Trimming roosters spurs... could use a little help

[The Red Rooster]

1) What type of bird , and age? Winston is a year old Silkie rooster.

2) What is the problem with your bird? I believe his spurs need to be trimmed, as I am worried that he is spurring the hens while mating.

3) How long are the spurs? I would say that they are about an inch long.

4) What do you need to know? I need to know if it is necessary to trim his spurs, and I would also like to know how to trim his spurs in a way that does not hurt him, or make him bleed. I’ve made many mistakes in the past.

Thank you for your opinions and suggestions! Pictures can be added if requested, but I can ony take them tomarrow.

 

[Kevin565]

http://www.freewebs.com/cajunyankee/spurs.htm

 

[The Red Rooster]

Thank you! Very good info!!

 

[ChickieBooBoo]

There are two ways that I have used to trim spurs, both work well and involve little to no blood. First, you can use a hot baked potatoe and push the spur into it for 2-3 minutes. Then you can easily twist it off. Second, this is my prefered method. You take a pair pf pliers and grasp the spur firmly, then twist it quickly. It should twist right off and the outter shell should come off.

Here is a youtube video

 

[clayhill]

I do not trim spurs, you can remove them by gently grasping with a pair of pliers and slowly twisting back and forth. Do not squeeze too hard on spur. Gently twist until you can pull the hard outer shell off of the spur. You may see a drop or two of blood, but this will soon stop. Dab with a napkin or tissue. You will be left with a soft flexible spur that within a few weeks will cover itself with a hard cover once again. I don't remove them from my roos often. But if you see they are doing damage to your hens or you have a roo that is likely to "flog" you may want to do this often enough to keep the spur from getting too large.

 

[The Red Rooster]

Quote:
Thanks for the advice! I'm thinking I will use a hot potatoe. I like the idea of removing the entire spur.

 

[The Red Rooster]

Great info ChickieBooBoo & clayhill!

What do you think about the "hot potatoe technique?"

 

[diggerthechickenman]

i trim the spurs on my game roosters using a tink key hole saw. there is never any blood and my roos just lay in my arms so i know it doesn't hurt them . i took a piece of flat metal and bent it around on it's self and this made about 1/2 " area from one side to the other for a template to use then i drilled a hole in the metal . took the 2 ends and bent them out kinda like legs and screwed it onto a post in my coop. i grab the roo lay him on his side in my arms and stick his spurr thru the hole. then i cut it off with the saw( the saw is very tiny its used to saw intricate shapes into thin wood, like for crafts) . just like cutting toe nails, ( except his are alot harder and sharper. ) then i let him down and he goes on about his business. nothing to it . works great. it doesn't remove the spurr just keeps the ends flat and blunt instead of like 2 daggers on his legs and i know my hens appreciate it.

 

[GardenerGal]

I would never burn or pull spurs off. That just seems too creepy, at least to squeamish me! And pulling them sounds painful. I trim them carefully. It's not difficult. I take sharp pruning shears (the hand-sized snippers that gardeners use to prune shrubs) and hold the leg in front of a light so I can see where the spur meets the "quick" (the living part of the spur that has blood vessels and nerves -- it's like the living part of your fingernail bed, which you can tell from the "dead" part of your nail that has no nerves or blood vessels). Then I snip the spur about a quarter inch before the "quick" so there is no chance that I'll accidentally knick it.

Spurs are the same material as fingernails. So trim your rooster's spurs the way you'd trim your nails -- carefully, with a sharp snipper. Pruning shears work nicely because they can handle the thickness and circumferance of a spur. Human's nail clippers don't open wide enough.

 

[mkeawsh]

Can I use dog nippers? I use them on my GP and my daughter's collie. Also have the trimmers I use for trimming my goats. Will those work? My SS roo's spurs grow straight out to the side and are over 2 inches long. He has a problem walking over them and recently hurt himself jumping down from a perch and cutting his leg. I did not realize they could be trimmed and was so desperate today that I decided to come here to see if there was something I could do.