Rooster Chat

[azygous]

The spurs start growing around the time the hormones become active around six months. But they take a long time to get to a dangerous length. They may be an inch long at one year.

 

[Deleon98]

So is trimming them a possibility?

 

[azygous]

For shorter spurs, I like to just blunt the points off with a Dremmel file head.

By the time the rooster is a year and a half, the spurs can be carefully loosened with a pair of pliers, then lifted off. It's a simple procedure, and there's little blood. There are many great videos you can watch that show how easy and simple this procedure is to perform.

The spur is a hollow "horn" and what's left is a fleshy nub that quickly hardens in a few hours. A new spur will eventually grow back over this nub, but it will take a year.

Some folks don't bother removing the spurs. They just keep the sharp tip filed down so it's less lethal. Either method of controlling spur growth is recommended to prevent injuries to the hen while she's mated.

Long spurs can hurt the rooster, too. I had a heavy Brahma roo with very long spurs get hung up on his perch while attempting to dismount and he broke his leg. He ended up dying from these injuries.

 

[Deleon98]

Well geez. Ill probably just end up clipping my guys down cause it sounds pretty mean to take out the whole thing lol

 

[the poppster]

Well geez. Ill probably just end up clipping my guys down cause it sounds pretty mean to take out the whole thing lol

I've never had to trim the Roosters spurs. But if you keep them trimmed as soon as they start to get long I think it would keep them under control...you can use dog toenail clippers.

 

[azygous]

Well geez. Ill probably just end up clipping my guys down cause it sounds pretty mean to take out the whole thing lol

No. It is not mean to remove a rooster's spurs. There is no feeling in the spurs whatsoever because there are no nerve endings. When I did my first rooster's spurs at around eight months, he fell asleep in my lap. There was a tiny drop of blood. They harden within hours and new cutaneous material immediately begins growing to form new layers over the nub. It is a very painless, easy procedure for rooster and human.

It's works better to remove the spurs before they get over an inch because the nub will be much shorter than if you wait until they're a couple inches long. The nub will harden and you will have a spur again in a week, and it can be just as dangerous as before if it's a long one. The shorter nub will be easier to manage.

The advantage to removing the spurs is that you don't have to catch and handle the rooster again for another year, as opposed to frequent spur trimmings every few weeks.

It's incredibly easy.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

My roosters are 9 months and it seems like their spurs are dull

 

[the poppster]

It will usually take a good year or more for spurs to get any real length....you can get a good idea of a Roosters age by spur size....unless they have been pulled...then it's more the size around then the length that can give you some idea of age. I'm sure real Poultry Experts can use many things to estimate age in a rooster. I'm no expert.

 

[cabinchicky]

Thank you for reminding me I need to dull Festers spurs. He is almost 2 and they are over 2 inches long. Thank goodness he is a good guy and well behaved!

 

[Deleon98]

Ik starting to realize that all of a roosters nails are sharp cause all my pullets are nowhere near as painful to perch on my hand as Indie XD