Rooster spurs????

[Shadrach]

I've had hens slashed badly down their sides from hip to leg, & wing pit to hip. Not all rooster spurs curve upwards, some grow straight, some grow down at an angle.

Since I've started managing spur length I have had any more slashed hens.

I've only seen claw damage from claws right on top of their back if there's broken feathers.

I don't remove every Rooster's spurs, most of them I just blunt with clippers. Only certain ones I pull.

Okay.

 

[Obsessed With Silkies]

File the points round with a nail file. You don't need to do any more than this. Do not be tempted to cut them off, or cut them at all in fact.
If you are not confident about handling them, take them off their roost at night and do it.

Approximately how often will I need to file them?

 

[Shadrach]

Approximately how often will I need to file them?

Once a month maybe. It depends on how quickly the spurs grow. Once you've filed the point round; maybe by removing about a sixteenth of an inch, maintaining them is not very labour intensive.
It's one of those things that one gets used to doing and watching out for if one has a few roosters; much mite and lice checks.
I used to do it to the less friendly roosters while they were on theirs perches. They do shuffle about a bit.
It's worth giving them a bit of a manicure if required. Often roosters and hens for that matter, who don't free range don't get the oppertnity to wear down their nails through scratching when foraging.