Not with my rooster?

[tiffanya]

Reading the forum I've learned so many good ways to keep my flock, in particular my rooster happy and healthy, However, I can't imagine being able to do half of them to my rooster! I'm fairly new to having chickens, but being able to pick up my sussex rooster to do something like trim his nails is beyond me! He's not fond of my getting to close to him most of the time let alone picking him up. Anybody else like this? Any suggestions?

 

[Red&Yellow]

I don't about what exactly you read, but I'm pretty confident most people do not trim their roo's nails. I know I sure don't.
To me, even if you keep chickens as pets, there is something that doesn't seem right about too much handling of roosters. Now, bantams maybe. But my three roosters are fairly standoffish, and two of them are about 10 lbs. If I need to handle them, I do. (though I do like to have them come close to me)
If you're asking how to pick them up, well. There are many different ways, but I usually corner the roo and grab him on both sides of his body, my thumbs above his wings and other fingers near as I can get to his breastbone. If that isn't an option, you could always lure him close to you and swip realllllly quickly at his legs. Of course, if he does have sharp spurs, this could be bad. I have a scar on my palm becuase I didn't take that into account.
Do try and find a food that he really likes. I didn't realize that chickens have favorite foods, but boy does my roo love peanuts! Mostly try and show the rooster that you're not going to harm him or, more importantly, the hens. Win his trust.
Hope this helps

 

[MuranoFarms]

I only trim nails if they get bad....as in curling under, or making it difficult to walk. Otherwise I don't think they need it. I have a guinea cock right now with a long nail I just noticed. I'll just wait till he's on the roost for the night, get under him and slip the dog nail trimmer over that nail and squeeze. I've found that snipping off just a little is usually enough. It's like making a fresh edge, then they start to wear down on their own again.

I love my roo's, but most of them don't like to be messed with. When I pick them up they remind me of a teenage boy "Moooommm! Not in front of the guys!" lol I've had a few mean ones though....and they were delicious!

Seriously though, it's not a big deal if your roo doesn't like to be messed with. As long as he's not mean! (not kidding about mean roo's making good stew though!) I make sure I kneel down and offer my big roo scratch from my hand a few times a week. That way he relates me to yummy feed.

I've also found that if anything ever happens and they need you (like when Mr Copper got sick, or my silkie roo decided to stay out in the rain and got cold and muddy) they calm down in a hurry and let you take care of them. You can tell they're better when they get their attitude back! lol

 

[tiffanya]

The nail trimming was just an example, but I like the doing it at night idea! (A couple of his favorite hens backs are looking pretty rough.) I've also heard about trimming the spurs, putting vasaline on a comb with frostbite etc. and just can't quite imagine him "letting" me do any of this. He's a beautiful roo and I plan to keep him around but he has come after me a couple of times. As long as I don't back down he gets tired of that pretty quick. More often than not he just goes the opposite direction. I have no desire to handle him often, but in the case that I need to was just curious of the easiest way. Thanks for the advice.

 

[MuranoFarms]

Vaseline on the comb is another one to do while on the roost. Get a glob of it between the fingers of one hand and some scratch in the palm of the other and just rub it on while he eats. I haven't tried the spur trimming yet so I can't help ya there. They're a lot calmer if you get them off the roost at night then if you try to catch them during the day. So anything I have to do.....it's always after dark.

It's one thing if he challenges you once in awhile, its quite another if he attacks anyone who walks by! He sounds like a good boy.

 

[karimw]

Even if they don't like it you should be able to restrain them if you need to. Most of my roos are not friendly either but I found they liked having their combs rubbed.

I don't mess with them much though.