# Deformed Beak?



## thegoatguy (Sep 19, 2015)

So I have plus or minus 50 chickens and last night I noticed one of my pullets has a severely deformed beak. She seems to be able to eat, drink, and she is not underweight or anything like that. I am thinking I will not be able to fix this, but maybe I am wrong? Do I need to put her down? Will she die slowly if I don't? Thanks in advance for the advice.


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## thegoatguy (Sep 19, 2015)

Some pictures.


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

It's called cross beak. If she is eating, drinking and growing fine, I wouldn't worry about it. I had one last year, a bird from tractor supply. I fed them crumbles instead of pellets and she kept up her growth with the others


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## thegoatguy (Sep 19, 2015)

I feed pellets, so do I need to feed her something special?


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

I saw something similar but not quite as extreme with a friend's roosters who lived in rabbit hutches. Their beaks had overgrown because they could never peck on the ground, & they were beginning to cross too. They were still able to eat chicken scratch from a bowl which was all she fed them. She had a couple brain disorders-when she got sicker we started feeding them for her & I added some better food, including pellets & grit which they could also eat. I think having a sort of deep bowl filled up helped them to reach the food with the part of their beaks that worked. You can trim birds' beaks but it's tricky-if you cut too much & they bleed it can be hard to stop it. Filing with a nail file might be safer, or you can check with a reputable pet shop that sells birds-some will trim beaks. It does look like trimming could help. Good luck! It's nice that you're concerned about her!


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

That's honestly one of the worst cases of scissor beak I have ever seen. I'm amazed she's still alive - you have that in your favour. She must be tough! Some trimming will assist, but too much is problematic as well and it can be quite dangerous, maybe someone has a link to a good video? Sometimes people feed a bowl of wet pellets - fermented food is often useful in cases like this. It is easier to scoop up in the beak.

Most cases of scissor beak are genetic, so make sure she isn't bred from, poor girl. Try keeping an eye on her weight - she'll need closer checking than anyone else because it is much harder for scissor beaked chickens to eat.


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## teejae (Jan 21, 2013)

Id trim it back being carefull not to get too close to where it could bleed


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

Steampunked said:


> Most cases of scissor beak are genetic, so make sure she isn't bred from, poor girl. Try keeping an eye on her weight - she'll need closer checking than anyone else because it is much harder for scissor beaked chickens to eat.


My friend's chickens were pretty inbred; maybe it was that & not the lack of pecking. I'd never seen the condition before. I did feel sorry for them & always filled the dishes deep so they could eat, even though a lot was wasted.


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## Bree_6293 (Aug 4, 2014)

We had a chicken like this and she lived to 5 years old no problems at all  I bought her as a pullet with the crooked beak as I felt sorry for her but she lived with all our hens and never had a problem with her


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## Steampunked (Mar 23, 2015)

I'm more of a chicken person, and yeah, you are right - inbreeding (or people doing unchecked line breeding) is a big cause of this. It can happen at any time, as well! Deep dishes, damp food, and possibly poultry nipple-waterers are the way to go.

Beak trimming I am not brave with, BUT it's worth knowing that the chickens will recover much better than a mammal with a similar operation, even if you hit blood. They have better regenerative abilities. If you can keep your chook calm, she's got a good chance to cope with home surgery. In commercial operations, it's not uncommon for quite horrifying amounts of beak to be cut off without the bird dying.

As Bree has shown, though, if she's still keeping weight on, eh, it might not be worth even bothering.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

That is pretty severe cross beak....biggest thing I can think of to help her is feeding and watering from a deep dish and give crumbled or mash feed. She will always stay thin as it is hard for them to get enough food. She may look as healthy to the eye, but I would actually weigh her and compare to the weight of others.I bet she is much skinnier. Personally, I would probably cull her.At the very least, I would trim her beak often to get it shorter.


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## thegoatguy (Sep 19, 2015)

Okay, thanks for the advice everyone.


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