[Scoyle]

I got my chickens a week ago.  I have three chickens, one whose beak is fine and the other two seem to have slightly longer lower beaks rather than upper.  The book I have on chickens says you can trim back their upper beak using nail clippers, can you do this on the lower beak?
I have also noticed that the chicken with the worst lower beak seems to be filing it herself on a paving slab, is this what she is doing and is this normal for a chicken?

[joyfull]

What breed of chickens are they? I have some rescue hens and they have had their beaks clipped to prevent them pecking each other too much.

[Foghorn-Leghorn]

My parents got some POL hybrids and they all had their beaks clipped  poor things.  Their upper beaks are noticeably shorter.  I was really surprised when I saw them considering that they weren't ex-bats.  I guess some places still do beak clipping but I don't like it.

[GrannieAnnie]

Only commercial places are supposed to beak clip now, not people rearing to sell a few birds.

I wouldn't beak clip a chicken, there are other ways to stop her pecking, but we do still clip the turkeys beaks, nothing stops them if they've a mind to!  Mind you, I don't usually take enough off and they re-grow!!

[evie2]

our girls had their beaks clipped just like that when we got them it's cruel!!!

[evie2]

I know why it's done Tom I just don't agree with it, just as I don't agree with tail docking, breading dogs with next to no proper faces and fox hunting

[joyfull]

oh right, well being a gamekepper im not even going to start about how tail docking is right and the hunting ban being wrong

Thanks Tomshooter as we don't want to turn this quite legitimate question into a thread that would mean me having to lock it 

[Brambles]

My lovely rescue hen (who sadly died last week) had her beak clipped before I got her.   She was a real bully and stripped one of my girls nearly bare of feathers just after she arrived.   The bullying was so bad, after trying everything I knew,  I had to separate her from the others... she spent her life happily on her own, but in the next run so had contact with the others...  So I don't believe that clipping is the answer at all.

[joyfull]

It isn't but it helps usually in the close confines of a poultry farm. I have 3 rescues and 2 of those are bullies and each have their beaks clipped to various lengths, perhaps the one that you have that can pluck feathers didn't have hers done short enough.