Toes and Beaks on 7 Week Olds

Beccatrix said:

Thanks! You'd think I'd know better, with all the drama. One lady is basically accusing me of nearly killing them for treatment for coccidiosis after we saw a vet (and I definitely consulted here!). I also have some Wyandottes that seem SO small at 7 weeks, but they seem overall healthy. I still worry.

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No way, you are doing everything right! I can tell that your chickies are very loved. They look to be about the right size to me. Try not to worry so much, you’re doing great.

Not seeing anything that stands out in their environment that would cause it. Looks nice, clean, spacious, good roosting. Don't you wish sometimes that you could be like Dr. Dolittle and they could just verbally tell you what's going on

JustBabyMargo said:

No way, you are doing everything right! I can tell that your chickies are very loved. They look to be about the right size to me. Try not to worry so much, you’re doing great.

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I find them very soothing!

CFLRanching said:

Not seeing anything that stands out in their environment that would cause it. Looks nice, clean, spacious, good roosting. Don't you wish sometimes that you could be like Dr. Dolittle and they could just verbally tell you what's going on

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Thanks! I always have wished that, but I just ordered guinea keets and now I'm thinking teleportation!

Oh, man. I left that FB post up. Along with undernourished and never treat coccidiosis, I was also told they're pale and sickly.

Beccatrix said:

I find them very soothing!

Thanks! I always have wished that, but I just ordered guinea keets and now I'm thinking teleportation!

Oh, man. I left that FB post up. Along with undernourished and never treat coccidiosis, I was also told they're pale and sickly.

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My reaction to your post was before I read the final sentence! Argh, people.

Please do not trim beaks. It IS painful. They are not toenails.

Beak trimming, used to avoid feather pecking, is common practice in the poultry industry [37]. However, as the beak contains numerous nerve endings, this is likely both painful and stressful [37]. This has led some countries to implement bans on beak trimming.

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From:
Sophisticated Fowl

SourRoses said:

Please do not trim beaks. It IS painful. They are not toenails.


From:
Sophisticated Fowl

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Is that extra little point likely to keep growing and or interfere with eating?

Beccatrix said:

Is that extra little point likely to keep growing and or interfere with eating?

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Who knows... but if it does it would be more compassionate to humanely cull than to maim an animal in a sensory area.

SourRoses said:

Please do not trim beaks. It IS painful. They are not toenails.


From:
Sophisticated Fowl

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I really don’t want to offend you, but trimming a chicken’s beak is not painful when done right. They are actually very similar to toenails. That little bit of extra that is hanging off of her chick’s beaks wouldn’t even bleed if the OP were to trim it off correctly. I have to trim down my crossbeak’s beaks all the time, and it would only really hurt them if I was to trim back into the quick (the part containing all the blood). It’s a lot like this: (not my image)
Any extra clear part on the beak or toenails of a chicken can be trimmed off. It is a bit tricky to see exactly where, or how far back you can actually trim, so it would always be smart to ask here first, especially if it is your first time.

Beccatrix said:

Is that extra little point likely to keep growing and or interfere with eating?

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OP, if your chicks are still eating fine, I would leave their beaks alone. That little extra tip will most likely fall off, or they will grind their beaks down themselves. I wouldn’t mess with it unless it was causing a problem.

JustBabyMargo said:

I really don’t want to offend you, but trimming a chicken’s beak is not painful when done right. They are actually very similar to toenails.

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Did you read the study?
It's about nerves, not blood. Chickens use their beaks to experience their environment - they are a sensory appendage.

Compare it to cutting a cats whiskers. They won't bleed but it will absolutely hurt them. Contacting objects with blunt whisker stubble will also continue to hurt them. Because Nerves.

SourRoses said:

Please do not trim beaks. It IS painful. They are not toenails.


From:
Sophisticated Fowl

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Wrong kind of beak trimming. In commercial settings, the upper beaks of battery hens are cut way back to prevent pecking, etc. Trimming the end of an overgrown beak for the backyard owner is different and can actually be necessary in severe overgrowth situations. A couple times, like when I had a broody or when I had a house rooster temporarily, I had to trim their beaks because they got so long as to interfere with eating. You just take off the very end, like a fingernail. Not extreme like in some commercial setups.

@Beccatrix
I'm wondering if it's a vitamin deficiency. Did you recently move them or switch feed? It seems pretty coincidental for both chicks to be having the same problem. Could be genetics or a problem during incubation - but that would necessitate them being from the same oatents and incubated together. Could be, though. Just throwing out ideas....