Should I remove my Tom Turkey spurs?

[Feike]

Hey Turkey fanatics,
question my turkey hen finally found a mate that wants to mate....get it?
But he tore her apart with his nails or spurs..
She is limping and receivers medical attention, but my question is should I remove his spurs and shorten the nails?.....how do I do that...need ideas .....images, videos if it is something that I should do...
Please help!

 

[KrisH]

Hey Turkey fanatics,
question my turkey hen finally found a mate that wants to mate....get it?
But he tore her apart with his nails or spurs..
She is limping and receivers medical attention, but my question is should I remove his spurs and shorten the nails?.....how do I do that...need ideas .....images, videos if it is something that I should do...
Please help!

I vote yes. We did it with the help of a chicken friend that does her roosters.
we did it just like the hot potato method, just without the hot potato.

it involved using a pair of pliers to grab at the base of the spur and gently twisting back and forth until the shell came off. the quick that was left looked raw and tender. stuck out about an inch or so. we sprayed the quick with Blue-Kote to prevent bugs or infection. he was a little tender footed for a couple of weeks, but no more open wound on the hen's back (he ripped open about silver dollar size wound on the hens back before this) has been about a year and it will soon be time to do it again.

Here is a link to help out

https://sites.google.com/a/poultrypedia.com/poultrypedia/home/rooster-spurs-trimming-and-removing


RobertH