Mottled Java hens with spurs

[rlhagan56]

I got my first two Mottled Java hens from the feed store. They are so beautiful that I finally ordered a whole flock of them. The first two have huge spurs on them! Yesterday I trimmed them a little. The batch I ordered is now 16 weeks old and not one has spurs. My husband tells me that I always end up with odd or strange animals. I like their eccentric oddities lol, but he is right. Has anyone had this occur with their hens? What do I do with them to keep them short?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Has anyone had this occur with their hens? What do I do with them to keep them short?

My friends hatchery Wyandotte ladies grew spurs when they got old. Sh'e never done anything to shorten then and never had issues thus far.

Hens can also crow! But roosters can't lay an egg.

 

[rlhagan56]

Oh Big Boy is definitely a rooster and these hens lay well. I'd never seen hens with spurs before, looks odd on a hen lol.

 

[Ridgerunner]

All hens have spur buds. Occasionally a hen will grow spurs but usually not much. Occasionally a hen will grow spurs so long and they curve around in a way that she has trouble walking or the spurs actually grow into the leg, cutting it. In the very rare cases where this happens it is generally a very old hen. This happens more with roosters but even with them it's seldom bad enough that the spurs actually need to be trimmed for the rooster's health.

Some people trim spurs for their own reasons. I try to reserve that for quality of life or health reasons. I have never trimmed a hen's spurs. When I do that with a roster I use a Dremel tool with one of those discs used to cut metal. I just cut the end off to blunt it, usually no more than 1/4 of the length to try to avoid cutting into the quick.

 

[benevolent_leonela]

I am so glad to see this post! I have 1 Mottled Java out of 3 who has large nubs on her legs, not quite spurs. Her 2 sisters do not and that goes for all the ladies in the flock. I had no idea hens could grow spurs