Nails - Q on length and overall care.

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Wheels

Wheels

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So after seeing tons of rabbits this weekend and watching more than a few get judged I began to notice that some of those rabbits had nails that I thought were kinda long - OK one rex I saw looked to be Freddy Krueger's son. So now I'm wondering if maybe when I cut nails I'm going too short or maybe other people don't think nails are a big deal. Another Question I have is how important are nails when showing rabbits - I understand they shouldn't be missing nails or have broken nails, right?

I Trim nails so they are mostly hidden by the fur of the feet, maybe a quarter of an inch away from the quick. I don't file them, just a quick snip with some really Nice dog clippers. Should I allow for more nail or am I OK?
 
I clip as close to the quick as possible, myself. Some rabbits here have hardly any nail, because I've worked the quick so far back. I think it is more a personal preference thing than anything, some people don't trim often.
 
My name is MamaSheepdog, and I am a nail trim Nazi. :oops:

I can't stand seeing long nails on a rabbit or a dog. I must admit to an unfair (?) prejudice- when I see long nails on an animal, I can't help but wonder what other aspects of routine care are considered optional.

I have seen horrifically long nails at shows, but the breeders and judges don't seem bothered by it. :shock: This really surprises me because I would consider it rude to put a razor clawed, fully armed rabbit on the table for someone else to handle.

I trim nails as close to the quick as I can get them- 1/16 of an inch or less.

Not only do I believe it is better for their feet and presents a neat appearance, but it keeps me looking "neat" as well. I am (knock on wood) currently free of any rabbit induced lacerations. :p If a rabbit does happen to kick, they do very little damage with well rounded nails as opposed to the scimitars they have when left au natural. ;)

Wheels":dqu226uk said:
Another Question I have is how important are nails when showing rabbits - I understand they shouldn't be missing nails or have broken nails, right?
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Right. Most breeds/varieties must have a certain color toenail to match their coat, so all nails must be present to verify the correct color.
 
I have seen horrifically long nails at shows, but the breeders and judges don't seem bothered by it. :shock: This really surprises me because I would consider it rude to put a razor clawed, fully armed rabbit on the table for someone else to handle.
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Yep, that's exactly what I was thinking when I saw the rex with the really long nails - and the Judge was so -ho hum- about it! Our new mini lops have nails that are longer than I would like I just didn't want to go messing them up if for some odd reason they were supposed to have protruding talons ;)


I have one very old dog who will NOT allow me to trim her nails without serious effort and so she goes quite a while between trims, I often find myself apologizing to people about her nails and then realize that nobody was even noticing them EXCEPT ME! :oops: My Rottie thankfully keeps her own nails very trim and I only have to take off some sharp points now and then.

Are dark nails harder to trim than white nails, like in dogs? I don't want to quick these new rabbits - all my other buns have white nails and it makes it nice and easy to get a good trim. :)
 
Wheels":12fmjx84 said:
Are dark nails harder to trim than white nails, like in dogs?
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Not if you know what to look for. :)

Next time you trim an animal with dark nails, take just a smidgeon off of the tip of the nail. When you look at the cut surface, the center will be a chalky white color. As you get closer to the quick, that area will become smaller larger (oops!) in circumference and eventually will change to a fleshy, moist appearing center. That is living tissue, and you will know you are close to the blood supply in the nail.

*Edited to add photos*

Chalky center:

IMG_0015.JPG

Living tissue:

IMG_0022.JPG
 
If you look closely under good light in both rabbits and dogs dark nails will have a small circumference, in dogs shape, and color change right where the live tissue starts. Sometimes you have to get someone to shine a flashlight on it to see it. I still hate doing my dark nailed dog. I often ask her breeder to do it. She's not difficult and will hand you a paw on command but she's sensitive and if I quick her too many times she will become very difficult fast. She also has no problem expressing her dislike of potential or happening pain by nipping with her front teeth just hard enough to leave a painful bruise but not break the skin. I usually muzzle her at the vet just in case even though I don't think she would ever bite with intent to do actual harm.

