Laura007 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 henno nails are getting quite long, so paul thought it would be a good idea to give them a manicure. just as i said be careful there are vessels "clip" in there toe nails. as blood started gushing............................................ now i have to say at this point that it was the tiniest of clip, we are talking about 1 or 2mm at most, the blood was like a torrent. tissues and kitchen towel pressing on her nail for what seemed like an age before it started to slow down. she didnt seem to bothered by the whole shinnanigans, but i tell you what, please be careful if you try and trim the nails, it came as a real shock just how much blood there was. we put her in the kitchen (nice cool tiled floor) and gave her some corn and she pottered around wondering what all the fuss was about. i dont think we will be doing that again in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlottechicken Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Oh my goodness I hope you are over the shock now and Henno is OK? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 we have a budgie and they have blood vessels in their toe nails too- we used to take our last budgie to the vet to have his nails done as budgies only have about a teaspoon of blood in their whole body, one slip with the clippers and it could be curtains. this one's nails just seem to wear down naturally as he has wooden perches so we've never had to have his done. keep a very close eye on her as it sounds like she's lost a lot of blood. Will she eat stuff with iron in like brocolli or spinach? just to give her a bit of a boost due to the blood loss. and do you have something to put on the cut end of the nail, some sort of antiseptic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura007 Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 she seems fine, i think it looked alot worse than it was. she has stuffed her face with apricots and hot porridge and is currently trotting off to bed. so all appears to ok. phew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERTIE MCSQUIRTY Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 my local farmer nipped in yesterday to see my oh, (he farms arable, and used to keep shed loads of chickens which free ranged) anyway whilst looking at the run he told me to put 2 rough slabs in as this will keep the nails down of the chickens, so i have done this at the door of the coop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 we had terriers for 25 years and I always used to clip their nails. Occasionally I trimmed then too far back and it bled. it never caused any lasting problems. I've never done the girls nails because they've never got long enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 We have cockatiels, and were advised by the vet never to clip their claws, and to use natural ways to 'file' them down. As others have suggested, rough slabs would be ideal for the chickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura007 Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 have no fear we wont be doing it again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 It;s the same with cats - I'd never clip their claws either, after hearing horror stories about cats bleeding to death after having their veins clipped. Patio slabs have a multitude of uses! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madchook Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 If you were to do it again (lol, doubt you will) have some cornflour ready and you can dip he nail in it -apparently helps it clot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I once trimmed a guinea pigs nail too short. The blood loss was torrential.. It is very alarming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Hope you have recovered from the trauma Laura! Sounds like she already has! I've got loads of paving slabs - think I'll be moving a couple tomorrow. Good idea that, I worry about something digging into their run, and they are busily tunnelling out Slabs will block their escape attempts and keep the claws down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superjules Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 ....budgies only have about a teaspoon of blood in their whole body, one slip with the clippers and it could be curtains. Sorry Poet, had to laugh at that!! I've heard of using a silver nitrate pen for this purpose but no idea what they are or where you get them from!! I use a silver gel pen for writing out my christmas cards but don't think it's the same somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aunty e Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Ah, but with cats' claws you can see where the blood vessels are. I have to do Dilly, as she is a bit 'special' and never really learnt that claws hurt humans. My girls scratch about on the patio quite a bit, and their claws seem to be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Hubby gives Jethro's back claws a manicure every now & then. We have some special clippers with a notch in them to do it. I'm not so brave, I won't go near Jethro- he's a big baby really! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Laura - as your farmer said, they generally shouldn't need doing if they can scratch on a hard surface. I do the bunnies claws about 4 times a year and always have a bar of soft soap handy in case I clip the quick - just rake the nail across the bar of soap and it plugs it up. I agree, the amount of blood is shocking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 ....I've heard of using a silver nitrate pen for this purpose but no idea what they are or where you get them from!! I use a silver gel pen for writing out my christmas cards but don't think it's the same somehow. Nope, I don't think it is the same either. But the 'stiptic pencil' that blokes sometimes use to stop bleeding from shaving nicks might work for small nicks - but not if there's much flow. It seems to me that basically bodies are made to heal up, and nails break, get trapped etc. so they will heal - its not like its a major artery you're chopping! Unless of course you've got a haemophiliac chicken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lozkate Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 I often think about clipping Finlay's (black labrador) nails somewhere in the neck region!! Seriously, what's the general guidance on keeping nail growth in check? Is it necessary even to think about it? Mine free range a lot and scratch around the garden. They don't have patio slabs to walk on. Loz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura007 Posted December 5, 2007 Author Share Posted December 5, 2007 ....I've heard of using a silver nitrate pen for this purpose but no idea what they are or where you get them from!! I use a silver gel pen for writing out my christmas cards but don't think it's the same somehow. Nope, I don't think it is the same either. But the 'stiptic pencil' that blokes sometimes use to stop bleeding from shaving nicks might work for small nicks - but not if there's much flow. It seems to me that basically bodies are made to heal up, and nails break, get trapped etc. so they will heal - its not like its a major artery you're chopping! Unless of course you've got a haemophiliac chicken. its not an artery, but its an awful lot of blood that spews all over everywhere. if i had known about all the remidies for stopping the blood ie cornflour and soap, i would have had them on hand to stem the flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 ISeriously, what's the general guidance on keeping nail growth in check? Is it necessary even to think about it? Mine free range a lot and scratch around the garden. They don't have patio slabs to walk on. Loz I've had hens for the past four and a half years and have not clipped a nail yet. Mine don't have paving slabs to walk on, but do scratch in the earth and stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foreveryoung Posted December 7, 2007 Share Posted December 7, 2007 corn flour is supposed to be good for slowing doen the bleed! well thats what my mum used to use! you dip their nail in it (not feed it to them) xxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...