Really really long toenails

Tacampbell1973 · Sep 8, 2013

So I got a hen a few weeks ago at auction. A sort of goofy Polish Crested hen. Well okay shes really goofy. But what concerns me the most is that I don't know how old she is but she has got toenails on her that could slice your arm off. So I got to wondering how do chickens keep their toenails short? Digging? None of my other birds have long nails. I know with domestic birds like parakeets they have sandpaper on their perches but this bird doesn't perch longenough to matter. So does this mean she is really old? Consequently her toes are all mangly looking like they have arthritis. My husband and I were thinking that maybe she had been caged for most of her life. Any thoughts onthis?

cypressdrake · Sep 8, 2013

Just by what your saying I would think your right about her being caged and old. If the toe nails are too long they will make the toes deform a bit. I seen this once before. I would use a pedi paw like I use for trimming my dogs nails down. It's a lil hand grinder thats battery operated. or beak trimmers work good. . This lil tool is good for trimming spers down as well.
If its not laying much anymore she may be an old battery hen someone kept in a small cage just for eggs. This is sad, but it happens a lot to chickens. wish I could have seen a pic so I could tell you a better opinion. Good luck with her.

Tacampbell1973 · Sep 9, 2013

cypressdrake said:
Just by what your saying I would think your right about her being caged and old. If the toe nails are too long they will make the toes deform a bit. I seen this once before. I would use a pedi paw like I use for trimming my dogs nails down. It's a lil hand grinder thats battery operated. or beak trimmers work good. . This lil tool is good for trimming spers down as well.
If its not laying much anymore she may be an old battery hen someone kept in a small cage just for eggs. This is sad, but it happens a lot to chickens. wish I could have seen a pic so I could tell you a better opinion. Good luck with her.

Cypress drake, thank you for your reply. I absolutely love Louisiana and hope to see it in person some day. As far as the Polish hen, I am including a pic but dont know how good it is. She is a real skittish bird and it seems she has had little interaction with other birds. Of course it doesn't help that my three young roos come at her like a drunk prom date. I try to keep her separate at feed times and taking everything else really slow and patient with her. I am committed to giving her the kind of life she should have had before... thanks again.