Removing/trimming rooster spurs

[Cathryn]

Your cockerel's spurs are normal for a young bird. They are just starting to grow. Cathryn

 

[Cathryn]

Your cockerel's spurs are normal for a young bird. They are just starting to grow. You do not cut or pull off spurs. Grab them firmly, but not hard with needle nose pliers. Then wiggle, a teeny bit, back and forth, not in a pulling motion. The spurs will fall off after 15-45 seconds. Then put flour or blood stop on them. Way safer than cutting, spurs can be almost impossible to stop the bleeding if you cut them. Cathryn

 

[vbgarden]

I'm betting he's just young. I wouldn't bother him unless the spurs are really in his way or he's harming the hens. In our case, the spurs had grown for several years and had curled in so he was actually hitting his one leg. Another rooster (before we learned that you could easily remove the spurs) actually jumped off a perch and gashed himself on his upturns spurs. That taught us a strong lesson. I watch the spurs now to make sure they don't overgrow but, like fingernails (which is exactly what they seem to be) it takes quite a while for them to grow.

 

[CUDA]

If you cut the spurs, and stay out of the quick, you will have blunt spurs, and NO bleeding at all. Slipping the outer casing off is never a good idea IMO. If you just keep them cut back, they will be blunt all the time, if you remove the outer casing, you will just end up with a sharp spur again.

 

[speckledhen]

Cuda is absolutely correct. The dremel tool is awesome for cutting, cauterizing and smoothing. Does an great job. Just have someone hold the bird well so he doesn't struggle and cause you to cut his leg. It's really not hard at all, trust me.

 

[vbgarden]

I agree with the advice to keep up with spurs and blunt them as they grow. In our case, we learned the hard way that waiting a couple of years to deal with spurs was not the best solution (even though the method we found here online worked fine). I like the idea of filing them regularly and keeping the sharp point off.

 

[Brick243]

Quote:
This is how our county poultry show superintendent took the spur casing off. He has been showing poultry for well over 30 years. I did my own roosters after that, no problems. Rooster barely reacts to having the outer shell of the spur twisted off. I might add that cutting the end of the spur off works well also. I guess it is just a personal choice of how you want to do it.

 

[Cathryn]

Quote:
I've done it for 46 years, and my grandparents did before. it's how I keep my males spurs on the smaller side and deter fighting in the spring. Whether you cut the keratin tip off of the spur or remove it, the covering will grow back. Cathryn

 

[CUDA]

Well, slipping the husk off exposes the quick inside, which can become damaged easily this way, and when it does harden up again, it's sharp right away. If you cut the spurs back, they are always blunt, and you never risk exposing the quick. Look, if it works for you, that's great. I just feel personally that cutting spurs back is much safer, and does a better job of keeping other birds from getting hurt, or blinked. To each their own.

 

[vbgarden]

Sounds sensible to me. We were scared off by warnings about bleeding, cutting too close... etc. I think the idea of filing them down or lightly cutting the tips as they grow is a great idea.