Week old chick with scissor beak

[only1bgirl]

Any ideas how to correct this? Silkie Chick was feeding them wetted starter food , when I noticed this chicks bottom beak going to the side I found dried on food in the corner of its mouth. Not sure if it was the food or this is a defect.

 

[only1bgirl]

Chick eats and drinks OK and is same size as it's hatch mate.

 

[Outpost JWB]

So sorry your chick has that. I don't think there is anyway to correct it. The chicken chic has suggestions on how you can make provisions if you wish to keep the chick.

We had one last year and it quickly got worse and worse to where the poor thing would not sleep, but try to eat and drink all the time, but it kept falling out of it's beak. We had it isolated and elevated it's food and water bowls. It was very sad and the chick was getting thin quick. The wet food would stick to the inside of it's beak and it would cause trouble breathing. We tried but the chick seemed to be suffering. We ended up culling it.

Read up on it though as some chicks are able to successfully adapt and overcome. You just have to make provisions for it.

 

[iwiw60]

Chick eats and drinks OK and is same size as it's hatch mate.

Here's a very informational page on scissor beak...it can be corrected to the point that they can live a normal life:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=scissor+beak

 

[Outpost JWB]

Here's a very informational page on scissor beak...it can be corrected to the point that they can live a normal life:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/search?q=scissor+beak

iwiw60, To my knowledge, there is No Way to "correct it". Our chick got worse and worse. Even the thread you suggested said in most cases they can adapt-not all. Did you have success with one (or more) with scissor beak? I am very interested in ways to help them. Ours just got so bad and lost so much weight. The food kept getting stuck in its beak, and since the beak stays open, it would dry up and the chick then had a hard time breathing. I cleaned it out most everyday. It was terrible and the chick was suffering.

 

[only1bgirl]

I've been holding her, cleaning off the dried on food. When I hold her I massage around her jaw and try and hold her beak in correct position as long as she lets me, it seems to stay for awhile then goes back to the side. I'm just going to keep doing this as there's nothing else apparent that would work such as filing there's not anything to file off. How old was your chick when this started and how old was it when it got bad?

 

[Outpost JWB]

I should have wrote it in a journal, but I didn't. So, this is an estimate....I believe the chick was around a week old when we 1st noticed it. It lived a couple months before we had to cull it. I remember it was not old enough to fully determine if it was a pullet or cockrell. I was leaning towards pullet though. The scissor beak condition started slight and within the 2 months you could see the chicken's tongue all the time. The condition got bad quick. I kept thinking maybe it was done moving, but it got worse and worse really quick. The most immediate thing you need to do is elevate the food and drink. Because every time it drinks and eats, it will fall right back out as the chick cannot close it's mouth. Also watch that the flies do not get onto it's beak as they will lay eggs and then the maggots will eat your chick. Sorry, disgusting, but true. I wish you all the luck. Please keep us posted.

 

[only1bgirl]

Thank you much! I keep looking at pictures after hatch and it's beak looked OK, it was about the one week mark when we noticed this. I was wondering if the mush dried in a corner and started this but from what you've described sounds like it's more of a genetic issue. I've got all the chicks in a brooder inside the house, I need to pick up a parrot or hamster water bottle today. I will update this thread periodically.

 

[only1bgirl]

The days when I hold her beak in place 3-4 times a day seems to help, I took a break from doing this during the day and only once in the evening, seemed to get worse. Read an article about parrots and this condition it said to hold it in a slight over corrected position, so I'm starting that today with at least four holding periods, after she eats. Hopefully this helps otherwise her prospects at thriving do not look good. She spends more time at the food dish than the other chicks and comes out with food stuck all over her beak and face. Will update in a couple of days.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Thanks for the update. Glad she is hanging in there. It's hard. I know! I am interested to see if the overcorrecting ultimately helps. Good luck & hang in there!