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I have a Polish chicken who is a bit..."slow". I trim her head feathers but she still does not seem to see well. She gets by but is not as active as the rest of my flock. I think these are the reasons why her beak sometimes gets a bit long. Same is true for her toenails So, I trim them about 2x/year. It is very easy to do with dog nail clippers. The beak is not brittle, it is very much like a dog's or chicken's toenails. If you are nervous about doing it, start at the tip of the beak and take a tiny bit off to see how it feels to you, and to reassure yourself that everything will be okay. Or start on the toenails. You should be able to trim up until the top beak is just a bit longer than the bottom one. I have been able to make clean cuts and didn't find the need for filing, but that sounds like a good idea.
You can buy "styptic powder" a yellow powder to stop bleeding in case you cut too close, or else use baby powder. I have never needed it for a beak trimming but I have for nail trimming. I would be more conservative on the beak trimming (meaning, I don't push my luck by cutting off too much) because I don't want to mess up their beak to the point where they don't eat. For the nails i am a bit more aggressive.
One hint I can offer, and this is generally true for all animals: while I don't suggest rushing the process, it is best to do the procedure as efficiently as possible. Get set up first, have a towel ready in case you want to wrap them in it to restrain them, have a helper standing by, etc. Once an animal gets panicked and wants to fight you it is much harder and causes them a lot of stress. If that happens it might be best to delay the procedure for another day or so unless it's really urgent.
Good luck
I used people clippers on Zippy's beak as I could make little cuts on the tip and sides and take off a little at a time. I would not cut straight across the beak and try to take it all at once. She was cool with it basically and I felt I could see her pink blood supply through her yellow beak. The blood supply can sneak up on you though so for me I like to take a little at a time rather than guess and make a big irreversible clip. I had a chick break a toenail one time and I had a hard time getting the bleeding stopped, even with styptic. Styptic is a good idea though. It should be at hand.
