Crossed beaks and missing eyes

[Bird-Whisperer]

Hi y'all! Yesterday I was at the local feedstore and noticed these 3 were separated from the rest of the chicks. The black one is always looking down (maybe a neck deformity?), one orange chick has a slightly misaligned beak and a malformed left eye, the other orange one has a very crossed beak and is completely missing his right eye! Although they look funny, they all seem healthy and are active and noisy. I've been syringe feeding the one with the super crossed beak since he's having some trouble eating. I just wanted to share here since I know some of y'all would be interested. And If y'all have any advice I will gladly take it

 

[MROO]

Good for you for helping out these babies. Blind chickens can do well, but noy usually in a large flock. They get picked on a lot. As for the crossbeak, try this article. There's a lot of good info in it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-beak-chickens-from-hatch-to-adulthood.79390/
Do you know what breeds they are? Good Luck!

 

[Bird-Whisperer]

Good for you for helping out these babies. Blind chickens can do well, but noy usually in a large flock. They get picked on a lot. As for the crossbeak, try this article. There's a lot of good info in it:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-beak-chickens-from-hatch-to-adulthood.79390/
Do you know what breeds they are? Good Luck!

Thanks, I'll read up on the cross beaks!

I'm not sure what breeds they are but hopefully they all reach adulthood and I'll be able to guess. I'll certainly post updates & maybe y'all can help identify them

 

[CoopBoots]

Hi y'all! Yesterday I was at the local feedstore and noticed these 3 were separated from the rest of the chicks. The black one is always looking down (maybe a neck deformity?), one orange chick has a slightly misaligned beak and a malformed left eye, the other orange one has a very crossed beak and is completely missing his right eye! Although they look funny, they all seem healthy and are active and noisy. I've been syringe feeding the one with the super crossed beak since he's having some trouble eating. I just wanted to share here since I know some of y'all would be interested. And If y'all have any advice I will gladly take it

You have such a big heart. Bless you for taking these little souls home!!

I don't have much advice, except to say I do keep my special needs birds in a smaller, separate group, and they do really well that way. Only one is seriously impaired with wry neck/a neck injury we could not heal, but she has the biggest personality and still thrives with her friends.

 

[GuineaMania]

Thanks, I'll read up on the cross beaks!

I'm not sure what breeds they are but hopefully they all reach adulthood and I'll be able to guess. I'll certainly post updates & maybe y'all can help identify them

Good for you for helping them! The black chick looks kind of like a Black Australorp to me.

 

[Bird-Whisperer]

Good day everyone, I'm just posting a little update: all 3 chicks are growing and doing well!

The crossbeak with one eye is definitely smaller than the other two, but he's learned to eat mush/baby bird mix on his own (I've been giving him Katee and Mazuri baby bird mix in a small bowl in the mornings/evenings and they all have access to chick crumble during the day). He's also able to groom himself normally (last picture).

The other orange one's beak seems to have straightened out and he doesn't seem to have any problems with depth perception as he can pick small bugs from the ground, so I'm guessing that his "half eye" can detect some light/shadow. And this guy is ULTRA MEGA CUDDLY and flies at me when I come check on him.

And the black Austrolorp chick seems to be completely normal now!

During the day I keep them in a small pen with some Japanese Bantams. Once they get big I'll try moving them into the main run with all the other full size chickens and see how they fare. Worse case scenario, they'll just stay with the Japanese bantams

 

[TwoCrows]

Good day everyone, I'm just posting a little update: all 3 chicks are growing and doing well!

The crossbeak with one eye is definitely smaller than the other two, but he's learned to eat mush/baby bird mix on his own (I've been giving him Katee and Mazuri baby bird mix in a small bowl in the mornings/evenings and they all have access to chick crumble during the day). He's also able to groom himself normally (last picture).

The other orange one's beak seems to have straightened out and he doesn't seem to have any problems with depth perception as he can pick small bugs from the ground, so I'm guessing that his "half eye" can detect some light/shadow. And this guy is ULTRA MEGA CUDDLY and flies at me when I come check on him.

And the black Austrolorp chick seems to be completely normal now!

During the day I keep them in a small pen with some Japanese Bantams. Once they get big I'll try moving them into the main run with all the other full size chickens and see how they fare. Worse case scenario, they'll just stay with the Japanese bantams

Thanks for the update, they are all looking fabulous!