Twisting-off or cutting-off Rooster spurs??

[Foodaholic75]

My rooster Dexter has 3 inch or longer spurs. We need to remove them as a last resort because he is aggressive. He cut one of my ducks face the other day

and I'm afraid he will seriously hurt her. I really don't want to get rid of him, we've had him since he was a chick. I've read other posts. I'm wondering what is the best method with the least bleeding and aftercare, cutting the spurs or twisting-off method? My husband will be doing the job and neither of us have done anything like this.

 

[Mrs. K]

my roo is getting a good set of spurs, himself. How do you decide if they need to come off. He is not mean, but the year old pullets are showing a little wear. Can some roosters manage their spurs, so as to not hurt hens, or should they be reduced like toenails?

MrsK

 

[FireTigeris]

I think it's the toenails not the spurs when the roosters over 'tread' the hens.

 

[cafarmgirl]

My husband trims my RIR's spurs on a regular basis. They were very long and pointed and my hens were getting scratches on their sides.

He first trims them down and then files them off with a small rasp so the ends are rounded. We're going to get a dremmel to make it easier. They are about an inch and a half long when he's done and no blood or pain for the bird. I've seen other methods of removing them, including a quick twist and removing the "cap" as they call it, leaving a small nub. They do bleed with that method and I just wasn't interested to try since trimming is working for us.

 

[azygous]

It depends on the rooster whether or not the spurs will bleed if you decide to employ the twist-off method.

I've done two roosters by twisting the spurs off with pilers with just barely a drop of blood. But the third rooster, my Buff Brahma, bled for hours. His spurs were poorly formed, coming off in flaky layers, rather than a cap just lifting off like the others, so perhaps that was the reason he bled.

Some like to use a hot potato, and I may give that a try next time. You simply heat a potato in the microwave for one minute, then stick it on the spur. It's supposed to loosen the spur so it lifts off easily. The potato must be re-heated for the second spur, as you leave it on the spur for about a minute.