Twisting off spur, how much "torque"

[key west chick]

Tonight we tried to twist spurs off. Smokey usually rips his off sparing with the other roo in the pen next to his but no longer have a roo in there.They are about 2 and a half inches long. DH tried to twist them off. I had showed him a video and he thought it would be easy, just kinda twist. He couldn't even make them budge. Smokey didn't squirm or anything just sat there. DH wants to know how hard he should try and twist. He was afraid of twisting to hard. The video made it look so easy.

 

[mrs.67]

I will be interested to see what answers you get.
They grow back like fingernails don't they? I am sure we will just use a drumming (SP) tool to file them when our time comes.

 

[lostsoulhelpmejebus]

Quote:
Not tried twisting them off. Hubby uses either Dremel cutoff wheel or angle grinder...cut off leaving about .5 to .75 inch of spur. The friction heat that builds up actually cauterizes the spur and there is no blood. I just wrap the roo up in a towel to hold him still and hubby cuts the spur off. Roo does not struggle or make a fuss.

 

[Barnyard]

Trust me, it is harder than what it seems. I tried cutting my roo's spurs with wire cuter's. Instead of cutting the spur, it just twisted the hull off. It is not the best thing to do, but it will not kill them and they do grow back. Once they do grow back they are gonna be super sharp and you are gonna want to file them down. Just a word of advice, they bleed like crazy when you do it this way. I believe you can take cornstarch and put it on there to stop with bleeding. If you do a author search for the name CUDA, he has a website that show's you how to trim spur's the proper way. Goodluck.

http://www.freewebs.com/cajunyankee/tipsforraisingpoultry.htm
try this link and see if it take's you to the page....

 

[KellyHM]

Just so you know, ripping off a sput would be equivalent to getting your toenail ripped off! I'm sure you can imagine how uncomfortable and sore that would be. And clipping them down to where they bleed is just like quicking a dog when you cut their nails. Just a thought...

 

[a2ms4chickens]

I just de-spurred 4 of my roos today with a pair of pliers.

You put the pliers on the spur near the shank. You need to put enough pressure on the pliers to grip the spur. You just twist back and forth and you will see the spur start to turn with the pliers. Keep twisting until you can pull it off. There will be bleeding on the underlying spur, but it eventually stops.

Our roos went back to their business when they were done, like nothing even happened.

Good luck!!

 

[Attack Chicken]

I've seen people put vasoline on tthe base of the spurr to soften it up so it would be easier to twist. They also use a pair of pliers.

 

[joebryant]

Hope that I never have to do either. Maybe my rooster will be nice when he grows up. I do have a Dremel though if Anne wants to cut his spurs off. I ain't a gonna do it.

 

[a2ms4chickens]

The reason I do it is to help prevent injury to my hens.

My son also has chickens he uses for show, and it is a requirement to keep them trimmed to prevent injury to the judge.

In a few days, I'll file the ends of the spurs so they aren't so sharp.

 

[coltsrox]

Quote:
how much do u file them for show? i DO NOT want to twist them off cuz i heard theres alot of blood involved!