Silkie chick, scissor beak?

[Docdetective]

I know that probably doesn’t make any sense

But basically you don’t want her top beak curving down. I don’t know if that’s possible by filing the underside of it.
Honestly, it’s not a huge deal if it does end up curving! She’ll just need a little extra watching and care.

 

[Smileybans]

Actually, looking at this picture, you might be able to keep it from getting worse by keeping the top beak shorter than the lower beak. Otherwise, the top beak will get longer than the lower beak and get even worse. I’d say you could probably maintain it.
It’s hard to say what I mean in writing lol. You want to keep it at that length, but proportional to her age. If that makes sense. So you want her beak to grow, but just not CURVE down. You could try filing just the bottom edge of the top beak if that makes sense.

So don’t let it curve over her bottom beak? I think I get what you mean but at the same time not really. I want to make sure her top beak grows straight and maintain it so it doesn’t curve over the bottom one... is that right?

 

[Docdetective]

Yes, but more like you don’t want it to curve over to the side of her bottom beak.

From what I can see in the photo, just her top beak is misaligned. Looking at the base of her beak, it looks like that’s the one that is straying.
My pullet is the same, this is what it looks like from underneath

As you can see from this angle, it’s her top beak that got misaligned and consequently grew down and curving.

So if there is any possible way to file just the underside of the top beak to prevent it from getting worse like my pullet’s, then that might help.

Or, I’ve heard that if it is caught early you can tape the beak back to the proper position, but that seems like it might be painful and stressful for her. She wouldn’t be able to open her mouth except for when you took it off for eating.

I’d personally not do that, I think with filing you will be able to keep it manageable.

You can start whenever you feel like it needs to be done, but you want to make sure it does grow a little, you don’t want a full grown chicken with a chick sized beak!

 

[Smileybans]

@Docdetective
Taping her beak seems mean and stressful. Not just for her but me as well. I couldn’t imagine doing that to her. The filing I think I can do. I’ll get my husband to help. And I’m pretty sure I understand what you mean now. Like giving her a trim. Just a little off the top. Thank you for your help.

 

[Docdetective]

@Docdetective
Taping her beak seems mean and stressful. Not just for her but me as well. I couldn’t imagine doing that to her. The filing I think I can do. I’ll get my husband to help. And I’m pretty sure I understand what you mean now. Like giving her a trim. Just a little off the top. Thank you for your help.

Of course, I’m glad you got some help out of my rambling thoughts.
There are a lot of articles online, too.
https://the-chicken-chick.com/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it/
This is a pretty good one. But I recommend filing better then trimming. I have done trimming and although it’s faster it’s nerve racking, they don’t stop moving and you don’t want to accidentally cut too much! beaks bleed a lot.

Keep me updated! I’d love to hear how she is as she grows!

oh and last tip,
Make sure she’s getting enough to eat! You can luckily check their crops.

 

[Smileybans]

oh and last tip,
Make sure she’s getting enough to eat! You can luckily check their crops.

I’ve been weighing her too with a food scale and she has been gaining weight. She’s behind the others but still gaining. And she loves her FF. So I make sure to give her that every morning. The silkies are actually the only ones that eat the FF.

 

[Smileybans]

@Docdetective
I’ve been trying to file her beak at least once a week but I’m not sure if it’s enough. I’m also trying to keep in mind what you told me about keeping it accurate to her age and bottom beak. She is smaller than the others but growing. How does her beak look now? I took this picture yesterday because she had a stuffy/ runny nose. Where they were sleeping needed to be cleaned and had some poo built up. I’m hoping that fixes her stuffy/ runny nose.

 

[Docdetective]

@Docdetective
I’ve been trying to file her beak at least once a week but I’m not sure if it’s enough. I’m also trying to keep in mind what you told me about keeping it accurate to her age and bottom beak. She is smaller than the others but growing. How does her beak look now? I took this picture yesterday because she had a stuffy/ runny nose. Where they were sleeping needed to be cleaned and had some poo built up. I’m hoping that fixes her stuffy/ runny nose.View attachment 2468138

It looks great! She’s adorable. Keep in mind it will get worse, and don’t feel bad if it does, but since you caught it early it is manageable. The only thing I’d suggest is filing the underside of the tip to try to keep it from curving down. I can’t tell from the photo if it is already starting to curve down, but that’s what I’d try to keep an eye on.

***I know her bottom beak is really long here. It is now much better, this is an old photo

 

[elisabeth_]

Hi!! I couldn’t help but click on this thread when I saw it because it reminded me of everything I went through as a first time silkie owner dealing with my first case of scissor beak. I didn’t notice Skippy’s beak right away, but I knew as she got bigger that something wasn’t right and it was getting worse. I didn’t know whether I should put her down or if I would have to file her beak and give her special food... I was just brand new to it all and completely stressed. But I decided to just sit back, relax, and see what happened as long as she was eating perfectly on her own and just wait. Turns out, I have never had to lift a finger once to mash her food, she can eat just as good and fast as the others, and I have never had to file her beak... she files it herself! Our silkies free range, and we have concrete blocks around the coop and a concrete sidewalk that she files her beak down on. Skippy will be turning 2 years old next month and she is one of my happiest healthiest girls.
So my advice to you is... watch her/him closely and just wait. If you see any signs of struggling at all, that is the time to intervene. If not, your little chicken will adapt and do what she needs to do. That’s a cute little chick you have on your hands and I wish you luck ❤

 

[Smileybans]

It looks great! She’s adorable. Keep in mind it will get worse, and don’t feel bad if it does, but since you caught it early it is manageable. The only thing I’d suggest is filing the underside of the tip to try to keep it from curving down. I can’t tell from the photo if it is already starting to curve down, but that’s what I’d try to keep an eye on.
View attachment 2468141
***I know her bottom beak is really long here. It is now much better, this is an old photo

It is starting to curve down and I guess that’s what I was worried about. It’s hard to file her beak since she’s so little but I take a small amount off the tip every other day. She doesn’t come out of the baby coop much. My EE Fuzzy has been feather pecking, surprisingly gently, all of the babies when they do come out but the girls bother them the most. So they don’t have much to file their beaks on. I worry more about her than the others though.
I’m a worrier and need to learn to relax I guess. But I care more for these guys than I ever thought I would and just want to be sure I’m doing right by her. My sister keeps chickens and thinks I’m crazy the way I’m keeping these guys. She tells me they’re just chickens but to me they feel like more than that.