I've seen a lot of breeders with many rabbits on wire do not keep up on nails. I've recieved some from big rabbitries who had long hooks sticking out. Usually the ones from smaller rabbitries have trimmed nails even if they just did it before I got there.
 
MamaSheepdog":2myfn99t said:
Wheels":2myfn99t said:
Are dark nails harder to trim than white nails, like in dogs?
Click to expand...

Not if you know what to look for. :)

Next time you trim an animal with dark nails, take just a smidgeon off of the tip of the nail. When you look at the cut surface, the center will be a chalky white color. As you get closer to the quick, that area will become smaller in circumference and eventually will change to a fleshy, moist appearing center. That is living tissue, and you will know you are close to the blood supply in the nail.
Click to expand...
Oooooooooooooooh... so where do you stop? When the chalky area is really small, or the next cut when the chalky area is gone?<br /><br />__________ Mon Sep 23, 2013 1:07 pm __________<br /><br />I have this one doe with dark swirls in her nails... and it's so hard to see where the quick ends, even with a flashlight.
 
Thanks MSD for explaining what to look for and the pictures! My black nailed rabbits always have longer nails than I like but I am always afraid of going too far. :oops: I've hd some bad scratches from that. :x
 
Miss M":2yze6ri4 said:
Oooooooooooooooh... so where do you stop? When the chalky area is really small, or the next cut when the chalky area is gone?
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The living tissue will get progressively larger in diameter the closer you get to the quick. At first you will see only a small crescent near the top surface of the nail.

Most animals will show pain when you are about to cut the quick itself. You can squeeze the nail gently with the clippers before making your actual cut, and if they try to pull away you will know that you are too close.

Some animals don't react at all. I have found that Diatomaceous Earth is very effective to stop bleeding if you do happen to "quick" them.

Heritage Homestead":2yze6ri4 said:
Thanks MSD for explaining what to look for and the pictures!
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Wheels":2yze6ri4 said:
:) Thanks for the photos!
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You're welcome. :) A picture speaks a thousand words, after all.

My son Colliepup was using my computer earlier, and I was posting from Hub's, so I didn't have ready access to my photo files.
 
Bad Habit":2c2e6zfb said:
I clip as close to the quick as possible, myself. Some rabbits here have hardly any nail, because I've worked the quick so far back. I think it is more a personal preference thing than anything, some people don't trim often.
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You may have answer a question I've had with your response. I gather from your post that the quick will move back a little each time, is that correct? I have a holland lop that was about a year old when I got him. His nails were cut so far back I thought he had been declawed. I must admit I like how he was then. I admittedly have let some of my rabbits nails grow too long on occasion. Even when I cut them the quick is so long I can never get them to a short length. Would cutting frequently move the quicks back?
 
ckcs":24mh9noj said:
Bad Habit":24mh9noj said:
I clip as close to the quick as possible, myself. Some rabbits here have hardly any nail, because I've worked the quick so far back. I think it is more a personal preference thing than anything, some people don't trim often.
Click to expand...

You may have answer a question I've had with your response. I gather from your post that the quick will move back a little each time, is that correct? I have a holland lop that was about a year old when I got him. His nails were cut so far back I thought he had been declawed. I must admit I like how he was then. I admittedly have let some of my rabbits nails grow too long on occasion. Even when I cut them the quick is so long I can never get them to a short length. Would cutting frequently move the quicks back?
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It is supposed to, yes, but I have had some critters with stubborn quicks that took AGES to work back. Weekly trimmings for months. It would be better if rabbits on the show table had deductions for having long nails, so people wouldn't let them get so big!
 
Weekly trimmings to move the quick back. Gotcha. :)

I manage to cut the quick on that one doe on one nail (not the same nail) every single time. I do the squeezing thing, and she does not react. So I have been unable to use that tip on her. :( But now that I know what to look for with the tissue, hopefully I can stop cutting her.

And if I can do this weekly, maybe I can get those nails really short!
 

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