Batham Rooster has red legs & spurs very long

[countrygirl57]

My little Rooster's legs are red on the outside of both legs. Also his spurs are straight across pointing toward each leg on the inside. He walks very carefully as not to stick himself, but last night I notices a small cut on upper inside of both legs. Am I supposed to trim those spurs. They are quite long.
As for the redness, I was wondering if it could be scaley mites? I don't know what else could be making them red.

Thanks Pauline

 

[CMV]

Some roos have red legs. It's just their normal pigmentation. Scaley mites would leave the scales looking oddly lifted and seamed. Their leg scales should look like scales, but be solid in appearance- one seamless stretch of leg, no space under the scales.

The spurs should be trimmed back, though. Here's a YouTube video I like:

 

[countrygirl57]

Thank you, I'll check out the video. I looked again & the scales are smooth & not lifted, but only red on 1 side. I'll see if I can get a picture.

 

[countrygirl57]

I watched the video, gross he removed the whole spir to the stump with a pair of pliers. I only want to trim a very long nail.

 

[CMV]

So grind down the end with a file or Dremel. If you use a Dremel use the lowest setting and be aware that they get very hot very quickly.

Good luck.

 

[LizaBlue]

After you trim the spurs, something I discovered by accident may help: slather his feet with vaseline on a regular basis. I did this to my adult roo, and layers of his spurs began to slough off. I've also read that people sometimes soften the spurs before trimming, I think by soaking in water? But after the vaseline experience, I wonder if that would help. I tried trimming mine with a pair of cat nail clippers, since the cutting blades were round like a spur, but accidentally cut too short and got a dot of blood. The rooster didn't seem to notice, but it freaked me out. I would think they're rather like nails, in that the more often you cut them, the shorter the "quick" is, so if you trimmed a little today, then wait a few days and trimmed more, and kept doing that until you reached the desired length, you would have less chance of hitting the quick, since it would recede, then you could wait longer to cut them. IDK though, since I chickened out and just kept using vaseline.