Cross Beaks ????

[jeeperspeepers-r4us]

I got 6 Ameraucan Blue hens of unknown orgin.
I put a lavender rooster over those hens( I know now that was wrong so please don\'t chastize me for that mistake)
Out of the mating there was some cross beaks. It was my understanding that that came from both the hens and the rooster to get a gene from each to get the cross beak. I removed that rooster, waited 4 weeks and put in a Blue rooster that came from Jean\'s flock. Now I have some 4 week old chicks and still have a few cross beaks.
Not as many % wise.
So where is cross beak coming from? I have 9 other breeds, none produce cross beaks. They all get the same feed, incubate together & hatch together.

[Mike Gilbert]

I don\'t know exactly how the genetics work, but crossed beaks are fairly common among both araucanas and ameraucanas.   It may go back to their junglefowl/pheasant ancestry.   While I have not really studied this, I believe it only takes one parent plus a certain combination of unknown genetics to produce the deformity.   Wish I had a better answer for you.

[jeeperspeepers-r4us]

I knew I had a problem with the Lavender, but I thought if I replaced him I would only have 1 gene and would not get the cross beaks. I\'m going to try to find the hen that is producing the flaw and cull her.
Thanks for the responce Mike
In so much as it is common rather than a rarity, then I could just cull them.

[Mike Gilbert]

I hope you did not misunderstand what I was saying.  There are plenty of strains of Ameraucanas that probably never throw a crossed beak.   My L.F. Brown reds never had, then this year I had just one - out of around 30  - where just the tips of the mandibles are crossed.   But this strain is fairly inbred, so suspect that is the main reason.  Don\'t give up on the breed because one strain has a problem.

[jerryse]

I had a problem with the first lavender/split birds I got about 4 years ago.Every time I got lavender it had a crossed beak.I have got past that and have some nice young lavender bantams .I still get one now and then but mostly in blacks out of lavender project.Cull heavily and you should see improvement.  Jerry

[John]

Cull heavily

This fancy is not for everyone.  I have customers and other people ask about crossed beaks and what to do.  The best answer is to kill them.  Cull if you prefer.  I don\'t like to put them down.  Name calling just doesn\'t help.
The other day a lady told me about one she has (from a commercial hatchery) and of course she feeds it a special mash, since all her chickens die a natural death. :stare:
These are animals.  I believe it is wrong to torture any living creature, but killing animals is part of life.

[jeeperspeepers-r4us]

Culling is a personal thing.
one must decide to kill, give away or seperate from breed stock.
I don\'t have a place for such a bird, but feel it is my business what I do with it.
I also don\'t want to offend anyones feelings on this subject.

[eliz]

There is much i need to learn still, but looked up everything i could on the topic. Nutrition could play a small part but the majority pointed to inbreeding. considering the lavenders are so new there probably is quite a bit of that. What has been said previously makes sense, Cull heavily, and out cross the best you can.
I had a Black/lavender last year, and one lavender this year with crossed beak, both died. eliz

[Beth C]

I fall somewhere in between on animals. My pets mean the world to me and I\'ll go to the mat for them. But my chickens aren\'t pets. That said, I don\'t object to someone keeping one as a pet if that\'s what they want, but I think once the lady John was referring to experiences the \"natural death\" part, she may feel differently. I hatched one this year. The crossed beak wasn\'t obvious immediately, and since it was eating & growing by the time I noticed it, I left it be. It appeared to be a pullet, so I figured it could still be a layer. It didn\'t end well, and in hindsight, it would have been more humane to have just killed it in the beginning...

[Mike Gilbert]

There is one other thing to consider by those who may be inclined to sell or give away birds with any physical deformity.   The person who ends up with such a bird may either knowingly and irresponsibly or from lack of knowledge breed from it, thus perpetuating the problem.     That being the case, there are only two responsible choices:  (1) keep  the bird, or (2) dispose of it humanely.     Since my feed bill is already high enough I choose the latter.    I think the main points of John\'s post are that chickens are not humans, we have been put here on earth as stewards of all we have,  and that we should not be practicing anthropomorphism.   That being said, I see nothing wrong with keeping a cross beaked chicken strictly as a pet and/or egg layer.

[Beth C]

Got what John meant, just not touching that one with a 10 foot pole - the only thing that will tick someone off faster than telling them what to do with something that belongs to them is telling them how they should feel about it.

I think we all agree, if you have something with a serious defect, you have an obligation to the breed and other hobbyists to ensure it will never reproduce. But how to go about that is a personal decision. In making my decisions, I do give a lot of consideration to the opinions of people with more experience - my Dad told me once, \"Don\'t try things other people have already proven don\'t work.\" Some of the best advice I ever got. But, ultimately, if you own it, and it\'s your time & money invested in it, it\'s your decision what to do with it.

[Mike Gilbert]

On the subject of sound advice, some of the best I have received is as follows:  \"There are only two ways that people learn.   One is with words, the other is pain.\"   If only we could get our children to accept that!   Incidentally, this advice came from Pastor Mark Jeske, whose \"Time of Grace\" television program is broadcast internationally.   We seldom miss it.

[John]

a 10 foot pole

I had one once...but cut it in half

[Beth C]

\"There are only two ways that people learn.   One is with words, the other is pain.\"

That was my mother\'s line, \"If you don\'t listen, you have to feel.\" Generally this either followed an injury from something she\'d told me not to do, or preceded a swat on the behind...  

[Jean]

I got 6 Ameraucan Blue hens of unknown orgin.
I put a lavender rooster over those hens( I know now that was wrong so please don\'t chastize me for that mistake)
Out of the mating there was some cross beaks. It was my understanding that that came from both the hens and the rooster to get a gene from each to get the cross beak. I removed that rooster, waited 4 weeks and put in a Blue rooster that came from Jean\'s flock. Now I have some 4 week old chicks and still have a few cross beaks.
Not as many % wise.
So where is cross beak coming from? I have 9 other breeds, none produce cross beaks. They all get the same feed, incubate together & hatch together.

Since you changed to cock bird, I would be more inclined to think that it is one of your hens that is producing the crossed beak chicks and you should do some test matings on individual birds to see who is producing the deformity.