overgrown claws and beaks

[Lellyjelly]

I have just (this evening!) inherited 18 bantams of various breeds, from a man whose father kept them, then died. He has not been very interested in them (since August, when his Dad died) but has continued to feed them. They were kept inside a small shed, in cages of two or three at a time. I have an Eglu Cube and a walk in run and have put them all in together this evening, with fingers crossed. One looks pretty sick and I have her in the kitchen in a cat crate with straw overnight tonight.
There appear to be 4 cockerels amongst them!.
My question is, how much can I trim off their VERY overgrown claws, do I need to do it in stages or all at once?
And can I trim their beaks? A couple of them have very long beaks, not sure how they can peck, to be honest, but they all had a go at the grass when they arrived.
I plan to get up early and take them out one by one to trim claws (and beaks if that's a thing) and clip wings, as they will hopefully be free range in a month or two.
Any advice please? In a mild state of panic, as I wasn't expecting so many, nor for them to be so unkempt! I have had rescue commercial hens before, but not had these problems!

 

[Sequel]

Bless your heart for taking them on! Yes they can be trimmed but take care to do a little at a time. I’ve never done break trimming but I’ve seen it done. There again a little at a time. I’m sure someone with more experience will comment shortly. Good luck!

 

[Mrs. K]

Do it at night, in the dark, with a flashlight on your head. They will be much calmer.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Somebody, I think @casportpony , just posted a photo and comments on beak trimming.

If you could post a photo of two it might help us some.

I don't trim beaks. When I trim claws I use a Dremel tool and one of those discs you use for cutting metal. Some people use a Dremel tool and a grinding bit to gradually take them back. Some people use dog nail clippers. Different ways to go about it.

The claws have a quick. If you cut into that quick it will bleed some. On the few times I've cut into it the bleeding wasn't much, just a few drops. Some people say it's a lot when they cut the quick. It's probably a good idea to have some flour or corn starch handy to stop the bleeding, but I've never used it.

There is no set length of how far down the quick goes. Usually if I take off no more than 1/4 of the claw I do not get into the quick.

Forgot to add, I wrap them in a towel. around the wings. Keeps them pretty calm. Even when I nicked the quick the rooster did not flinch.

 

[Lellyjelly]

Do it at night, in the dark, with a flashlight on your head. They will be much calmer.

Maybe tomorrow evening then, I'm all crashed out tonight!

 

[Lellyjelly]

Somebody, I think @casportpony , just posted a photo and comments on beak trimming.

If you could post a photo of two it might help us some.

I don't trim beaks. When I trim claws I use a Dremel tool and one of those discs you use for cutting metal. Some people use a Dremel tool and a grinding bit to gradually take them back. Some people use dog nail clippers. Different ways to go about it.

The claws have a quick. If you cut into that quick it will bleed some. On the few times I've cut into it the bleeding wasn't much, just a few drops. Some people say it's a lot when they cut the quick. It's probably a good idea to have some flour or corn starch handy to stop the bleeding, but I've never used it.

There is no set length of how far down the quick goes. Usually if I take off no more than 1/4 of the claw I do not get into the quick.

Forgot to add, I wrap them in a towel. around the wings. Keeps them pretty calm. Even when I nicked the quick the rooster did not flinch.

I have dog claw clippers and there is a little grinding attachment, but I think they're going to need the clippers rather than grinding. Sounds similar to clipping the dogs' claws, so I should be able to manage that. I'll try and get photos tomorrow, they've all gone to bed now!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Beaks and claws can both be trimmed with a dog nail clipper, principal is same on both. Be more careful with beaks as they can split - I'd clip only the very tip, then use an emery board to file and shape it. Just as with a dog with overgrown nails, it'll take time to work them back to where they need to be.

 

[Lellyjelly]

Somebody, I think @casportpony , just posted a photo and comments on beak trimming.

If you could post a photo of two it might help us some.

I don't trim beaks. When I trim claws I use a Dremel tool and one of those discs you use for cutting metal. Some people use a Dremel tool and a grinding bit to gradually take them back. Some people use dog nail clippers. Different ways to go about it.

The claws have a quick. If you cut into that quick it will bleed some. On the few times I've cut into it the bleeding wasn't much, just a few drops. Some people say it's a lot when they cut the quick. It's probably a good idea to have some flour or corn starch handy to stop the bleeding, but I've never used it.

There is no set length of how far down the quick goes. Usually if I take off no more than 1/4 of the claw I do not get into the quick.

Forgot to add, I wrap them in a towel. around the wings. Keeps them pretty calm. Even when I nicked the quick the rooster did not flinch.

 

[centrarchid]

A little dingle berry action too. Do not forget a comfortable chair to sit in while servicing the bill and claws. The dingle berries need to be soften which can be done by have the birds stand on a wet surface for a few hours.

 

[skytopbantams]

Use a large fingernail clipper to trim the beak.As you can see the bird in the picture shown above beak is so long I am surprised it can still eat. (I know that's not your bird) When clipping the beak make SURE you either keep beak completely closed or open the beak and keep you finger over the tongue making sure tongue does not get cut. You can trim the top of the beak to a little bit over the bottom. I usually clip it off straight and the clip the sides to shape it to its natural shape. Sometimes that is not needed. As for fingernails you can usually see the quick but sometimes they will bleed even when you thought you didn't take that much. Some birds you can take alot off others will bleed. If you have one bleed it usually stops pretty quick once they are put down on the ground. I haven't had any bleed for long. I raise show chickens so they need to be done often as its frowned upon if you have a long beaked or long toe nailed bird.i have sadly seen birds extremely thin because their beak was so long .They are not parrots and don't use their beak like a caged bird so sadly they suffer as it's hard to get food in with a beak so overgrown. You can do thisthe more experience you get the easier it becomes. Some birds never need beak trimming depends on the bird & its habits. Good luck.