long toenails

[mcjweb]

I have a chicken with bad feet and walks on her ankles. My question is can i trim her toenails they are about 1 1/2 inches long and she is pecking at them regularly..thanks

 

[TwoCrows]

Yes you can. However you need to watch for the blood vein which tends to be really close to the end of the nail on long claws.

Get yourself some of those guillotine dog claw trimmers if you have them, as they will keep the claw from splintering. Also, gather up a towel and a box of cornstarch to stop any bleeding. Cornstarch works best, but flour will also work.

Towel up the bird with feet out and lay them on your lap on their back. Just trim off no more than 1/16 of an inch. If it starts to bleed, take a pinch of the cornstarch and pack on to the tip of the nail right on the blood. It will stop the bleeding. Do this to all the claws. Before letting them loose, make sure their is no big bleeding going on. They don't bleed long. Just leave the bird in your lap for a few minutes and the blood should stop.

Be careful not too trim too much to prevent a big blood loss. If you feel they are still too long, repeat this process once a week until the desired length of nail is reached. Each week the blood vein will recede up the nail, but always be ready with the cornstarch.