growning spurs

[gummybear61]

hello all

my question today is how to manage my roos growing spurs. i have never truly worried about them but the are growing now and harming my girls leaving slight cuts on their sides and damaging their beautiful feathers.
i have taken him to vet but as the vet was shaving/filing them down he started to bleed. the vet stopped and told me to make another appointment so that he can properly sedate him and preform a 'minor surgery" removal. this make me nervous i know it need to be done.

i have you tubed other possibilities to remove them but i want it to be as humane as possible. i came across a few videos and one struck me as interesting. does anyone know about POTATO removal. yup i said potato. i saw several videos that used this method and it seem to be easy clean and harmless.

Advice anyone....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I haven't done the potato way, many have. Some use pliers and twist them off. I personally use a dog nail trimmer and cut them as needed. Keep some kwikstop on hand if they bleed. I Tim them a couple times a year as well as toe nails that can sometimes be the culprit for wounds.

 

[getaclue]

There are several easy ways to deal with spurs. There is the potato method, which works better than pliers. A very simple way is to get a coarse pedicure file, (wal mart, or any beauty supply store) and keep them blunted. I got a dremel cordless pet nail groomer, which is inexpensive, and does a fine job.

Usually, it's not the spurs that cut into the hens, rather it's the toenails. Blunt the rooster(s) toenails a little. The spurs tend to curl upward when they're too long, which cuts into the rooster.

 

[azygous]

It's ludicrous to pay a vet to sedate a rooster to deal with his spurs. This is such a simple facet of flock maintenance, two ten-year olds could do it.

Most rooster spurs easily come off with just a few short twists with pliers held on the spur next to the shank. They literally lift off. Usually there is no bleeding or maybe one drop. Have corn starch handy to dip them in if they bleed.

My current rooster is a bleeder. I can't remove his spurs without a lot of bleeding so I use a Dremmel with a grinding attachment to grind the spurs down to where the quick starts. You will know you're there when you see a tiny drop of blood. That's when you stop grinding.

My rooster gets a pedicure at the same time he gets his spurs ground down. Most roosters are very docile during these procedures and even fall asleep. It's painless. There is no issue with whether it's humane or not.