<p>The increasing demand for sustainable utilization of poultry by-products has stimulated interest in alternative collagen sources with unique functional properties instead of bovine or porcine collagen. This study aimed to compare different chicken by-products, including whole feet, skin of the feet, and body skin, as potential sources for collagen extraction and to evaluate their suitability for nano-collagen production. The proximate analysis showed that the whole feet sample had the highest protein, ash, and collagen content, with the lowest collagen solubility with significant differences among treatments (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). In contrast, the highest solubility was recorded for both skin samples. Investigation of the gel functional criteria showed that the whole feet collagen had the highest cooking stability, but the lowest yield, while the highest collagen yielding was collected from the feet skin, with statistically significant variation (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). Among nano-collagen samples, collagen extracted from the skin of the feet exhibited the smallest particle size (78.82&#xa0;nm), the lowest PDI (0.30), and the highest positive zeta potential (+ 39.71 mV), which were significantly different (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05), reflecting superior colloidal stability. Conversely, whole feet nano-collagen showed the largest particle size (215&#xa0;nm), and semi-crystalline nature associated with residual mineral content, as confirmed by XRD. The FTIR analysis confirmed preserved triple-helical structure in all collagen samples, and well-defined characteristic Amide peaks of collagen were recorded for the skin of the feet. Based on the results, the chicken feet skin proved to be a valuable source for collagen extraction and nano-collagen preparation, a possible alternative supporting the utilization of poultry by-products in many applications.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>