Trimming a crossed beak.

[TheBigWRanch]

I tried trimming my chicken's crossed beak for the first time today. The top went fine, the chicken acted like I was killing it though. Then when I trimmed the lower beak it started bleeding. Is that normal? Did I do something wrong? I don't want to end up hurting the chicken any more than I have to in the future, so advice on how to do it correctly would really be appreciated.

 

[silkiechicken]

Ah, if it started bleeding that means you cut too far into the beak. But if it is necessary to cut that far to realign the beak, maybe you could get a hold of some quick stop to stop the bleeding next time. Hand her a treat when you are done and maybe she will start to calm down.

 

[mlheran]

Can I ask what you used for clipping? I have to do one of mine soon, so any info on it is appreciated -I'm sure others could use it as well. Also, did you find an effective way to hold her?

As for the bleeding, yes, that means you cut too far. If you have cornstarch on hand that will stop it, though a styptic pencil (or powder) is best.

And yes, a tasty treat for her makes it all worthwhile!

 

[TheBigWRanch]

Well, the reason why I was so surprised is that we barely trimmed a sliver off of his beak, there was no way to trim any less. I used toe nail trimmers. I just held his body in one hand and his head in the other, and had my mom trim it. We took a lot off of the top without any bleeding, only the bottom was a problem.

 

[beckt]

Usually you don't trim the lower beak, just the upper to match the lower as well as possible. When the vet does mine they never do the bottom one.

 

[Wes in Tx]

You shouldn't trim the lower beak as that is the beak they use to scoop feed with. All you are trying to do by trimming the upper beak is to keep it from growing around the bottom beak, nothing more is accomplished.

 

[xrayman]

Quote:
I use wire cutters, we call them side cutters or dikes around here. Also dog nail trimmers work well

 

[robin416]

What about using a dremel? I just read somewhere someone using one but darned if I can remember where.