Is this normal?

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Yep, you've definitely got a roo. He might be OK with your older roo. I keep three together with very few problems. There will probably be some fighting in the spring, so you might want to pull the spur caps off before then to make them shorter and duller. It will work out best if one roo is definitely older and stronger than the others--then he just kicks their butts and all is well until hormones start to surge in the spring again.

 

[Mac14]

Yep, you've definitely got a roo. He might be OK with your older roo. I keep three together with very few problems. There will probably be some fighting in the spring, so you might want to pull the spur caps off before then to make them shorter and duller. It will work out best if one roo is definitely older and stronger than the others--then he just kicks their butts and all is well until hormones start to surge in the spring again.

What are spur caps? I clearly don't have a rooster.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

What are spur caps? I clearly don't have a rooster.

They're the hard outer covering over the spur. You can take a pair of pliers, grab the spur right where it meets the body, and twist back and forth gently until the whole covering slides right off. There's only a teeny bit of blood, and the roosters don't seem to be in pain when you do it. The spur underneath is smaller and duller. We spray it with BluCote and it will be tender for a few days, but no other ill effects.

My RIR roo had spurs that were almost 5" long and super sharp. He accidentally cut a hen to the bone during mating. We took his spur caps off and they were much shorter and much duller.

 

[WildBillHicks]

I looked closely today and saw small spur nubs. His legs are much thicker than equally sized game hens he hangs with most of the time. These are things I never looked at before. Learned a lot.

I just hope he eventually has a really nice, colorful saddle. It really adds a lot to his appearance, imo.