very slight crossed beak - 15 weeks old

[vtgirls]

One of my young hens seem to be developing a cross beak - jusy slightly, but clearly crossed. Of the batch she hatched out of she is the largest hen so I assume she is having no trouble eating. I did not notice the cross until just this week, she most certainly did NOT have it two weeks back when I spent a fair amount of time with this bunch. Another hen in her batch has just come up with a split upper beak, again within the last few days. I think it is too crossed to just file down however. Could these two be pecking at titanum when I am not looking??! Her mother is a pure SLW but the roo is a mutt from a friends farm - now I wonder about the cross beak - bad genetics from the roo? She is a beautiful black hen with golden lacing and a muff face. I would assume I should not breed her but I worry in a multi hen house how to make sure I do not pick her eggs to incubate. However I do not want to cull her if she is healthy and thriving. Thoughts anyone?

 

[CMV]

At 15 weeks the cross is likely as bad as it's going to get, so fortunately she'll probably do okay in the long run. Do not hatch any of her eggs, though, because crossbeak is genetic and frequently worse in subsequent generations.

I have one that I didn't notice until she was about the same age as yours. My hen's is very mild and hasn't caused any problems with feeding and watering. The only thing I have to say about it is that it ain't pretty. I have frequently contemplated trimming it to improve its appearance because it always looks ragged and unkempt, but it is as functional as it could be, so trimming seems a bit excessive. I have always opted to just leave it as is, which is probably (and seems to be) for the best. I also am sure my hen's beak got worse over time because I know I would have noticed it long before I did, but by 15 weeks they are pretty much done growing out, so my bird got no worse after that. Some folks use deep feed and water dishes to help the afflicted bird to eat and drink, but I didn't even need to do that with mine.

Good luck with her.

 

[vtgirls]

Thanks - very reassuring. She is also a bit frazzled in her appearance

but is a very pretty and sweet girl. Her legs are very black so she has a rather striking look. Her foster broody mama is a buff cochin bantam so its funny to see them together, she is a very big hen for her age. I will be interested in seeing how dark her eggs turn out - though not good to hatch they would look pretty in a mixed basket.

 

[chickensRcute]

I had an Americauna chick last year that was so pretty and dainty. She didn't have any problems until later either. Her beak started crossing and just got so bad that we had to put her down eventually!

I hope your chick stays healthy and doesn't get very bad! Her beak was crossed from the face and went straight down, yours doesn't sound this bad! Hope this helps.

 

[vtgirls]

Lately life has gotten a bit strange - the crossed beak is back to even.
Yes, I know ya'll are thinking I must have missed something, or am plumb crazy.
I wish I had taken a picture before I saw a cross happening, at about 12 weeks she was even.
Then by 14, a smallish, but unmistakable cross, bottom beak out to the right.
Yesterday I was moving them to a new coop and no cross.
I was in such disbelief I sat down and checked her out for quite some time.
All even again.
TMJ for chickens?
LOL - but seriously - SOOOO odd!

 

[chickensRcute]

I guess maybe it could have been dislocated. Anything can happen! Glad she is better!

 

[FrancaV]

Hi, Everyone,

Wow, I guess this is not an uncommon thing. I have read through a bunch of threads on chickens with crossed beaks and this one seems to be the most current so I thought I'd jump in....

My four Ameraucana/EEs are almost four weeks old. Just today I noticed that Rosie's upper beak goes ever so slightly to the right now and I'd swear it was not doing that two days ago, at least not enough that it was visible to me. Is it a good sign that it is only just showing up now (instead of, say, 3 weeks ago) or is poor Rosie doomed to end up with a severely crossed beak anyway?

I've seen the posts about Penetran and I found something called Penetran Plus Lotion on Amazon. Is that the stuff? I was going to post a link to the product but the forum won't let me. You can search for Penetran on Amazon, though, and it will show up. I don't know whether or not to order any, but if I do I want to be sure it's the right thing.

It seems most of the people who have tried the Penetran said it didn't help, but there were maybe one or two people who were sure that it did make a difference. I have never seen it in any store around here, but I had no reason to look for it before. Should I order some, or is it just a mythical remedy?

I'm not sure what to do here ... Rosie is the biggest chick and quite obviously thriving. She has no trouble eating or drinking. The points of her upper and lower beak don't meet, but there's good contact the rest of the length of her beak. Right now she doesn't seem to require any special care, but everything I've read on the various chicken sites says that this is likely to get worse. I've seen the suggestions to keep the beak trimmed since it won't wear properly on its own, and to provide a deep feeder should that become necessary. She is not for breeding, just for laying.

Oh, I did notice something odd - every once in awhile the other chicks would peck at Rosie's beak. Perhaps they've been doing that all along and I only noticed it today because I was so focused on her beak, but it seemed like the other chicks knew something wasn't right. Is that possible?

Is there any chance her beak got dislocated somehow? And if so, would that be fixable? I'd hate to find out later that I could have done something about it. These are my first chicks and I'm feeling kind of bummed out.

My apologies if I've made any newbie mistakes with my post. I'm accepting all thoughts and suggestions, and thanks in advance!

Franca
and Eowyn, Arwen, Rosie and Kiwi

 

[chickensRcute]

I have never heard what Penetran before your post! What are they claiming it will do for chickens? My bird that had the cross beak had never showed any sign anything was wrong, then I looked at her and it was a little crossed. As time went on it became so bad she never would have been able to eat! The beak was not just crossed it was straight down from her face. The bottom beak was straight and the top went straight down! I wanted to keep her but knew it wouldn't be fair to her!! Good luck with your babies! I hope your cross beak gets better, or even not worse!!

 

[FrancaV]

Quote:
I saw posts about Penetran in a couple of places, one of them here:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=157850

I'm skeptical that it does anything to help ... but on the other hand it's not expensive and if the ingredients aren't harmful to chickies I dunno ... maybe worth a try. I wish there were more info about it.

Oh, your poor little bird. Her beak deformity sounds very severe. I'm sure you did what was best for her. I would love for Rosie's beak to miraculously line up again but given the stories I've read I would happily settle for it not getting worse ... I just don't know what to expect. It looked about the same today.

 

[WallTenters]

If chicks develop cross beak later on, it's usually a vitamin deficiency. I'd get some rooster booster or similar vitamin supplement for chickens/birds. You may also want to trim the beak ever so slightly (don't cut into the live tissue - it's like the quick on their nails) to relieve the pressure, as that can sometimes make it go even more cross, just like a horse's hooves that aren't trimmed often enough or trimmed crooked. Odds are your chicks are developing this because they are so fast growing they've used up a lot of vitamins in the process. Do not breed from these birds - even though it's an environmental issue at this age, you don't want that succeptability to vitamin deficiency (which is genetic - can deal with several organs and body functions) passing on to future generations.