DIY Chicken Flock Nail Trimming

Trim your flock’s nails and spurs to protect your chickens and keep your rooster walking properly! Fold a towel in half lengthwise and wrap the towel around the body of your rooster or hen. Determine the style of spur trim that is best for your flock and hold both the spur and leg to trim the spur. Clip the spur with dog nail clippers or grip the center of the spur with pliers and gently twist the pliers back and forth to twist off the outer spur casing. Check each nail and spur to locate the quick, a vein in the nail, and for chickens with dark nail coloring, hold the nail in front of a light to locate the quick. Give the nail only a slight trim if you cannot locate the quick or apply pressure to the nail briefly if you accidentally cut the quick.