I got a chicken from a friend, she's a crested polish and she has spurs. I haven't done them yet but my friend showed me that she takes pliers gently and rocks them back and forth slightly, no twisting to remove the entire spur...and a layer at a time comes off. If you have cats you know you find layers of their claws sometimes in the house. It's the same with the chickens spurs...by the way if your chickens are used to being handled you really need not worry about your children's safety. My chickens are very tame and enjoy the children petting them and paying attention to them. My crested polish with the spurs likes to sit on your arm or shoulder and even with her spurs she has never so much as scratched anyone. Her spurs are about oh 3/4 of an inch long right now. I would think it would have to hurt to have them just cut off or broken and pulled off and bleeding.
