Silkie thread!

[hoppy]

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right now it appears to be a female but give it 6 months, I know I've been surprised more then a few times.

 

[Elite Silkies]

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Looks like a pullet........... but they will fool you. I was fooled today. She started crowing

 

[LittleChickenLady]

The hens that I was talking about size-wise from the show were the ones I replaced the crossed beaked Silkies.
Their pictures have already been posted on here, but I'll re-post them and a few others.

The judge told us that the white hen is still a pullet.. and I was told that she is about a year old when I bought her, just like the black one.. but apparently the black one is actually a hen.

 

[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) ?

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.

I fed her celery when she was i think 2 months old? But her beak probably would've hardened by then. is there a way to fix cross beak? Oh what's mash?

 

[sunnysongbird]

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aww they're so cute!

 

[NewToFarming]

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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.

To answer all the questions on crossed beaks, Hutt, in Genetics of the Fowl discusses genetic issues in the chapter on skeletal abnormalities. http://chla.library.cornell.edu/cgi...node=2837819:5&frm=frameset&view=image&seq=60

If you google "crossed beak" or "twisted beak" or "tweaked beak" or "scissor beak" you will find some references to parrots and other birds, and a wider range of information.

By mash, I mean very finely ground feed: almost powdery. In general, processed feed comes in mash, crumbles or pellets. The year I used mash was the year I had a number of cross beaked babies. Stopped using mash and have had very few since then. Regardless of whether I believe it to be genetic or not, I would not breed a cross beaked bird.

I have had a couple of adult birds whose beaks started curving toward the side (both upper and lower and staying aligned with each other). I believe this was either improper trimming or something impacting the inner edges of the beak. And I currently have one whose beak seems to be slightly offset at the jaw. Neither beak curves or twists, but they do not line up.

Whenever I bathe a bird or otherwise groom it, I open and check inside the mouth, and occasionally need to clean out along the beak edges with a toothpick.

Thanks! I have never seen mash at the feed stores I go to so maybe I don't have it available here where I am. Good to know though!!! I thought at first it was the moistened chick feed. My guys love it and think it is the most awesome treat ever!!! LOL They would have been devastated if they couldn't have it anymore!

 

[CarolinaChickenKeeper]

I get something called starter. It's ground very fine.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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She is really small. Either she is dwarfed, or younger than you thought.

 

[racuda]

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You can compare the toenail length of the two. If the black really is several months older she should have longer nails.

 

[hoppy]

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You can compare the toenail length of the two. If the black really is several months older she should have longer nails.

does this apply if the nails have been trimmed?