Arizona Chickens

[Demosthine]

My wife are in a disagreement about several things and I'm more of a "let nature take it's course" person, so I was curious as to the general consensus here about them... I've come to trust a great many of you here, as opposed to the general person on the Forums.

- She keeps asking me to help her trim her Silkies' nails and has talked about trimming around the eyes so they can see better. I've never trimmed an animal's nails in my life. Is this really a problem with that particular breed? They are out free-ranging all day with the rest of the clan and I see them scratching.

- Our three largest hens, the Barred Rocks and Birchen Marans, have single combs that went floppy awhile ago. They all have good color and don't appear to be a problem, but she's been mentioning trimming those as well. From my understanding, though, once you trim them, they won't grow back. Who here trims the combs and why, other than for show reasons? How badly would trimming them affect their ability to cool themselves, as I know it's one mechanism in this process? With our extreme heat, I don't want that to be an issue. We don't get cold enough for a frostbitten comb to be of concern, though. It seems to be a very common question with absolutely no good answer amongst the other threads.

- Lastly, although it's not a concern at the moment, how do you remove the spurs? She mentioned twisting them off with pliers, others have said use a saw and someone mentioned using a hot potato. Any personal experiences?

 

[LadyKotaDoria]

Lesson learned, I'll never take a nap on your porch

Ha ha! Hey that beekeeping thing tomorrow, is that an outside event and is it a come and go sort of thing? Not sure if we're going yet, depends on a lot of things and a decision won't be able to be made until mere minutes before it starts. I don't want to be the guy that interrupts the class and has everyone stare at me.

It is inside, at 7:00, there is a presentation, fallowed by a social time. It last about 1-1/2. Hrs. You can ask questions and get to know other Beekeepers, share knowlage. I'm going to go, dues are $15.00 for calendar year. There is also a raffle.

 

[City farm]

I don't know which lady you are referring too, but I had nine chickens as of that picture, the fifteen (15) newer birds are all in a roost and run to teach them "where home is."  In this flock I have three Light Brahmas, one Dark Brahma, one Gold Brahma Bantam, two RIRs that seem to have a lot of EE in their genes, and two (surviving) White Leghorns.

ALSO, this is new ... I'm sure most communities have something like the Kingman Free Cycle. a post if you have or need something free ... Well, last week I saw an ad that was posted about re-homing a rooster that was born/hatched in December.  I wrote to the lady that offered it, and she said my letter was the best inquiry, and said I could have the rooster.  She wasn't sure what his genetic mix was, but he looks a lot like a barred Rock, with red under-feathers, so I am guessing RIR in there too.  He is currently residing in the isolation pen, he has small black spots on his comb, so I am taking no chances that he has something that may hurt the rest of the flock.

He IS gorgeous, he has a name, "Wings," but I have only been referring to him as "the Rooster," and he may get that changed.  His spurs are just small bumps right now, but they look like they had been ground, I hope not.

And he is out there now singing his little heart out.  I'll take and post pictures soon.

Skip

I thought I saw a Delaware in the photo.. We just got a light brahma. I did spell it wrong when I asked you what you had.. I was in a hurry yesterday..

 

[City farm]

My wife are in a disagreement about several things and I'm more of a "let nature take it's course" person, so I was curious as to the general consensus here about them...  I've come to trust a great many of you here, as opposed to the general person on the Forums.

 - She keeps asking me to help her trim her Silkies' nails and has talked about trimming around the eyes so they can see better.  I've never trimmed an animal's nails in my life.  Is this really a problem with that particular breed?  They are out free-ranging all day with the rest of the clan and I see them scratching.

 - Our three largest hens, the Barred Rocks and Birchen Marans, have single combs that went floppy awhile ago.  They all have good color and don't appear to be a problem, but she's been mentioning trimming those as well.  From my understanding, though, once you trim them, they won't grow back.  Who here trims the combs and why, other than for show reasons?  How badly would trimming them affect their ability to cool themselves, as I know it's one mechanism in this process?  With our extreme heat, I don't want that to be an issue.  We don't get cold enough for a frostbitten comb to be of concern, though.  It seems to be a very common question with absolutely no good answer amongst the other threads.

 - Lastly, although it's not a concern at the moment, how do you remove the spurs?  She mentioned twisting them off with pliers, others have said use a saw and someone mentioned using a hot potato.  Any personal experiences?

Being a newbie this is my 2cents...
NO on the comb
Maybe on the nails.. You can see the blood vein.. However I don't think it is needed.. Only in a case that they might be way to
long or twisted.. I guess you would have to be the judge of that.. If you kept them in a cage and they could not free range then I
could see you helping them because of confinement..

On the spurs, heard different things too.. Let's see what the old timers have to say.. On farms probably not.. But if I had a roo & he
was always trying to get us then maybe.. Our silkie roo has no spurs.. So we don't have to worry about getting slashed open.
Kent is funny every time I have caught him in my arms. My neighbor said when he went to check on the flock he kept on trying to
go after him.. With me I can tell when he is like " this is my flock & don't mess with them" I give him the talking to.. I also have a cage
I put him in it if I need to work in their run for a while.. That way I don't have to keep checking my back...

 

[MagicChicken]

Quote:

 

[countrygirl74]

My wife are in a disagreement about several things and I'm more of a "let nature take it's course" person, so I was curious as to the general consensus here about them... I've come to trust a great many of you here, as opposed to the general person on the Forums.

- She keeps asking me to help her trim her Silkies' nails and has talked about trimming around the eyes so they can see better. I've never trimmed an animal's nails in my life. Is this really a problem with that particular breed? They are out free-ranging all day with the rest of the clan and I see them scratching.

