Chick with crooked beak. Problem or not?

[AngelaY]

My 3week old Cochin chick's beak is kinda crooked and I was wondering if that's a bad thing or not. Here's a picture:

 

[black_cat]

This is called a crossbeak. Your chick may need special care when she gets older as they tend to worsen with age, but with the right care it shouldn't affect her quality of life.

 

[AngelaY]

This is called a crossbeak. Your chick may need special care when she gets older as they tend to worsen with age, but with the right care it shouldn't affect her quality of life.

Ok good, she's a pet chicken so special care will not be a problem. Thank you for the quick response @black_cat !

 

[TheOddOneOut]

Yup. Scissor/crossbeak. It will worsen with age, and she may not be able to eat.

 

[black_cat]

Ok good, she's a pet chicken so special care will not be a problem. Thank you for the quick response @black_cat !

No problem! As she gets older, it may become hard for her to eat, depending on how severe the crossbeak becomes. You can start by giving her a deep dish of a wet chicken food mash so that she can scoop it with her beak. Make sure the other chickens can't get to it before her-mine go NUTS for wet chicken food. It may get to the point where you will have to spoon feed her, place food in her mouth, or syringe feed her, depending on the severity of the beak.

 

[AngelaY]

Yup. Scissor/crossbeak. It will worsen with age, and she may not be able to eat.

Oh, so not good... is there something I can to to help her beak to straighten out??

 

[black_cat]

Oh, so not good... is there something I can to to help her beak to straighten out??

Sadly, I don't think there is a way to straighten them. I posted above about helping her eat as she gets older.

 

[Minidinochickens]

It would be might be pretty hard for you or a vet to do this but I found this video when towards the end he does some magic to let the chicken eat better

 

[MilesFluffybutt]

Cross beak is a skull deformity. It can be genetic or caused by trauma or poor positioning within the egg. There's no way to correct it.

The condition will worsen until the chick is five or six months old. It may not be too severe and have very little impact on the chick's ability to feed itself or it may be so severe that it needs assistance with feeding, preening, drinking.

My CB has a severe case. With a few special considerations- like making him a mash and helping with preening - he is doing very well. He is able to feed himself, which is huge. He's a messy eater so I have to give him a weekly bath and clean out his nostrils, but that's fine because he is a joy to have around.

He's a little crusty in this photo.