How do you trim nails for showing?

[mycutekitties]

Fair is in 2 weeks and I need to trim some nails. My pullet has VERY long toe nails. What do I use? How long do they need to be?

 

[pennie1]

I just use regular fingernail clippers and then if there are any jagged edges I will file them down with an emory board. Just like our own nails.

 

[Sumatra503]

Trim them about a week before the fair using fingernail trimmers or regular dog trimmers.

Look for the quick. It will be a pink area at the base of the nail. Trim as close to the quick as possible, but be careful not to quick them. They will bleed, but not to death. Just have some cornstarch or stiptic powder ready. The nails should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch long depending on the size of the bird.

If you trim them between now and a week before the fair the rough edges should be nice and smooth naturally without needing to file them.

Don't forget about those beaks and spurs. Spurs just need the sharp tip trimmed off for the safety of you and the judge.

To trim long beaks just trim the top half of the beak so that it is the same length as the bottom half. The bottom half does not need trimmed.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

BY far, the easiest way is to get one of those "Pedi-paws" pet nail filer. Petco probably has them. They are like a little dremel tool, and you don't have to worry about cutting to far, and they shape the nail nicely too!!

 

[Sumatra503]

I've never thought of using those pedipaws things.

My nail trimmer have a guard on them, so I can't cut to far.

 

[SunnyCalifornia]

They work awesome! Nails and spurs!

 

[Sumatra503]

What about beaks? I bet it would work well.

Mostly my birds don't need the nail or beak trimming since they scratch in the dirt, but they always need the spur trimming.

 

[Diamante]

I bought a manicure nail drill at the grocery store that works great on my chickens beaks. I plan on using it to round off the nails to make them look neater at shows. Can i use that drill for the spurs too? How far can you cut them off? Im clueless when it comes to spurs. Thanks for any help.

 

[mycutekitties]

Thanks for all the imput!

 

[Black Cochin Bantams]

I use a high quality dog nail trimmer that I ground the stop off of. It works well on nails and spurs. I use a fingernail trimmer for the beak