Karri,
If the roo broke the skin and there's swelling, do see a doctor. You don't want to deal with a bad infection. Chickens are scratching in the dirt all day - they could have any number of things on the ends of their spurs. I'd worry about tetanus, in particular.
Also, spurs can be pulled off. They'll grow back, but I think of them as similar to sharks' teeth - they use them, sometimes lose them, and they'll grow back. Although I've never done it myself (AND I missed the demo in January), it's been explained to me in detail: get corn starch or blood stop; take a pair of pliers and use them to firmly grasp close to the base of the spur, twist (not sure if you're supposed to do just one direction or if you can go back and forth) it right off. It'll bleed a bit like when a kid loses a tooth, and you want to dab it with cornstarch or blood stop. Underneath, it'll be a soft little nub, which will eventually be the tip of a new spur. I'd say if the spurs get long enough to do potential damage, then remove them. Somebody I spoke to, who is the leader of a 4-H group, said that it's so easy, the kids in her group love to go through a flock and look for any spurs that need removing and they go ahead and do it no problem.
I sure wish somebody could videotape a spur removal and post it on YouTube or something. That would rule.
Sorry to hear this happened. I know how you feel. I had a RIR bantam cockerel and we were best buddies for the first four months of his life. One day, I opened the door to let him into the house, and I held out my arms to give him a cuddle. Usually, he'd come right to me for his cuddle, but this time, he BIT me REALLY hard on the forearm and almost broke the skin. I had a big, red mark for weeks. He behaved himself, for the most part, but I didn't trust him any more and stopped cuddling with him. Then right after he turned a year, he attacked me. He pecked me in the foot and broke the skin (in the soft, fleshy part near my big toe) and after that, I kept him penned up. He found a new home last month, though. Sometimes, they go through an unruly phase and they eventually outgrow their bad behavior. I think he probably would have mellowed out with age, but he went to a much better home, so it all worked out. I think I was more emotionally traumatized because we were so close for four months.
I hope this was just a fluke incident with your guy.
-Naomi
