Sharp muscovy duckling nails

[Rachele anne]

I have five muscovy ducklings about 10 days old and their toe nails are very sharp I have alot of poke and scratch marks from them climbing on me and in me hands... can I file or clip them or what can I do

 

[Miss Lydia]

I have five muscovy ducklings about 10 days old and their toe nails are very sharp I have alot of poke and scratch marks from them climbing on me and in me hands... can I file or clip them or what can I do

You can but be careful of the quick[sp] they bleed alot if you hit it. Flour or quick stop will help it stop. Heavy gloves and long sleeve jackets or shirts will help too.

 

[Rachele anne]

Thank you

 

[Going Quackers]

Basically just keep covered lol i find that is the best method with scovies as ML says you can trim, or file but that is awfully tricky. It's the most common complaint, their nails i have actually watched ones as young as a few days climb using those they are very talented with them.

 

[Buck Oakes]

Oh my gosh muscovy 'talons' are the worst i say talons' because they're so freakin sharp!!!! and here's the reason.

Baby muscovies in the wild are usually born in trees and don't follow their mom out of the nest for the first few days. then when they leave the nest ( which is in a tree by the way) they follow their mom out onto the branch and while she flies down, they fall. See the talons help them not fall then, but thats not truly the reason they have them ( sorry if this is taking long just putting in the insight ) while they live on the ground and before they can fly, their little nails can be used as a defense against predators like fish, they just scratch its face when the fish comes up for a nip and they don't even know they scratch the fish's face because all their doing is swimming , and then they develop sharper nails while going into their juvenile stage because as soon as they can fly, they need those nails to grasp to trees and stuff. And yes i think you can clip them but i would only to the very tip because of what miss lydia said about that blood spot, just get the little sharp part and they should be fine. ( sorry i don't think is very helpful but its just some insight of 'why' they have them)

 

[Buck Oakes]

and if you want i can post pics of what scratch spook like when their adults, i mean mine don't mean to do it they just don't know that their nails are that sharp, because its usually when they try to fly up on my back !

 

[Rachele anne]

Ok lol you can post if u would like