Rooster lost Nail or Toe?

[Rob and Sheila]

See attached 2 photos. Found this in his crate (brought him inside becuse of frost bite on his comb) yesterday. Very little blood. Is this his toe, spur or nail or both? What need I do?

 

[coach723]

Looks like a broken spur. You should be able to tell looking at his legs/feet. Spurs get broken, it happens. As long as it's stopped bleeding, he should be fine. You can trim spurs to keep them shorter and prevent them from getting caught on things. It also makes it easier for them to get around. I use large nail clippers on mine, you can also use a dremmel. Just don't cut down into the quick, which you can see inside the piece you have there, that part bleeds and is painful. But when they get long, the quick does not go all the way to the end, you can trim a fair amount off there, just take a little at a time, off. I also blunt the tips of mine, so they have less risk of stabbing a hen with them when mounting.

 

[Rob and Sheila]

Thanks for the information! - Will he grow another one?

 

[coach723]

Usually, yes, spurs continue to regrow. They will grow out after trimming, and broken ones usually regrow unless the very root is extremely damaged. I had a roo break a spur off at the leg going after a hawk (good boy!), it regrew fine. Just generally takes a while, they tend to grow slow.