Weird Beak

[TheSpeckledRoo]

One of my buff Orps has a really weird beak. Instead of being normal it splits like this /\. She is about 9 months old and i just noticed this. Is this something to be worried about? Does anyone have a hen who is like this? She seems to be able to eat and drink fine.

 

[sjshaw1980]

Can you post a pic?

 

[myfinefeatheredfriends]

Sounds like a scissor beak to me. I just posted a story about my cross beaked hen in the Chicken Stories & Pics section of the forum. You can check it out, if you want. Sounds like your case might be similar.

 

[TheSpeckledRoo]

I could not get a good picture to save my life. Ana kept moving

. This is the best i could get.

 

[sjshaw1980]

Yup, that's a scissor beak. It's a genetic deformity so you should not breed her. Whether to euthanize or not is up to you. It can worsen to the point where she will not be able to eat or drink properly, so at that point you probably should put her down if she is suffering. If she is able to eat and drink, and do her thing, there is nothing to do, so enjoy her!

 

[TheSpeckledRoo]

Yup, that's a scissor beak. It's a genetic deformity so you should not breed her. Whether to euthanize or not is up to you. It can worsen to the point where she will not be able to eat or drink properly, so at that point you probably should put her down if she is suffering. If she is able to eat and drink, and do her thing, there is nothing to do, so enjoy her!

Right now she is my fattest hen so i don't think i will worry about it. If the time comes i will put her down. Thanks for your input!

 

[sjshaw1980]

Awesome! Best of luck to both of you!

 

[roostersandhens]

i have never seen a beak like tha before weird

 

[Brookliner]

Look up scissor beak in the thread search. There are several good articles about it. I believe that having food deep enough in the feed dish is important.

 

[sjshaw1980]

Brookliner - excellent point. I'm no expert but the easier it is for her to shove her lil face down into the feed to get what she needs, the more likely she is to survive.
Last year we got 4 australorps from TSC. One of the males had a scissor beak but he was the biggest (and nicest) of the roos b/c we felt so bad for him and hand fed him so much.
Speaking of Brookline, how are your chicks faring after Nemo?