flamingo Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Does anyone have experience of clipping chickens' toenails? I recently bought a rather unkempt 17 week old bantam Light Sussex whose toenails are long and a bit curved. I'm letting her free range, in the hope that this will be enough to trim them down, but think they may stop her scratching around properly. Can I trim them myself or is it a job for the vet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Pass on the chook toenails.......... but you have reminded me to go & give my choccy lab a pedicure, thank you The other two walk the same places as her but they don't need regular pedicures...why is this?! I'd have thought if you can wrap her in a towel to stop her flapping, hold her steady & just trim a small length of the claw you would be ok, be very careful not to trim too much though, I think they are like dog nails & bleed like a stuck pig if you trim them too short Should the worst happen & you do make it bleed I think corn flour will stop the flow..though if that's not right someone please correct me...... Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
katieD Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 exactly right- if they are clear you will see the quick- be careful as when the nails get longer the blood supply grows further down the nail, just take a bit off at a time- i wouldnt bother with the vets- its definately a DIY job as the vet can see as much as you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Use some dog nail clippers, and just nibble tiny bits away at a time. A bit of sandpaper will smooth things off. If you do nick the blood vessel. apply soap, it will stop the bleeding. I'd see how she goes with the free ranging first though.......it might be enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanTheDiver Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 This is helpful to me too as I was only thinking about their claw lengths yesterday Ours do spend a lot to time free ranging but not on hard surfaces though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CluckyBucks Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I took one of my hens to the vets to have her toenails clipped, they ended up catching a blood vessel and they gave her a blood clot so we went back and they sorted her out. shes fine now xx xx P.s, put down rocks and things if you havent already, this is like a nail file Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alet_chicken Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Hi, I regularly clip the toenails of one of my legbars, as her outside toes are a bit crooked and the nails don't wear down as they should. I do it with our own (human) nail clipper (don't tell the OH ). It is quite a big clipper as nail clippers go (I think it's meant for toenails, excuse the pun), but it is more than up to the job. I do it at night, as our Madge is quite a flighty one, and impossible to catch or handle by day. If it helps, I hold her with one arm against my body, with her back against me and her head tucked under my elbow, and do the honours with the other hand. I agree with the others on just taking a bit off at a time. When I did it last week, I managed to nick the blood vessel on one of her claws for the first time. The amount of blood was a bit scary and more than what my pre-prepared bit of kitchen towel could handle. However, by the time I'd (1) locked Madge in the Eglu (2) ran into the house to get some flour (3) closed the back door (4) ran back to retrieve Madge, the bleeding had all but stopped. (All this rigmarole is necessary because we have two crazy greyhounds who, erm, love our chickens for all the wrong reasons.) Something else, I was surprised to note that she did not flinch, and showed no indication of being in pain. Maybe this was because it did not register in the general stress of being handled? I don't know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chook n Boo Mum Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Should the worst happen & you do make it bleed I think corn flour will stop the flow..though if that's not right someone please correct me...... Sha x I can categorically confirm that corn flour does indeed stop the flow on a choccy labrador's toe nail ...poor little mite, I nicked one & it bleed like crazy til DS found the cornflour in the cupboard..she just took advantage of the extra attention Sha x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Generally speaking, you shouldn't need to do them, but if you do, please be very careful as it's easy to nick the quick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flamingo Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 Thanks for replies everyone. Will see how she goes with the free ranging for a while - she seems to be able to scratch around so hopefully they'll wear down a bit and I won't need to clip them, but will go carefully if I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
