Call duck developing cross beak?

[Jaylou88]

Hey everyone!

So I hatched 5 ducks in an incubator. They are 10 weeks old now.

The little one in the photos had issues from hatch. Was very weak, had to be hand fed and watered for a few days and had a squinted eye.

After a week or so, she started to thrive and has been perfectly fine. I've just noticed today that her beak is crossing. Haven't noticed it before today and now I'm worried. She hasn't had any injuries that I've noticed either. Any advice would be greatly appreciated x

 

[Miss Lydia]

What a sweet face. Hopefully it won't progress too much and as long as she can eat and drink I don't think there is much you can do. Have you been supplementing their feed with any niacin? I don't think a niacin deficiency would cause cross bill but having the right amount of niacin in their diet can sure help stop other health problems like lameness.

 

[Jaylou88]

What a sweet face. Hopefully it won't progress too much and as long as she can eat and drink I don't think there is much you can do. Have you been supplementing their feed with any niacin? I don't think a niacin deficiency would cause cross bill but having the right amount of niacin in their diet can sure help stop other health problems like lameness.

Thank you so much for replying. She is such a sweet little thing and I've grown so attached to them all, but her especially.

I do supplement with niacin and they also have peas and such.

I'm hoping it doesn't get any worse. Do you know what could cause it? I'm worried it's something I could have prevented x

 

[Smileybans]

Thank you so much for replying. She is such a sweet little thing and I've grown so attached to them all, but her especially.

I do supplement with niacin and they also have peas and such.

I'm hoping it doesn't get any worse. Do you know what could cause it? I'm worried it's something I could have prevented x

Crossbeak, at least in chickens, is a deformity of the skull. It’s caused before hatching. There’s no fixing it and some speculate incubator conditions could cause it. But no one really knows what those incubator conditions are. Don’t beat yourself up. Crossbeaks can still live a beautiful life.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It can also be caused by injury within a few days of hatching. I've had 4 (1 never hatched though) cross beak chicks. 1 from being dropped as an egg at about 12 days, 2 from (to the best of my knowledge) hitting their head against the brooders

 

[Miss Lydia]

I really don't know it could be genetic or some thing went wrong in the egg due to heat or humidity in the bator. I don't think there is anything you could have done to prevent it from happening.
Other members have a similar issue with duckling/ducks one I can remember is @WVduckchick worse than your duckling and is thriving.

 

[Miss Lydia]

It can also be caused by injury within a few days of hatching. I've had 4 (1 never hatched though) cross beak chicks. 1 from being dropped as an egg at about 12 days, 2 from (to the best of my knowledge) hitting their head against the brooders

Yes injury was listed too.

 

[Smileybans]

https://amerpoultryassn.com/2021/10/cross-beak/

I found this interesting. I hadn’t seen this before or even knew that anyone did research on this.

 

[WVduckchick]

Of the hundreds of chickens and ducks that I’ve hatched, I’ve only had a small handful of chickens with cross beaks, one that I currently still have, and she’s about 4 years old. She was hatched by a broody, not in my incubator. I have had a small few ducklings hatch with deformed beaks (incubator and broody hatches), usually missing the side sections in the upper beak. The one that hatched fine and is thriving just turned a year old, and hasn’t let it bother him. I have no idea what causes it.
I’m guessing your duck will still thrive, just keep an eye on her to make sure she can eat and drink without any problems. She will likely adjust on her own, hopefully it doesn’t worsen. You might have to make special accommodations for her, but I doubt it. She’s a beauty!