Chicken nails

[ksmama97]

I am having a problem with one of my chickens' nails. She is a Buff Orpington and is about 10 months old. She has been outside free-ranging for about 8-9 months. They have lots of room to scratch (and spend most of their time doing that). There have been a few times this winter that the weather was so bad I didn't let them out of the coop (it's about 1.5' X 4') I did put corn and sunflower seeds down in the coop to encourage scratching during those times though.
So back to my Buff. I noticed today that her nails are so long that her toes are curling to the side. I feel so bad! I thought that they would keep their nails worn down on their own. I plan on trimming a tiny bit each week until they are like her sisters'.
Any idea why her nails are so long? Will I always have to trim her, or do you think she will get it under control on her own?
Thanks for any help!

Leigh

 

[hooligan]

We have two bantam hens that are that way too. I had to clip them down last month and they seem to be scratching alot more now. Maybe clipping them will do the trick and you won't have to do it again. These were also the only two chickens out of 15 that had leg mites too...

 

[ksmama97]

Thanks!

Would the fact that it's been pretty moist here lately make a difference? Maybe when the ground dries out it will help.