Trimming rooster spurs

[Pierre Roux]

My rooster had very long and curved spurs - he struggles to walk and cannot sit down properly but lies on his side. Can I trim the spurs?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Your roosters should have their spurs trimmed as needed, and that's needed, do a search as there's many ways to do it, I personally used a large dog nail trimmer, and have used a horse hoof nipper as well, have something to stop any bleeding, like quickstop for dogs or even cornstarch or flour can work, others will twist them off or use a hot potato. Do a search on this site to find instructions, otherwise cut until you get close to the quick, if necessary cut shorter and tend to the bleeding.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to BYC!
Yes, you can do some work on the spurs and the rooster will appreciate it (even if it doesn't seem like it at the time, lol). There are a few different methods you can use - as old hen suggested above you might be best served to read up on a few of them to find one that is most within your personal comfort zone in handling the rooster, etc. as some folks are more squeamish than others with things like this.

 

[enola]

If you grasp the spur at the base with a pair of pliers, and twist it, it will pop right off. My rooster didn't even act like it hurt. It will bleed a little. I put blood stop powder on it. His spur was about 4 inches long and curved......

 

[FarmerMac]

Welcome to BYC!
Yes, you can do some work on the spurs and the rooster will appreciate it (even if it doesn't seem like it at the time, lol). There are a few different methods you can use - as old hen suggested above you might be best served to read up on a few of them to find one that is most within your personal comfort zone in handling the rooster, etc. as some folks are more squeamish than others with things like this.

X2, there are some videos on YouTube that show how to trim the spurs. It helps when you have somebody hold the rooster while you clip/saw off the spurs. Don't worry they will grow back after awhile.