- Our three largest hens, the Barred Rocks and Birchen Marans, have single combs that went floppy awhile ago. They all have good color and don't appear to be a problem, but she's been mentioning trimming those as well. From my understanding, though, once you trim them, they won't grow back. Who here trims the combs and why, other than for show reasons? How badly would trimming them affect their ability to cool themselves, as I know it's one mechanism in this process? With our extreme heat, I don't want that to be an issue. We don't get cold enough for a frostbitten comb to be of concern, though. It seems to be a very common question with absolutely no good answer amongst the other threads.

- Lastly, although it's not a concern at the moment, how do you remove the spurs? She mentioned twisting them off with pliers, others have said use a saw and someone mentioned using a hot potato. Any personal experiences?

This is just my opinion...

NO on the comb

I don't trim the nails either except once on one of my roos who ripped one of my girls' sides open from mounting. He didn't have his spurs yet, so I knew it was his nails. Most of the time if they are allowed to scratch around, there is no need for this. They grind down their nails and beaks from scraping them on hard surfaces - dirt, rock, etc. I have a piece of flagstone in my run that one of their dishes sit on just for wiping their beaks or scratching on because I use deep litter method in their run - which isn't exactly hard enough for grinding down beaks or nails. But, even that's probably not necessary as they can easily wipe their beaks or scratch on the wood of their house, etc. They also get some supervised free-ranging daily.

Spurs - only if it's causing a problem. I would only remove on a rooster if it was a problem. And if you need to, do the pliers method. Make sure if you trim nails or do spurs that you have something to stop the bleeding just in case you have an issue.

Silkies - Feel free to trim their poofy head fluff, etc. if they seem to have trouble seeing. You can also trim the fluffy butts if you are doing any breeding. I have boring hatchery silkies that never get poofy enough to need a trim, but if they are having trouble seeing, definitely trim their "hair" back.

 

[MaddBaggins]

I don't even trim my dogs nails, nevermind the chicken nails.

 

[CrazyChixLady]

My wife are in a disagreement about several things and I'm more of a "let nature take it's course" person, so I was curious as to the general consensus here about them...  I've come to trust a great many of you here, as opposed to the general person on the Forums.

 - She keeps asking me to help her trim her Silkies' nails and has talked about trimming around the eyes so they can see better.  I've never trimmed an animal's nails in my life.  Is this really a problem with that particular breed?  They are out free-ranging all day with the rest of the clan and I see them scratching.

 - Our three largest hens, the Barred Rocks and Birchen Marans, have single combs that went floppy awhile ago.  They all have good color and don't appear to be a problem, but she's been mentioning trimming those as well.  From my understanding, though, once you trim them, they won't grow back.  Who here trims the combs and why, other than for show reasons?  How badly would trimming them affect their ability to cool themselves, as I know it's one mechanism in this process?  With our extreme heat, I don't want that to be an issue.  We don't get cold enough for a frostbitten comb to be of concern, though.  It seems to be a very common question with absolutely no good answer amongst the other threads.

 - Lastly, although it's not a concern at the moment, how do you remove the spurs?  She mentioned twisting them off with pliers, others have said use a saw and someone mentioned using a hot potato.  Any personal experiences?

The only reason that I said anything is because there was a bulletin on the main page of BYC. Had I never have seen or read that then I would never have mentioned anything.
Yesterday I did more reading, with you, and I said that there seems to be a difference of opinion from what I read before. I also said that there are many believe that it is a sign of dehydration.

So there.

 

[MagicChicken]

Got my first pullet egg from the Javas this afternoon. It's so tiny and CUTE! Here is is, next to a grown-up egg for comparison.

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

My wife are in a disagreement about several things and I'm more of a "let nature take it's course" person, so I was curious as to the general consensus here about them... I've come to trust a great many of you here, as opposed to the general person on the Forums.

- She keeps asking me to help her trim her Silkies' nails and has talked about trimming around the eyes so they can see better. I've never trimmed an animal's nails in my life. Is this really a problem with that particular breed? They are out free-ranging all day with the rest of the clan and I see them scratching.

- Our three largest hens, the Barred Rocks and Birchen Marans, have single combs that went floppy awhile ago. They all have good color and don't appear to be a problem, but she's been mentioning trimming those as well. From my understanding, though, once you trim them, they won't grow back. Who here trims the combs and why, other than for show reasons? How badly would trimming them affect their ability to cool themselves, as I know it's one mechanism in this process? With our extreme heat, I don't want that to be an issue. We don't get cold enough for a frostbitten comb to be of concern, though. It seems to be a very common question with absolutely no good answer amongst the other threads.

- Lastly, although it's not a concern at the moment, how do you remove the spurs? She mentioned twisting them off with pliers, others have said use a saw and someone mentioned using a hot potato. Any personal experiences?

On your question about Silkies. I do trim my silkies nails if need be. You may just need to trim the 2 extra toes as they tend to curl. I have one gal that has a slight cross beak that I trim with the dog clippers. I then use an emery board to round it out. Since I am not showing my girls I do trim their crests around their eyes so they can see. 3 of my silkies have extra fluffy crests. I only do this when they start to shake their head constantly. I have noticed that they keep their head to the ground when they cannot see well. This also means they do not know when a predator comes upon them (as I can scoop them up easily). When I trim the crest and sometimes under the eyes, they hold their head up and actually look around. Is funny to watch. Best to use baby nail scissors as not to accidentally poke their eye. I wrap the girls in a kitchen towel or a light baby blanket. Just tight enough so they don't flutter their wings. They will calm down and most enjoy the trimming experience.

If you need any assistance, maybe I can come out on one of my days off. It was very scary at first trimming, especially the beak.

Here is Vivian...she can see! ( got a nice trim)



Here is Lucille. Poor thing cannot see at all. Hard to see her cross beak. Before her trim. I do not have an after.