Roosters and spurs...To trim or not to trim

[jbowyer01]

I have a wonderful rooster named Duke whos spurs are getting very long and pointy lol. He's very gentle but my Dh asked if we should trim his spurs. How many of you trim the spurs on your roos? and if you do how do you do it?

 

[gritsar]

You know I've thought about this issue quite alot.
My chickens free range and I believe removing my roosters spurs completely would take away his best defense against predators. I plan to trim them when they get too long for his own benefit, but not remove them. I check Thor's spurs regularly, but he's growing them in very slowly, a year old and spurs are less than 1/2" long.
ETA: When they do get too long, we plan to use the dremel tool method to trim them. Do a search using 'dremel' as your keyword and you'll learn the how-to's.

 

[bumblebeehillschickenfarm]

You can get yourself a pair of pliers and grab the middle of the spurs and twist and they will pop right off

 

[Lollipop]

In reality, if the roo isn`t aggressive and the hens aren`t being raked, no need to trim spurs unless he`s having trouble walking. To shorten the spur without taking his weapons away, grasp the spur with a plier sideways and wring it with a quick snap. The hard part will seperate and leave the "quick", which will harden in a few days into a shorter sharp spur. Sounds gruesom, but the roo acts like it never happened. May be tender for a few days, but hardens quickly.......Pop

 

[sonew123]

ouch -does this hurt him? He is starting to really hurt my only 3 hens-I kinda like the look of feathered birds!

 

[jbowyer01]

I told my DH that since ours roam the yard freely that I felt safer with him having them but my Dh is worried that it will start to effect the appearance of our hens (the whole feathers missing thing). I thought I'd aske since someone posted about their hen being accidently wounded from their roos spurs.

 

[jbowyer01]

Could I use dog nail trimmers (I have the regular kind and a dremmel kind, which by the way my dogs hate!) or does the plier thing work the best?

 

[I'vegotchickenfever]

ouch -does this hurt him? He is starting to really hurt my only 3 hens

I'll hafta agree with bumblebee and lollipop. Our roo had punctured one of our hens on both sides - ripped her right down to the meat of the thigh. We did our homework and watched a couple youtube videos (removing spurs - one did it by hand, the other w/ pliers) We used the pliers - the roo fell asleep while we were doing it. He did bleed a little at the very tip. Tried to keep him separated from the girls, but he found a way in and was mounting the girls within about 10 minutes. What I'm trying to say is, I think it bothered us more than it bothered him. I thought he'd be tender and would find a corner to sulk in, but he acted like nothing happened.​

 

[jbowyer01]

Thanks everyone. I'll plan on trying the plier thing tommorow. I might even see if I can get pics for a tutorial. I appreciate everyones input.

 

[vfem]

My roo does a GOOD job defending against stray cats and today's dog. It makes me think about how they declaw a cat. I don't feel good doing it. IF they got really long and aggrivated the bird, I would probably trim them back like I do my dogs with small clippers.

Good question though!