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Breaking a beak when it's not an emergency

Windy Ridge

Songster
12 Years
Oct 3, 2007
543
4
151
Appalachia
Just thought I'd throw this out for discussion:

I was starting to get rather worried about my Tillie. Her beak was getting rather long on the end. It was so thin on the very tip you could see right through it. It was as if it wasn't getting worn down enough. It wasn't interfering with her eating or drinking, but I saw that if it continued, it WOULD interfere. On the other hand, I didn't look forward to trimming her beak. It would be distressing to her (and to me, because she would be so upset!). None of my other birds seemed to have this problem with the extra-long beak.

Just when I was really beginning to worry, I noticed the end had chipped. Just a small, uneven chip. There was no blood (and I didn't expect there to be, because obviously the end was thin and didn't seem to have any vessels or quick in it). I noticed later that she was pecking away at one of the foundation stones of the cellar house. A few days later, her beak seemed to be the same length as the other hens' beaks. She's evidently trimmed it herself.

Has anyone else had an experience like this? Does anyone have a chicken whose beak has to be manually trimmed (aside from a crossbeak)? Just curious. I was a bit worried that the end would crack and the crack would carry into the main part of her beak, and that it would be painful for her. I'm so glad she took care of it for me!

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Yes, our Whitey roo always had a really long beak...he looked like a raptor sometimes! We used to wonder if we should trim it, but never did; same as you, he seemed to take care of it himself; it would get shorter or be broken on the end, but we never saw what he was trimming int on! Then it would grow out again.We never noticed it really interfering with his eating much.
 
I constantly trim my silkies beaks and Nails I use small dog nail clippers.
I have never cut to far back and they have never bleed.
I also take a nail file and file them so they are smooth.
I have 60 Silkies and I let them free range by color.
Some out front some out back. So each color only gets out about 3 times a week.
My birds could care less, clipping/trimming causes NO stress what so ever.
 

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