Scissor Beak

Beaker, a few days old.

 


     Have you ever heard of Scissor Beak? I had not, until one of our chicks started showing signs of an abnormality. All our chicks looked fine when we got them in this past fall. After doing a google search for what could possibly be wrong with our chick, it was obvious what it was. There was very little information out there about the condition and what info there was, said to cull it. How in the world was I going to be able to kill one of these cute little chicks? The kids weighed in on this issue, making it more difficult to cull the chick. Posting an ad seeking out someone who knew more about it and would be willing to take the chick in was an option, but again the kids did not want this either. 

Beaker, 2 weeks old. Showing signs of beak abnormality.

  


    I decided that we would keep the chick for now. It was not like she was not thriving. She was eating and drinking just fine. As you can see from the picture on the left, her beak alignment looks fine, but you can also see that it doesn't look quite right.

Beaker, 4 weeks old. Scissor beak is starting to become prominent.

    At 4 weeks of age, Beaker, was definitely showing more signs of Scissor Beak. Again I started doing more research trying to figure out what I was going to do with a bird that might not be able to eat without help. I was greatly thankful that she was still thriving by herself and not needing any help from me to nourish her. The question still hung in my mind, whether or not we would be able to care for this chick in the way she may need if she could not feed or drink herself.

Beaker, 8 weeks old. Scissor beak getting worse.

   It was getting time to put our little bundles of joy outside to get accustomed to their new living quarters and yet I was still unsure of the fate of this little chick with the crossed-beak. By this time I had posted an ad to find someone to take care of her, feeling that I could not doing and deciding that she was eventually going to need help soon. My eldest was not thrilled and really wanted to keep her. I went back to finding more about it and came across a lady who had a hen with the same condition. Her hen was still able to eat and drink, however she did have to make accommodations in order for her chicken to eat and drink. Seeing how simple it was and not really needing to physically help her eat and drink, I took the ad down and decided once again to keep her with the understanding from my eldest that if Beaker ever needed help that she would also have to help out. She agreed. 

Beaker, 17 weeks old with Scissor Beak

  

  We have come to understand that, Scissor Beak may be genetic. If we hatch any of her eggs, her offspring may also end up with Scissor Beak. With having this condition we do have to periodically trim her beak since she is not able to keep it trimmed on her own. Beaker is still a happy-go-lucky chicken that can still eat and drink on her own.









If you would like to know more about Scissor Beak I recommend checking out
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/2012/03/scissor-beak-aka-crossed-beak-what-it.html