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How to Trim a Chicken's Nails

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Chickens do a great job of keeping their nails and beaks cut back when foraging through the garden, scratching at the dirt and walking among hard surfaces. But even chickens need a little maintenance with their nails from time-to-time. Here's how to trim a chicken's nails.


  1. 1
    Find a partner. If this is your first time in attempting to trim the nails of your chicken and you find it difficult, get a partner to help you. Your partner can help hold the chicken while you trim its nails.
  2. 2
    Take hold of the chicken. Clutch the chicken and be sure to hold its wings down so that it doesn't try to escape by flapping its wings. Consider using a towel to keep the chicken calm when holding it.
  3. 3
    Find the nails that need to be trimmed. Whilst doing this you can also inspect the chicken's feet to see if there are any injuries.
  4. 4
    Find the quick of the nail. The quick is the blood line of the nail. You can find it as a darker line inside of the nail. You shouldn't cut the quick as it will hurt the chicken and bleeding can occur.
  5. 5
    Trim up to the quick. Again, don't directly trim the quick as this can hurt the chicken. Instead trim just up to it, leaving enough room to stop any bleeding from occurring. After trimming the chicken's nail with nail trimmers, file it back a bit.

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Categories: Chickens


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