Remove spurs by cutting vs twisting.

[jher77]

I usually use my dog toenail clippers with the gauge to trim my roosters spurs, set on about 1/8" cut. Two quick nips and the spurs usually bleed a few drops of blood and that is about it. Rooster usually walks away like he is stepping on nails but usually gets over it within 30 minutes time.

Today I thought I would try the twist off method. Never done that before. The spurs are about 1" long. They came off fairly easily but man does it looks raw and I can tell he doesn't like that being raw like that. They bleed more and this seems like a bigger chance of infection. I don't think I gained anything as far as cutting more off, but they are a little thinner because the sides came off too.

How long does it take for the spurs to harden back up to be able to trim them again?

By cutting them I could trim every couple weeks if I wanted to, but not sure about a raw spur. I don't know if I will twist them off anymore unless I want the spurs thinner, but when they harden back up will they be just as thick as when I started?

What are the pros and cons here?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

People near me use a hot potato method when twisting. You heat a potato up pretty hot, push it onto the spur as close (but not touching) to the scales as possible, wait about 30 seconds and then take the potato off and twist the spur. It kinda cautorizes it and makes it not as raw. The males that did it this way didn't seem to be bothered by it.

I personally don't do anything with the spurs unless they're actively causing problems (puncturing hens or about to grow into the male's legs). I try to leave them as natural as possible and haven't had problems yet, even with an 8 year old bantam that's never had his trimmed

 

[LaFleche]

I use a dremel to cut the spurs off, which works beautifully preventing any bleeding and possible infection.
And there will be no pointy ends left that might gore the hens just as well as before the potatoe or twisting treatment.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't know about the thinness.

It's probably pretty tender honestly. I can't imagine it's much less painful than a nail being removed. But they seem to handle it far better than a person would, so maybe it's not as bad?

 

[LaFleche]

I dont care what people choose to remove from their birds. They're yours, not mine. I'm not judging, but can someone give me a reason why? What purpose does this serve? Genuinely interested because it seems to be common and I can't understand why

The spurs often don't grow nicely and backwards, but just straight to the middle, which will hurt and even slice open the hens during the mating act when the spurs get too long.

With every step the rooster takes, the spurs slide alongside each other and get their tips sharpened in the process. Sometimes the rooster even hurts his owns legs or is not able to sit right on the roosting bar because of his overgrown spurs.

 

[LaFleche]

Have you got a pic of the finished nub?

Here you go:

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I have a Barred bantam Cochin rooster that got his upward curving spur hung on the fencing, while he was doing his morning fence fighting (because the other roosters were still in the fence and unable to get to him and that's how he likes to "fight“). It took some work from me to free him and thankfully I witnessed it so he didn't hang there for very long at all. Within two days I noticed his spur sheath was gone and his spur innards were oozing a lot. The oozing and dirt that stuck ended up forming a scab like top. This eventually fell off too and he has a very short spur now. That's been a few months. His spur was right at the point that I was checking him every couple of days to make sure it wasn't growing into his leg before this happened. He is 27 months old. My other roosters don't get trims, filing or removal and so far I've found they naturally shed the tips over time. I have a few that I keep a close eye on because I've noticed that the spur had created an abrasion on the opposite leg, but I see the line where the spur is getting ready to shed on its own. I recently found 2 spur sheaths. One that naturally shed and the spur that fell off from the rooster I spoke of at the beginning of this post.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Most injury to hens is caused by their nails, not their spurs. Could it happen? Sure, but without weirdly misshapen spurs it's unlikely

I've had hens sliced down their hips, my first case was really bad, it Extended to her armpit, & I put her down, since it was so extensive.

 

[jher77]

That's good to know.

The rooster is sitting around any which way he can to tuck his feet under him. I know it has to be bothering him to be acting like that. Never acted like that when I cut the tips off. Will he get over it, probably? I would try the potato thing next if I twisted them off.

Do you know if the spurs actually get thinner by twisting them off?

 

[adstowe]

I dont understand why. You said they were 1 inch. How is that an issue? My older roosters spurs are at over 3 inches and curve up to almost his legs. If they ever start to impact his legs I'll intervene, but unless that happens I see no reason to do anything. Chickens do pretty well when simply provided with food and shelter. I think people make things harder than they need to be. (Sorry if I'm being rude. I'm just in one of those moods. I meant no offense)
He refuses to hold still for pictures. After chasing him around a juniper for what seemed like forever this was the best I could do, but you get the idea. It's natural and generally causes no harm.