dubbing our chickens today

I raise American Game Fowl. This is an excerpt from the United Game Breeders Association regarding dubbing and spur trimming. It is required for all cockerels over 1 year of age to be dubbed and spurs trimmed.

The dubbing of gamefowl (removal of the comb and wattles) is a practice followed by many in the poultry industry. Dubbing is good animal husbandry and all poultry show rules call for it. Dubbing prevents damage done by frostbite and provides better vision. It reduces injuries incurred when the comb comes in contact with feeder and water grills, and wires in cages and pens. Dubbing also helps prevent the spread of mosquito born illnesses. The dubbing of gamefowl is in no way any indication of whether or not that bird is being used for fighting purposes. Gamefowl will most often have their spurs trimmed as well. This is also good animal husbandry. Contrary to popular belief this is not done to attach weapons. The spurs are hard, pointed and naturally very sharp. Trimming of the spurs of male birds prevents laceration of the backs of females during mating. Sometimes these injuries are severe enough to cause the death of the female. The spur if allowed to grow can inhibit a cock's ability to walk as well, resulting in straddle legs and occasionally in overgrowing back into the male’s leg. Trimming also prevents injuries to humans, such as caretakers and judges during handling of the birds. The spur is very porous and harbors millions of bacteria. A slight scratch from the spur can result in a serious infection to a human. To minimize the chance of injuries all show rules call for the spur to be trimmed as a safety precaution.

If you get a copy of breed standards and showing regulations you will see that for Modern Game, OEG and American Game Fowl it is a requirement that will cost you dearly in points with the judges. The following is an example of someone whose advise I use. It is from the Ultimate Fowl website.


To get the best results, dubbing is primarily done when chickens reach breeding age, and their combs and wattles are pretty much full grown. The first thing I make sure of when I am going to dub birds, is to do it at the right time of the month, so the bleeding is kept to a minimum. It is best to dub a bird the last two, or three days of the moon cycle, just before the new moon. This puts the blood of the bird more in the feet, and less in the head of the bird. I also prefer to do it in the evening, when the birds are calm, and will not be doing a bunch of running around after they are dubbed. It is best to avoid doing it during the hot summer months too, because the heat thins the blood. It is also a good idea to take the water away from the bird you plan on dubbing the day before, so their blood will be thicker, and will clot better. Some people also supplement Vitamin K to their birds prior to dubbing, by feeding alfalfa meal in with their normal feed, or using red cell in the drinking water. All of the things I mentioned are meant to help keep bleeding to a minimum, and any of them will help, but they aren’t required. I have seen many a bird get dubbed without following the above steps, and do just fine, but I am trying to provide you with tips to make the process easier on you, and your fowl.

After deciding on a day, the next thing to do is to prepare to do it. You will need a very sharp, high quality pair of scissors that are capable of cutting through the flesh. I use a pair of leather trimming shears, but some people buy scissors specifically made for this. You can purchase them from most high quality poultry supply companies. I can say, don’t skimp on this, as it makes it much easier to dub a bird if you have a good pair of scissors. You will also need some rubbing alcohol, a towel, and some blood stop powder (You can use flour for this too, if you don’t want to spend the big bucks for the blood stop powder.) Next, you will need to decide what you are going to dub. I dub my combs tight to the head most of the time, which is as close as I can, because I like the look it gives my birds, and I remove the wattles and earlobes too, if they are excessively long. Most people dub the comb approximately a quarter inch off the head, and the wattles, and earlobes tight. The birds that have the worst problems with frostbite, are the tall, straight combed birds. Pea combed fowl need to be dubbed too, but most rose, and walnut combed birds are tight enough to the head, that you shouldn’t have a problem with them.
 

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