Hi gang,
Unfortunately one of our one week old chicks looks like she is getting a crossed beak. Last year we had one live to about 2 months with a crossed beak and then we had to humanely put her to sleep because she was basically starving to death. Has anyone else had an experience with this? Has anything worked to help alleviate it?
thank you from Deb
Crossed beak
I have a crossed beak hen and she is fine. She is small, but she is one tuff cookie.. She is at the bottom of the pecking order, but she has held her own all along. Good luck with your baby... but if it were me, I'd sure give her a chance..:)
Hi ZZBabiez - Having dealt with this before, we know to keep an eye open for it. She's just over a week old and it's obviously not lining up as it shoule. We are taking her to our vet tomorrow for a check up. Maybe if we catch it early, the deformation can be modified so she can eat ok. Our other chick with a crossed beak was my daughter's favorite and a real toughie too. It was so devestating to watch her go down hill so fast.
I am sure it was hard.. if it's really bad, and they are going to suffer, well, I won't make a chick suffer..
I didn't know this lil hen was cross beaked till she was grown! It's not real bad like I've seen on some.. but it's enough that she can't get a drink if the water is not completely full.. but she is over a year old, so it's possible for them to survive without a lot of special care. I hope your baby is okay..
Sometimes the beak can be trimmed to allow them to eat better, and sometimes if they are fed in a deep cup, they can manage to get plenty to eat. They done' pick the feed up, they just fill their mouths, and swallow. I do use crumbles for those.