HOT POTATO!(spur shedding)...

Both methods are barbaric. We have looked into this carefully. The hot potato method works but leaves the nerve down the centre behind and must be excruciatingly painful. Pliars would result in them bleeding badly -plenty of Stockholm Tar afterwards. There is no need to remove all the spur to reduce damage to the hens. We trim just the ends back using a fine toothed brand new junior hacksaw blade. It's like ivory (hard) so the blade must be new. Cut back no more than a third. If the cock flinches as you go through the centre (nerve) or if it bleeds you have cut too much off. Then carefuly round the end off with a fine file or sandpaper.

Our old pet cockerel (Buff Orpington now nearly 4) sheds the end part of his spurs every so often. They get so long, develop a clear end section, then a fault line and then snap off during his galavanting aroung his hens. Bit of blood sometimes but antiseptic and he's fine.
 
Agree with Chris, we do the same, we either use a quality hacksaw then smooth off the spur, sometimes we clip them off and again rub the end down. Which reminds me to do one or two today! :D
I have heard of the hot potato method but haven't tried it.
 
chrismahon said:
Both methods are barbaric. We have looked into this carefully. The hot potato method works but leaves the nerve down the centre behind and must be excruciatingly painful. Pliars would result in them bleeding badly -plenty of Stockholm Tar afterwards. There is no need to remove all the spur to reduce damage to the hens. We trim just the ends back using a fine toothed brand new junior hacksaw blade. It's like ivory (hard) so the blade must be new. Cut back no more than a third. If the cock flinches as you go through the centre (nerve) or if it bleeds you have cut too much off. Then carefuly round the end off with a fine file or sandpaper.

Our old pet cockerel (Buff Orpington now nearly 4) sheds the end part of his spurs every so often. They get so long, develop a clear end section, then a fault line and then snap off during his galavanting aroung his hens. Bit of blood sometimes but antiseptic and he's fine.
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Really? Never heard of it being painful or barbaric. It's relatively painless for them, no more so than when you trim your finger nails short for the first time in a while. My best mate is a vet, she didn't have any problem with me doing, but she did say she would just trim them if it were her as they will still be sharp. They are similar to feline nails and they have layer of sheath. the layers shed over time, wear, age etc... They are also naturally meant to break off if caught or hung as protection, similar to a lizard i guess. the nerve ending is actually in the quick which is found below the next section which is under the top sheath. If you cut too far down the spur you risk cutting the new spur under the old and severing the quick/nerve this is when there is lots of blood! Birds beaks also have this sort of bloodline/nerve running through their beaks.

I only asked about the spur shedding on here to see who had done it and what they thought about it. being an ex vet nurse i'm perfectly capable of sorting out my roo's spurs! Just thought it was a bit funny using potatoes! :-)07

Thanks for your reply though.
 
Supposed compared to producing Capons it is quite mild. The alternative to a hot potato is a soldering iron apparently (the old type you heat with a blowtorch) but with nerves and a blood supply running down the spur it cannot be painless or even just slightly painful. Bit like burning your fingernails off instead of trimming them. The hot potato and soldering iron methods were the norm in the 1930's according to 'the "how to do it" poultry book' by E.T. Brown; fortunately we've moved on since then somewhat with animal welfare.
 
chrismahon said:
Supposed compared to producing Capons it is quite mild. The alternative to a hot potato is a soldering iron apparently (the old type you heat with a blowtorch) but with nerves and a blood supply running down the spur it cannot be painless or even just slightly painful. Bit like burning your fingernails off instead of trimming them. The hot potato and soldering iron methods were the norm in the 1930's according to 'the "how to do it" poultry book' by E.T. Brown; fortunately we've moved on since then somewhat with animal welfare.
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I would love to know where you get your facts about the sensitivity and pain management of cockerel's anatomy! Can you post some of your references?
the outer sheath of a spur has no blood or nerves running through it. it's solid and dead tissue, like our fingernails, bird's extended beaks, lizards tail tips, hair below the follicle, feathers etc.. spurs grow in layers, one on top of the other, similar to teeth i guess? in case you are not familar with cat claws. they grow and push one out of the way if needed, or give and fall out if not healthy, or pushed too firmly. Unlike teeth though the spur is relatively painless when removed as a layer, not surgically removed or dissected. It would be no more painful than having a feather plucked or caught and would subside and heal on it's own causing no distress and allowing the new spur to grow in it's place.
never heard of the soldering iron method, would have thought the heat would be too great and possibly burn the follicle and possibly damage the underlying spur which would cause pain and scaring. (branding comes to mind). A heated potato would work similar to expressing a pimple or boil. it increases the blood flow which brings fluid to the tissue and swells it so it's easier to express and release from the tissue. very different to burning. so more like sitting in a hot bath and letting your fingers shrivel up and letting your nails get soft so they're easier to trim! i feel that would be a better comparison... :D
 
I quite regularly have to cut my cockerals spurs because they curl up round, as far as I am aware the ends of the spurs are like the end of your nail and I trim them with pliers, i don't however cut them that short so that they bleed but i just do it regularly instead...
 
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