spurs

[ZooKeeper]

I know this will sound absolutly ridiculous to MOST but my 18mo PET pheonix rooster has spurs that are close to 3" long. I am amazed. He hasn't threaened me but he has the other hen especially my 3yr rhode island red hen. Is there any thing I can do? can they be removed safely?

 

[speckledhen]

Sure they can! I just blunted my Blue Orp roosters spurs today. Dremel tool! Cuts and cauterizes at the same time then smooths them out. Smells yucky while you're cutting, but that is the perfect way and doesn't hurt the rooster, either.

 

[chrisf]

Speckledhen, How far down do you "grind" the spur? I'd like to try it on my guys.

 

[speckledhen]

I leave the length of maybe a pencil eraser or slightly more. One of my hens was getting cuts on her side, I just noticed, and the end of his spurs were quite sharp, plus they stuck straight out, not curved, so I cut off maybe a half inch, leaving about 3/4" or so of spur. I just cut them straight across then polished the edges a bit.

 

[hooligan]

I use a dremel too, and it smells like burning hair

 

[newchickmom]

Somewhere I saw instructions to actually Remove the spurs.

 

[speckledhen]

Some take pliers, grip them firmly then twist back and forth till the outer sheath comes off. The underneath part is not as hard or pointy, I understand, but I've never done it that way. Do NOT use a hot potato-it bleeds alot!

 

[rooster-red]

I just file the ends of the spurs to make them blunt.

 

[CUDA]

If you twist the spur off, you have to be very careful. You can slip the spur if you don't hold on to the base securely. Plus, if you do this, you will end up with a hard, sharp spur again. You are much better to cut them off. Check out my site HERE for more information.

 

[Ace_king_brahma]

I used to remove spurs when they got too long but then people started accusing me of cockfighting. Which is a problem in my area so I discontinued the practice. But, it does benefit the hens.