#TeamCrossbeakAmber

[Blue Raptor]

Here's a picture of Amber's first egg in the frying pan yesterday. It's the smaller egg on the bottom. The triple and double yokers are Twyla's eggs. (Twyla is an EE that I got with Amber.) Amber's yoke was rich in color. Marvalo III laid an egg yesterday, and it was a different shade from Amber's, so that is Amber's first egg then.
View attachment 3241554
(Sorry that this wasn't posted yesterday. I accidentally forgot to post it.)

Wow, congrats to Amber!!
I haven’t been keeping up on this thread! I read back- and your doing an amazing job keeping her beak filed and everything! I’ve never had a crossbeak, would be a good experience for me though, and I would’ve never had been able to tell that she was a crossbeak from that young an age!
She’s such a pretty pullet now , great job Lacy!!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Amber laid another egg today! It's the smallest blue/green egg in the egg carton below.

She laid her egg in the only nesting box that nobody else had laid in. Before she laid her egg in that nesting box, she tried fighting Shiloh II (the queen of the flock) for Shiloh's nesting box. Shiloh was already in a bad mood, but I stopped her from pecking Amber. Eventually Beth II, Shiloh's friend, won the nesting box. (Later I let Shiloh have that nesting box because I found out she wasn't doing well today, so it wasn't just the bad mood. )

Later, when Blair was in the nesting box after everyone else was done, I came in and got down to hang out with her. That's when Amber decided to jump on my back.... And show everyone else to do the same! Eventually everyone who had gotten on my back got off except for Amber. She eventually fell off when she tried grabbing the feeder with her foot. (Amber loves using me as a stepping stool to get to the top of the feeder. That's her favorite spot to eat. )

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

So I have some concerns concerning Amber... She has a small crack on the top of her beak, and another one on the side of her bottom beak. (Might be able to see both cracks in picture below.) On her top beak, a lot of the tip was dead (see picture below, it's all that white on top beak). I'll be keeping an eye on her beak and hopefully she doesn't lose any of it.

Amber during beak filing when I discovered the cracks.:

 

[Chicks in VA]

So I have some concerns concerning Amber... She has a small crack on the top of her beak, and another one on the side of her bottom beak. (Might be able to see both cracks in picture below.) On her top beak, a lot of the tip was dead (see picture below, it's all that white on top beak). I'll be keeping an eye on her beak and hopefully she doesn't lose any of it.

Amber during beak filing when I discovered the cracks.:
View attachment 3259227

hope she stays okay

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Today, Amber got her beak filed.

Before (flash went off on my phone, so that's why some things look darker):

After:

Thankfully her beak isn't as bad as it looks, and I don't think I have to worry about her loosing any of it. Her beak is growing out with a new layer. The crack on her bottom beak has moved out and seems to have strengthened. The top part has also gotten stronger with a new layer growing under the old.

The only part of concern is the receding part of her top beak. The receding appears to still be happening, though thankfully, it's not going much past the roof of her beak (not sure what to call that part). In Amber's beak filing today, I didn't go down as far as I normally would on her top beak because the receding part is on her roof a little, and I don't want to remove any of that. Hopefully the receding is part of the new beak growing in, and not anything serious.

(Twyla, a double yoking EE that's the same age as Amber is also growing in a new beak, so she's been helpful in comparing Amber's beak. Only thing is, Twyla's old beak doesn't appear to be receding like Amber's.)

 

[Blue Raptor]

Today, Amber got her beak filed.

Before (flash went off on my phone, so that's why some things look darker):
View attachment 3270398
After:
View attachment 3270399

Thankfully her beak isn't as bad as it looks, and I don't think I have to worry about her loosing any of it. Her beak is growing out with a new layer. The crack on her bottom beak has moved out and seems to have strengthened. The top part has also gotten stronger with a new layer growing under the old.

The only part of concern is the receding part of her top beak. The receding appears to still be happening, though thankfully, it's not going much past the roof of her beak (not sure what to call that part). In Amber's beak filing today, I didn't go down as far as I normally would on her top beak because the receding part is on her roof a little, and I don't want to remove any of that. Hopefully the receding is part of the new beak growing in, and not anything serious.

(Twyla, a double yoking EE that's the same age as Amber is also growing in a new beak, so she's been helpful in comparing Amber's beak. Only thing is, Twyla's old beak doesn't appear to be receding like Amber's.)

It’s weird how as a chick the crossbeam is barely noticeable, and as an adult, the deformity is dramatic. So happy to see it’s getting better, im glad it didn’t break off!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

It’s weird how as a chick the crossbeam is barely noticeable, and as an adult, the deformity is dramatic. So happy to see it’s getting better, im glad it didn’t break off!

It is. She's not my first crossbeak. My first crossbeak, Marvalo I, didn't show signs of crossbeak until she was a few months old. She didn't get as bad as Amber, and improved. As the skull grows, the beak slides out of place until the skull stops growing. That being said and knowing that, when I saw Amber's beak when I first got her, I was actually expecting her beak to be much worse. Thankfully she shouldn't get any worse because she should be done growing.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Amber yesterday:

~Lacy Duckwing

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

I don't know why this is, but... For whatever reason, after it rains, Amber is my driest bird.

Yesterday, it rained all day. Naturally, by the end of the day, my flock was pretty wet... Except for Amber! I don't know what's happening, but everytime it rains and the flock gets soaked, Amber somehow manages to stay dry! On top of things that make it so weird, is the waterer is outside, and Amber takes longer to drink than everyone else. So naturally, she should end up being the wettest, not the driest!

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

Amber taking a dust bath today: