Making Lemonade [Selective Culling Project - very long term]

[JacinLarkwell]

I would hope Big Boy is larger. Pretty Boy isn't small, but he's firmly "Standard" for the age, in my view. and he'll never be massive @JacinLarkwell .


!Nom Decimus, visually, isn't much bigger.

How old is he again? My male's supposed to be a normal size according to his "standard", but he also eats like a friggin human teenage boy.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Ooof, I'm not sure. Like absolutely no spurs, or dull round tips?

• All roosters must be de-spurred.
  
  I'll call the Division Chairperson later this week.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

How old is he again? My male's supposed to be a normal size according to his "standard", but he also eats like a friggin human teenage boy.

"Pretty Boy" (Sneezy) was hatched 12/30 - so today he is 173 days, about 23 1/2 weeks.

!Nom Decimus hatched 2/23. 118 days, he'll be 17 weeks tomorrow.

In either case, another 16 1/2 weeks till the faire.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

"Pretty Boy" (Sneezy) was hatched 12/30 - so today he is 173 days, about 23 1/2 weeks.

!Nom Decimus hatched 2/23. 118 days, he'll be 17 weeks tomorrow.

In either case, another 16 1/2 weeks till the faire.

Oh they're both a lot older than I thought they were.

Your fair is at an odd time too. Is it because of how hot it gets there? Ours is usually the 2nd or 3rd week in august

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Oh they're both a lot older than I thought they were.

Your fair is at an odd time too. Is it because of how hot it gets there? Ours is usually the 2nd or 3rd week in august

I think its due to shuffling from COVID partially, but yeah, it will be less warm and unpleasant than a more summer-time date, and Oct is one of our drier months only 3.25 inches +/- for the month. Roughly half what we expect in July and August.

 

[MissE]

• All roosters must be de-spurred.
  
  I'll call the Division Chairperson later this week.

I have not tried this, and of course now I cannot find the article, but one lady said she bakes a potato in the microwave, cuts it in half, has someone hold the rooster wrapped in a towel, and sticks each half of the potato over the spurs. After 5 minutes, she removes the potato, and wiggles the spurs with pliers until they pop off.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I have not tried this, and of course now I cannot find the article, but one lady said she bakes a potato in the microwave, cuts it in half, has someone hold the rooster wrapped in a towel, and sticks each half of the potato over the spurs. After 5 minutes, she removes the potato, and wiggles the spurs with pliers until they pop off.

That's an oddly specific method that makes a keyword search VERY easy.

Thank you @MissE !!!

 

[MissE]

That's an oddly specific method that makes a keyword search VERY easy.

Thank you @MissE !!!

That's not the article I was thinking about, but the process is pretty much the same. I was searching Mother Earth News. Should have just done a general search.

Now if I can talk hubby into holding down my rooster...

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I have not tried this, and of course now I cannot find the article, but one lady said she bakes a potato in the microwave, cuts it in half, has someone hold the rooster wrapped in a towel, and sticks each half of the potato over the spurs. After 5 minutes, she removes the potato, and wiggles the spurs with pliers until they pop off.

t only works with the outer shell. They still have another, fleshy spur beneath. We do it with ours

 

[NatJ]

• All roosters must be de-spurred.
  
  I'll call the Division Chairperson later this week.

Depending on what classes they have, and how picky they are with their definitions, you might be entering "cockerels" rather than "roosters." So that might not apply.

Cockerels don't usually have spurs long enough to be a big deal anyway, so you might not have to do anything about them.