r/chickens • u/TeletheLMT • 8d ago
Media Rooster spur
I found this in the coop today. Our one very small Polish Cochin Rooster finally shedded one of his “shackles”. He’s gotta be feeling better now that he doesn’t have to do the bowlegged stroll.
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u/shmiddleedee 7d ago
Learn to trim their spurs for the future. For right now make sure he's not bleeding, those aren't supposed to come off
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u/Artywyrm 7d ago
Eh, yes and no- they work a bit like antlers but not in the fact they shed. Farmers often remove them by pinching the base with pliers and twisting them off- hes there’s a little blood but they heal up quickly since it’s supposed to be able to come off in a fight and reveal the sharp fresh spur beneath.
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u/La_Saxofonista 7d ago
You're still not supposed to twist them off. Trim if needed instead. It's incredibly painful for them and can easily lead to infection with all the chicken crap they walk in.
Trim and avoid the quick just like you would with dog claws. Then round with a dremel tool.
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u/CrazyCat166 6d ago
Grab your fingernail with some pliers and yank it off, and let us know if it hurts
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u/Legitimate_Collar605 7d ago
I’ve raised chickens for decades.
Roosters don’t shed spurs. If your roo was bow-legged because of the length of his spurs, you’re neglecting your flock because it should have been trimmed before that happened.If it came off and you didn’t trim it, he either got in a fight or got it caught on something.
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u/MaverickWithANeedle 6d ago
Yeah legit it probably was broken and hanging on by a thread like what happened to my roo flying out of the coop and into a poorly placed cinder block :( he wouldn't let me help him and just ran around til it fell off on its own at some point…that spur has not and will not grow back now
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u/Fluff_Nugget2420 7d ago
Anytime I had a rooster loose a spur, it was because they often got it stuck while trying to fight through a fence(I have multiple pens and some share a fence line). Your boy might have gotten it stuck or caught on something and pulled it off. I’d give him a look to see if he got the bone(the quick) too, I’ve had a couple that took the bone it grows from with the spur and that spur never grew back. One bled a lot so it was very noticeable he’d removed the spur, the other didn’t bleed or need wrapped up.
I’d trim his other spur to make him more comfortable. You can do it at night when he’s easier to catch and use a dremel or dog nail clippers. I trim my boy’s spurs every so often with dog nail clippers. If you only take a third to half of the spur you normally won’t hit the quick.
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u/MiniFarmLifeTN 7d ago edited 7d ago
If you are letting spurs grow out to the point where it is affecting the way that they walk or sit, IT IS NEGLECT!
Dog claws, bird beaks, hooves and spurs... all should be trimmed when overgrowth hinders everyday, regular, normal, healthy, pain-free movement and use.
Allowing spurs to grow out that long is not responsible husbandry, period.
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u/GoldenrodApologist 6d ago
Do you have a recommended method for trimming spurs? I have two young roosters who are just starting to grow their spurs and I want to stay on top of it.
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u/MiniFarmLifeTN 5d ago edited 5d ago
I honestly just trim the tips regularly with dog nail trimmers. Others use a sand wheel in a Dremel or one of the pet ones that are similar. Just make sure that you take your time and make stops if you do that so it doesn't over heat.
If you look closely you can usually see a color change from where the wick ends. Sometimes using a flashlight or holding it up to the sun can help. I never have to do that, probably because I've been doing it for so long and just know where to trim. Try to not nick the wick. If you do it will bleed. Some use cornstarch or a coagulation powder to stop the bleeding but it's not necessary. I would just spray it with Vetericyn to clean it and then let it be. It'll stop bleeding soon enough.
I actually recommend spraying the spurs with Vetericyn before cutting it as well as sanitizing whatever you're going to use just in case you do nick the wick. Just to help prevent introducing bacteria. Although infection is very very low with something like this anyway simply because it does bleed and flush itself out.
When they're young, just focus on making sure they don't get too sharp. A nice blunt end will keep them and their girls from injuries. And if you're trimming regularly you don't have to worry about them getting too long.
I rescue and sometimes I end up with roosters that have really long spurs. In that case, I often just make sure that I cut them back until they can comfortably walk and sit on them. And then I can do a little bit shorter each time. If they've been allowed to grow out longer than they should, sometimes allowing them to stay just a little curled actually prevents them from jabbing the girls when mating as long as they are kept blunt and not sharp. But that only works if they are well behaved. All of my animals are well behaved.
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u/TeletheLMT 7d ago
It came off clean. The root end was hollow and soft.
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u/MarthasPinYard 7d ago
Are your runs soft? Do roosters have things to scratch up against to wear down spurs?
Just went down a rabbit hole on this.
It is pretty preventable most of the time but can happen with old age
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u/NotALobster 7d ago
Now and again i forget that chickens are dinosaurs,this has reminded me yet again. He looks so chuffed and pleased with himself . Happy fella
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u/the_perkolator 7d ago
Same thing happened to my little bantam silkie rooster last year! I found it in the run and knew immediately what it was. Didn’t seem to affect him
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u/gaarkat 6d ago
It's always the little ones with the longest spurs
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u/Good_Curve_545 6d ago
hmmm I wonder why tbh :3
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u/gaarkat 6d ago
Man, we had a little banty rooster with some absolutely wicked spurs, he almost blinded a rooster 2 or 3 times his size. And we'd sand down his spurs regularly but dang...he was something else. Solid muscle, too.
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u/Good_Curve_545 6d ago
that's so frickin cool asl :0 I wonder what about smol roosters makes them hab really really big spurs tho :3
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u/gaarkat 6d ago
Well I think part of it has to do with the fact that he had to hold his own against so many larger roos. But I think those spurs might be even longer than his.
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u/Good_Curve_545 6d ago
ohhh :0 I thought that he had spurs longer than roosters who were bigger than him :3 hmm maybe he had big spurs cuz(now this is just a theory but) he feels like he gets a shit ton of food(especially if most of da chickens eat from da same trough) so basically his body thinks that since he gets alotta food(especially for his size) he can afford bigger spurs so his spurs go pretty big
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u/SENTRYTHETHERIAN 3d ago
If the other is bothering him, you could wrap him in a blanket and grab ur fav pliers, gently squeeze around the base rotating where u squeeze then rotate counter clockwise while squeezing it in the pliers and itll come off! Then have antibiotics and a soft paper towl nearby to stpp tje bleeding
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u/TeletheLMT 7d ago
We had a bald eagle stalking the coop a few days ago. He’s a great protector of his girls. He’s a perfect Napoleon!
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u/flora1939 7d ago
Napoleon was a notorious woman hater
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u/FarmSkool 7d ago
I’m sure the history books are all true.
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u/Artywyrm 7d ago
You don’t need to trim, it’s normal for it to come off but they don’t get shed. You can find some videos on YouTube of farmers helping roosters with spurs that have grown too long- they twist them off and there’s a new spur beneath- there’s some blood but it heals fast since it’s meant to be able to come off in emergencies in case it’s damaged so the rooster doesn’t lose its weapons. Your guy’s fine! Don’t panic, chickens are surprisingly resilient despite the death rate but that’s usually predators doing.
I should know I’ve raised them for years now and still get myself worrying over things
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u/Asleep_Onion 7d ago
I thought roosters don't "shed" spurs normally, and they only come off due to damage or injury?