like braces and force the beak in the other direction. This is why I dislike mash.

 

[NewToFarming]

Quote:
That's what i was wondering too, I have a silkie with a crossed beak as well. She was fine and had a perfect beak when she was young but after a while, she had a crossed beak. Weird... i fed her celery when she was young and it was hard celery so could that be the cause? are beaks really soft when chickens are younger and so they grow apart if force is applied (biting a celery stick) ?

How old was she when you fed her celery? Food can impact into the inside edge of the beak, and if on one side that can almost act like braces and force the beak in the other direction. This is why I dislike mash.

What does the mash do? Also, by Mash do you mean like when you moisten the chick feed? Yikes, I do that all the time for my guys.

 

[robin416]

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There are a lot of different causes of crossed beaks, some are genetic, others are various types of physical trauma.

I think it was Sonoran that made this comment about the same time I realized I rec'd a chick that eventually developed a cross beak two or three years back. And of course I had to find out if it was genetic. Evidently its not on my bird. I've gotten a lot of chicks from this bird, have crossed them back with none of her offspring ever having a problem.

 

[NewToFarming]

Quote:
There are a lot of different causes of crossed beaks, some are genetic, others are various types of physical trauma.

I think it was Sonoran that made this comment about the same time I realized I rec'd a chick that eventually developed a cross beak two or three years back. And of course I had to find out if it was genetic. Evidently its not on my bird. I've gotten a lot of chicks from this bird, have crossed them back with none of her offspring ever having a problem.

Same here...I only have gotten one crossbeak and I do recall a newly hatched chick just pecking away inside the incubator...I really can't say for sure it was this one or not but it sure seems it is the trauma to the beak early in life.

 

[robin416]

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I think it was Sonoran that made this comment about the same time I realized I rec'd a chick that eventually developed a cross beak two or three years back. And of course I had to find out if it was genetic. Evidently its not on my bird. I've gotten a lot of chicks from this bird, have crossed them back with none of her offspring ever having a problem.

Same here...I only have gotten one crossbeak and I do recall a newly hatched chick just pecking away inside the incubator...I really can't say for sure it was this one or not but it sure seems it is the trauma to the beak early in life.

Looking at the pics of the two with cross beak you can see the beak itself is a bit twisted. With the girl I have the beak is entirely normal looking but when trimming is needed just does not quite meet. If I trim her just right I have trouble finding her again. Its like right at the hinge of her jaw it doesn't quite align. That might be the difference between genetic and injury, a normal beak that doesn't align and one where the beak itself is twisted.

 

[poultrycrazy]

What do you guys think of my partridge silkie pullet and my showgirl cockeral? Also what color would you call the showgirl and what do you think ill get when i breed them together??