by Melissa Caughey of Tilly’s Nest
Did you know that chickens can benefit from nail trimming? Sometimes no matter how much access to pasture and fresh patches of dirt, chickens require their toenails to be trimmed. This is important for the overall health of their feet and their ability to move without restrictions and to properly roost at night.
I have found that as my flock ages, some of the girls need a little bit of help when it comes to their feet. One by one, inspect each of your chickens to see if they are in need of a little chicken podiatry. Here’s what you need to get started!
Supplies:
- Toenail clippers or dog toenail clippers
- Cornstarch or styptic pen
- Towel
A few of these nails could use a little attention. |
Trimming a chicken’s toenails is very similar to trimming a dog’s. I find trimming nails to be a two person job. Within the nail, there is blood supply. It is called the quick. You do not want to trim the quick or the nail will bleed. Sometimes quicks can be accidentally nicked. Applying some cornstarch from the kitchen directly to the bleeding nail works will to help stop the bleeding.
Wrap a towel around the chicken’s body. This helps them to stay still during the process. Holding the chicken’s foot in your hand and their toe between your fingers, see if you can identify the end of the quick. This is easier on pale nails than darker black nails. Go slowly and begin to trim off small amounts of the nail. The quick sometimes will grow down the long nails. If this is the case, then just trim a little and come back in a week. The quick will begin to shrink down and you can then remove more of the nail. Sometimes, it can take a few weeks to get your chicken’s nails completely trimmed down to a healthy length.
About the author: Melissa Caughey is a backyard chicken keeper, beekeeper, gardener, and cook who pens the award winning blog, Tilly’s Nest. She lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her family of four and her Miniature Schnauzer. She regularly writes for HGTV Gardens, Community Chickens, Grit magazine, and contributes to Country Living Magazine. Her blog was recently named one of Better Homes and Gardens Top 10 Gardening Blogs. Melissa is currently working on a backyard chicken book with Storey Publishing to be released this upcoming year.
14 Comments
How do you tell the hens from the rosters.
It depends on both the breed of chicken and their age. Typically, roosters have a larger comb and bolder feather patterns than hens. In some breeds, the roosters have spurs on their legs and longer tail feathers than the hens. And then there’s the crowing. If one of your birds is crowing, it’s a rooster. Hens make all sorts of noises, but nothing as loud and distinctive as the crow.
Hi Melissa,
Thanks so much for sharing your tips! Can I ask if this chicken also has a skaly leg mite problem? The close up shot of the chicken’s feet suggests that she does? If so, this is a problem that needs to be taken care of asap as it is extremely painful. These nasty creatures burrow under their skin and eat the tissue. There are many articles on how to treat them!
Here’s hoping I’m wrong!
Taking care of chicks is extremely difficult, thank you for sharing the experience of caring for chicks for the best development. This will be very useful information to help me raise chickens better. I will always by your side.
With chickens who spend a lot of time around people, such as indoor chickens or very people oriented ones, rotary nail files are an option. We use our dogs ‘ rotary file for our bantams, we just flip them on their backs, set them on our lap and trim them to a reasonable length and round out the sharp or rough edges. It’s easy and there’s no damage done to the quick. Total time is about 3 – 5 mins per chicken, and stress level for our chickens is zero.
Melissa – great article! I did a similar type article and video, and it crucial to make sure you don’t clip some of the quick. Do you recommend using iodine to spray on the nail if the quick is accidentally trimmed?
Thanks Charlie, yes I did mention the quick and we like to use cornstarch to stop the bleeding. I’ve never tried the iodine, how does it work for you?
Hold rooster securely and using a pair of pliers grasp the spur and begin to turn back and forth to loosen outside nail from the spur flesh inside. Eventually you will be able to pop the rigid nail part of the sheath right off. It doesn’t particularly bother the rooster and there is very little blood involved. We usually do it at night so the hens don’t get panicky that were messing with the rooster.
Thank-you so much. Not as complicated as I thought it might be. Again thank-you.
How do you trim or get rid of spurs on the rooster? I am tired of being spurred. He is also very aggressive.
You can also use some really strong garden shears and just cut back the spurs. Watch for the quick. You can do that several weeks in a row as the quick will draw back after the spur has been cut. Eventually they will be as short as you’d like them. I just cut them back about halfway. Since it’s a blunt cut, you should be save from attacks hurting you.
Sounds like fun! LOL