Scissor beak in chickens is a life-threatening condition occurring in chicks and pullets. Learn more to prevent, treat and help your chicks survive and thrive through this congenital deformity.
What is Scissor Beak in Chickens?
Scissor beak (often referred to as cross beak) is a congenital deformity in which the upper and bottom beaks grow in two directions, giving the appearance of an open pair of scissors.
This deformity makes it difficult for the chicken to pick up food, and in severe cases, if left untreated, it can lead to death. While not all chickens with scissor beaks survive, experts are finding ways to improve their longevity and quality of life.
Causes and Preventions
Several factors can cause scissor beak, including poor nutrition, genetics, inappropriate heating and humidity levels during incubation, and malposition in the egg.
Cause: Poor Nutrition
Poor nutrition can cause scissor beaks to develop. Feeding chicks quality, age-appropriate feed is the best way to prevent poor nutrition.
Prevention: Supplementing chicks’ diet with probiotics and vitamins (added to their water) will help ensure they have everything they need to develop a healthy beak.
Cause: Genetics
Breeding individuals with a scissor beak.
Prevention: Never breed a chicken with a scissor beak, even if the beak is only slightly deformed. Scissor beak is hereditary, so breeding stock with this condition should be culled.
Cause: Inappropriate Heat and Humidity
Inappropriate heat and humidity levels may increase the risk of chicks developing scissor beak.
Prevention: When hatching eggs, ensure the incubator temperature stays steady at 100.5°F and humidity levels are between 50 and 55 percent.
Cause: Malposition in Egg
Sometimes, a chick’s head will not be positioned correctly in the egg, causing a malformed skull.
Prevention: None
What Age Does Scissor Beak in Chickens Occur?
Scissor beaks appear in chicks between one and two weeks of age, but in some cases, the condition may not be seen until four weeks old. If caused by poor genetics, this condition may be visible at hatching.
Symptoms
Curving or bending of the beak. The severity of the condition depends on how severely the beak is curved.
Treatment
If one or more of your chicks have a scissor beak, treatment should begin immediately. Taking your chick to the vet is the best way to start the treatment process, as your veterinarian can evaluate the severity of the condition and prescribe the appropriate treatment.
Vet-Prescribed Chick Care
Euthanasia: Sadly, some chicks with a scissor beak are severely deformed, making it impossible to consume food and water. Without these essential nutrients, chicks quickly become weak and die. By humanely euthanizing severely deformed chicks, you can prevent any unnecessary suffering.
Beak Trimming: One of the best ways to help a chicken with a scissor beak is to trim it. This will not correct the condition. Rather, it will help to keep the bird’s beak trimmed to a manageable length since their beaks do not receive normal wear. Regularly trimming of the beak helps increase the chance of a chick’s ability to eat and drink. Your veterinarian can trim the beak and set up a beak-trimming routine to keep your chick’s beak in working order. Trimming a scissor beak is extremely difficult and should only be trimmed by a qualified vet.
Beak Therapy: Beak therapy is a common veterinarian-prescribed scissor beak treatment. It involves gently aligning the top beak with the bottom and holding it in place for ten minutes two to three times a day. While this treatment plan will not likely cure the deformity, it usually helps prevent it from becoming more deformed and making the condition less severe. Continue beak therapy daily until your vet instructs otherwise.
Weight Check: Chicks with a scissor beak need routine weight checks throughout their lives to ensure they get enough food to maintain a healthy weight.
Vet-Prescribed Lifelong Care
A chicken with a scissor beak needs lifelong care. Routine beak trims, regular weight checks and tube feeding to ensure the chicken has enough nutrients.
Tube feeding should be done by a qualified veterinarian or a member of the vet office staff, as it can become deadly if the tube is not placed correctly down the chicken’s throat. If you desire to tube feed your chicken, ask your vet to show you how to do it correctly.
Feeding Tube Alternatives
Another option is to moisten the feed to form a mash. The mash is often easier for a chicken with a scissor beak to pick up than dry crumble or pellets. Mix the mash right before feeding chickens, as it becomes rancid quickly. Be sure to allow plenty of feeding time, as scissored-beaked chickens eat slower than other flock members. Treats must also be cut into small, easy-to-pick-up pieces for them to enjoy.
Whatever feeding option you choose, chickens with scissor beaks need their weight monitored by a qualified veterinarian.
Keep Them Clean
A chicken with a scissor beak needs routine bathing to keep its feathers free of parasites and help feathers stay clean and shiny. To do this, use a couple of drops of mild, unscented baby shampoo in a pan of warm water and gently splash the water over the hen’s body, carefully avoiding getting water on her head or in her eyes or nostrils. Gently towel dry the chicken before using a blow dryer on her. Keep the blow dryer on a cool setting to avoid burning the chicken’s skin.
Move bathtime into the basement or garage during the colder months to avoid chilling the hen.
A scissor beak in chickens requires daily cleaning with a Q-tip moistened with water. Gently clean out any dirt or feed with the Q-tip.
Separate Housing
Some flock members may bully a chicken with a scissor beak, while others behave more kindly. Not all chickens with a scissor beak are bullied, so keep a close eye on your flock to ensure no one is bullied. Remove the chicken from the flock and give her a separate living space if you notice any bullying.
Breeds to Avoid
While all breeds can have a scissor beak, Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, and Orpingtons are more prone to this deformity.
Caring for scissor beak in chickens may not be for the faint of heart, but the rewards of watching your handicapped hen enjoying a happy chicken life make the efforts worthwhile.
This article about scissor beak in chickens was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.
