The top of my girls' beaks look white and a layer has flaked off it seems

[ChickaBonBon]

Looking for help-

I'm new to owning chickens and my five chicks arrived this past October 24th. They are now much bigger and doing well except I just noticed the other day that a few of my girls look like the top of their beaks are turning a white-ish color. One of my hens looks like a layer of her beak has chipped or flaked of even. Just hoping people who are more experienced could give me some help and guidance. I'll try to include a picture.
Thanks!!!

 

[azygous]

Just as your finger nails breaking easily signal a dietary deficiency in your body, so does a flaking, crumbling beak signify nutrients possibly missing in your chickens' diet.

You need to examine what you are feeding them. If they eat a commercial feed, it's pretty well balanced with what your chickens need, but if you're offsetting it with more than a scant amount of kitchen scraps and other treats, they may not be getting enough of the vitamins and minerals they need.

You can give them fish oil for a few weeks and see if that helps, but if you're feeding a lot of scraps, you might want to cut way back.

 

[ChickaBonBon]

Just as your finger nails breaking easily signal a dietary deficiency in your body, so does a flaking, crumbling beak signify nutrients possibly missing in your chickens' diet.

You need to examine what you are feeding them. If they eat a commercial feed, it's pretty well balanced with what your chickens need, but if you're offsetting it with more than a scant amount of kitchen scraps and other treats, they may not be getting enough of the vitamins and minerals they need.

You can give them fish oil for a few weeks and see if that helps, but if you're feeding a lot of scraps, you might want to cut way back.

Thank you!!
I didn't know about fish oil. I can try that. I really only feed them commercial feed and in the morning I might spread out a handful of treats (ie: meal worms or treats specifically made for chickens from feed store). That's their diet pretty much. Not sure what else I can change with their diet.

 

[azygous]

Black oil sunflower seeds are a nutritious treat, better than scratch grains, and they're rich in protein and omega 3 fatty acids. They're also high in fat, so you need to moderate them. Protein will help build up the beaks. What is the protein content of your feed? If it's under 20%, you might want to upgrade.

 

[ChickaBonBon]

Maybe i'll switch to a new feed. I'm currently using Purina crumble which has 18% crude protein. I'll see if there's a better option with higher protein. Thank you.