Removing/trimming rooster spurs

[KrazyKatLady]

I have a rosecomb bantam of about 7 months. He is starting to develop his spurs. At the moment they are maybe 1/2" long, blunt and smooth. If I were to start removing the sheath or taking a Dremel to them now, will they stay short with maintenance like a dog whose nails are trimmed regularly? This bird roosts in trees at night and does not take well to being handled, so any good advice on a safe and effective "hold" is appreciated as well.

 

[CountryBirdGirl]

Personally I would let his spurs develop a bit more as they are there for a reason, and once again, I personally would not use the dremel, especially with a Rooster that doesn't like to be handled.
The spurs sound like they're a bit too short right now, so you still have time.
The potato method is gentle and does not draw blood, but I realize your problem with holding him. Keeping him indoors would be your safest bet, both for him and also for you to handle him soon. You'll just need to start keeping him indoors at night (also protects him from predators) and once it is dark, if you can get someone to hold him (keep his beak away from their face, while they hold him upright and his legs in the natural down position) put a flashlight in his face, so he can't see what you're doing and use the potato method I had described several posts prior to this one. It's extremely easy to do, even with a rooster that doesn't like to be held and after doing it several times, it keeps the spurs shorter. You can't beat that! Best of luck.

 

[Tattoued]

We just tried the twist and remove method on our Rhode Island Red and it came off pretty easy but it wouldn't stop bleeding and he seems to now favor that foot. It wasn't pouring, but just drip...drip...drip. We took turns holding him and pinching the end of the quick and tried styptic powder which may not have worked since all I could find was a pencil so I ground up a piece. It didn't stick very well. Also tried the sugar and held him again for about a half hour. He was very calm and took a nap, but when I put him back out on the back porch (where his hutch is - he's solo - no other hens or roosters - he wandered up our driveway in the middle of winter 3 years ago so we've been looking after him), it started to drip again. Not sure why... maybe it was damaged in the process? My husband didn't think it needed to be done but one of his spurs was VERY long... I had heard stories of roosters lancing themselves while dismounting from a perch and seriously, this spur was extremely long and sharp. I kept telling him about this method and he finally said just go get the **** chicken and did it. Well of course I'm the bad guy cuz now we have this bleeding problem and he's favoring that leg. I'm hoping he'll be better by morning. Hubby ended up wrapping it with a paper towel then some fabric medical tape all the way around the spur that was left and the leg so it wouldn't come off. He's now tucked into his hutch (we got a rabbit hutch for night time and let him out during the day so he's free range) with a packing blanket over it to keep him warm and dark and calm... he should be ok, yes? I'm really worried now. Note: after it was wrapped, I watched him for about 10 mins and there was no blood seeping through or anything so I'm hoping it's stopped.

 

[azygous]

First of all, do not worry. You didn't hurt him. Sometimes the nubs refuse to stop bleeding after the horny sheath is removed. You did all the right things.

Coincidentally, I have a Cream Legbar roo who had his spurs removed over a week ago, and I had the very same problem. Then a few days later, he was goofing around and he banged one of the spurs and the bleeding began all over again. Blood everywhere. A bloody mess, pardon the pun.

I used corn starch to stop the bleeding, but I decided to bandage the spurs with vet wrap to protect them from getting knocked and damaged again. I sprayed with Vetericyn and put some triple antibiotic ointment, wrapped a small square of Telfa pad around the spur then put on the vet wrap. It's such wonderful stuff because it stays put without tape, which would only come undone. Roosters are not sedentary creatures in case you haven't noticed.

I remove the bandages every two or three days, check, clean, and bandage again if the spurs are still moist. Some spurs harden in just a few hours after removal while others bleed and take a few weeks to harden. It depends on the individual. But relax in knowing your rooster's spurs will heal and harden eventually.

I don't believe I've ever heard of a case where spurs have become infected. If they have, it's extremely rare.

 

[Tattoued]

Thank you! My husband had chickens years ago before I came along, but no roosters. I just let him out of his hutch and he's crowing like crazy, as usual! The bandage looks good. So we should leave it for a couple days and take it off and see what happens? Knowing that we may have to bandage it again, of course. Lol! He still has the other spur and I'm wondering if it's hitting the fresh one. I suggested to my husband to maybe clip the tip off that one and he's done with all that.

 

[Tattoued]

Sorry... accidental post!

 

[azygous]

Thank you! My husband had chickens years ago before I came along, but no roosters. I just let him out of his hutch and he's crowing like crazy, as usual! The bandage looks good. So we should leave it for a couple days and take it off and see what happens? Knowing that we may have to bandage it again, of course. Lol! He still has the other spur and I'm wondering if it's hitting the fresh one. I suggested to my husband to maybe clip the tip off that one and he's done with all that.

I would definitely remove the other spur. Another option is to use a Dremmel tool to grind it down. That may be a safer option for a bleeder.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I hardly ever trim a rooster’s spurs. The few times I’ve done it I used a Dremel tool with that disc you use to cut metal and cut the tip of the spur off. I don’t grind it down, I cut the tip off. I do that by myself, wrap the rooster in a large towel around the wings and body and lay him on a trailer that’s a convenient height. You can cover his head if you wish but make sure he can breathe. That should keep him immobile so you can do it by yourself. They are usually very calm when wrapped like that, even when you are cutting the spur off.

I cut deep enough to cause bleeding once, the other two times I didn’t cut that deep. I did not use flour, corn starch, or anything else to stop the bleeding, there just wasn’t enough bleeding to worry about, though having something handy is a good idea.

When I butcher chickens I use the feet in my broth. To get them clean I scald them and peel them. With older roosters (and some cockerels and hens) I twist the spur covering off. I’ve noticed the quick comes out pretty far in some roosters, not as far in others. In most of them if you only cut off maybe ¼ of the spur rom the tip you’ll miss the quick but get rid of the sharp point. That’s most of them, not all.

 

[Tattoued]

Azygous, here's a pic of the rooster's bandage and the other spur. We are "chickening" out of taking the other sheath off because of the bleeding situation. The other spur was quite a bit longer, actually curving upwards a bit so I thought it was worth it to take it off. I was thinking of just trimming, but I'd say about 3/4 of the instructions I ran across said to take the sheath right off. He didn't struggle or even make a sound. I'm thinking of maybe finding an vet or a farmer that'll trim the other one because this was traumatic for US, not for him! Like I said, we just have the one rooster and he's more of a pet than anything and we feel horrible! I do have a dremel though. What about a really tough emery board? Can I file it? I'm pathetic I know...

 

[Tattoued]

Ridgerunner, I'm not sure if I have the metal cutting wheel, but I'm trying to steel myself up for the task. I gotta try the towel wrap. I actually heard of that many times before and it just didn't cross my mind at the time. As far as bleeding, he bled a LOT. It wasn't pouring out but constantly dripping - I'd say a drop about every 15 secs or so. It wasn't slowing, so we wrapped it and they when we noticed the other spur was hitting the fresh one. Thanks for sharing the info!