My roo attacked my shoe!

[silkiechicken]

Yeah... that roo may be destined to the crock pot... My roo who gets nervous at eye contact, has about 2.5 inch spurs, curved to the shape of a sickle, and is pointier than a pencil at the tips. If he decided to attack, that thing could easily sink an inch or two into your leg.

 

[arlee453]

Umm... steel toed boots?? Sorry he got you so bad - anything foot related just hurts like the dickens anyway.

Hope your foot is better soon, and good luck with the roo!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I typically get rid of any nasty roosters/turkeys/ducks, etc as soon as they show signs of being nasty. I'm always afraid they will end up attacking company or young children when they come over.

Typically rooster's spurs don't get any long than two inches. My rooster have three inch spurs, but he is a sweety. He has the longest spurs I have seen in a long time. I've never seen anything bigger than that on a chicken and I rarely even see two inch spurs. You can cut them off using a dremel tool though. It's not a difficult procedure.

 

[karri25]

Well, up until now, I had always thought that he needed his spurs to protect our girls. But now I might rethink that. There is no way I will endure a roo that poses a threat to my kids. Hopefully this was a one time thing.
I sure would hate it if he ever got around my face, i don't think he would survive that long enough for m eto walk out of the coop

 

[BlueDevilGirl67]

Our two roosters only attacked 1 time and they found out who was boss. They will attack if they are free ranging and a male that they don't know comes in the yard. That is the reason they get to play during the day. Our neighbors know how mean my roos can be and they wiill not come in my yard because they don't know when they are out and they don't want to chance an attack

 

[lady chicken whisperer]

wooow i never let my roosters spurs get that long. I always grind them off with the dremmel tool as soon as they reach half an inch. lol. I use it on their toe nails and just make the spurs dissapear while im at it

 

[mthrclckr]

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

 

[lady chicken whisperer]

yeah i tried the whole twisting the spur off thing and it WAS NOT EASY!! it did not work at all for me, thats when i turned to just grinding them off, spares them the blood i suppose, and its much easier.