LONG LONG toenails!!!!!!

[tmpshrty96]

okso we just bought some new bantams from an auction. i think they are bb red dutch bantams. we got 3 hens and 1 rooster and all of them have like super long claws and it kinda makes there feet look deformed but they can still walk good and stuff. what would cause something like this? and how do i fix it or will they just file them down thierselves? and the roosters spurs are as long as my pinky finger...ma b longer(no exageration)!!!!! this rooster must be really old right??

 

[Mahlzeit]

If they were raised on wire their nails wouldn't be worn off. When they get to scratch in the grass and dirt they are able to keep their nails from getting too long. So more than likely they have lived in wire bottomed coops. You can clip them like you would a dog. Just like a dog though make sure you don't clip too much of it or it will bleed like crazy.

About their age if he has long spurs more than likely he is more than just a few years old.

 

[Lady_Cluck]

Claws? I assume you mean toenails? The nail just grows like any nail does. Most chickens that are out and about scratching in the dirt wear their toenails down naturally. Perhaps the birds that you bought did not have the opportunity. Although, all of mine are out and about scratching all day long and some still need their toenails clipped from time to time!

So, every now and then, while they are all perched and ready for bed, I make sure to take note of the toes sticking out from under feathers and give pedicures to any bird that needs it!

To trim the nails, you can use human nail clippers (the large kind for toenails) or buy a pair of dog toenail clippers (safer, I think, and that is what I use). Only clip off the very end of the nail; any farther up is the “quick” – the vein that supplies blood to the nail (just like a cat or dog). Have some corn starch ready to stop any bleeding just in case. I always make sure to have it on hand, even though after all of these years I still haven’t cropped a toe nail close enough to cause bleeding. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

I’m not sure about the spurs telling the age of the bird. He could just have really long spurs. Although, I do have an 8 year old Phoenix rooster who has spurs that are so long they curl right back around and come within half an inch of his leg. I'm sure the sharp point would actually and eventually touch his leg, but I clip it back frequently just so it doesn’t happen!

I hope that helps! Good luck.

 

[SeralTaooke]

I've been wondering- you know how chicken's nails aren't round, like a dog's, but are scooped? How would you file down the sides of the nail? My aussie hen is the only one who does enough mulch displacement to really wear them down, and they are still kind of wide.