Please help! Rooster spurs cutting hens side!

[mbhamilt3]

Hi there! Looking for some advice - about two weeks ago I found one of my hens with a large gash on her side, I’m guessing that my rooster may have slipped when he was mating with her. I cleaned her wound and got her patched up and have had her separated for about two weeks. She seemed to be healing pretty well, so I put a saddle on her and reintroduced to the flock. She did well with the group getting reintroduced to the pecking order, But it seems she is my roosters favorite and after a few go rounds the gash seemed to have ripped open again and the saddle didn’t quite do its job. I’m not looking to get rid of my rooster (he’s not aggressive and does a great job of protecting the flock from predators.)
Looking for any advice from those who have experienced something similar, what is the expected timeline for an injury like this to heal? I put her on a round of amoxicillin the first time around, it's been about a week and a half - do I need to put her back on it because it was ripped open again? What are the implications of keeping this hen separated totally from the rest of the flock for an extended period of time? (she did good with the first reintroduction but I'm worried I am going to have to keep her separated for even longer now. Are there any saddles or other protections that have worked for you on larger hens (that protect their sides) etc. Are spur covers absurd or do they work? Thanks in advance!

 

[WishingStar]

From my experience.

I would cut the roosters spurs similar to how one trims dog nails. I use a pair of pruning shears and work down to the quick (careful, it will bleed if you nick it). This helps to keep injuries to a minimum and more minor. I do this about twice a year on my boys.

As for the hen, pull her out until she is fully healed. Otherwise it could reopen every time he mounts her. Can you keep her isolated inside your coop/run in something like a dog kennel? Keep the injury supple; I use a blue "hen saver" salve from Tractor Supply on these types of injuries. I can't remember the timeline, but I think the last time I had this type of injury it took a week or two. It depends on how deep the injury is.

Edit: just looked at my boys and it's that time again. I can take some before and after photos.

 

[dawg53]

You can use a Dremel tool with a disc grinder to cut the spurs off. The heat from the disc grinder will cauterize blood, no problem. Wrap the rooster in a towel and tie his legs together to keep him from kicking while you're working on the spurs.
Then put some Blu-Kote on the stubs afterwards.

 

[Anon112]

I've also been grappling with this. I need to trim my roosters' spurs. I have a saddle on the hen who got an injury, but just today I see she has a new (small) cut from mating just at the edge of where the saddle ends.

 

[Folly's place]

Standard size roosters have very tough spurs, use a Dremel, it definitely works best. One person holds the bird, the other person uses the Dremel.
Mary