What You Should Know About Roosters | Build A Chicken Coop Easy

Archive for the ‘What You Should Know About Roosters’ Category

A Roosters Spurs

Rooster spurs grow on the inside leg of male burs which belong to the Galliformes Order. This includes sexually mature guineafowl, partridges, pheasants, roosters and tom turkeys.

The bird uses this as a weapon and as you might imagine can be quite dangerous if you breed expensive birds. The last thing any breeder needs is one sexually threatened mal bird killing another.

This spur results as an outgrowth of the leg bone and on a male chick appears like a papilla, as the bird matures, the spur grows and hardens and becomes covered by keratin, much like our finger and toe nails. The older the bird gets the longer, more curved and more dangerous the spur becomes.

This spur can be removed when the rooster is still a chick, and you local vet can do this by means of electrocautery. This hinders the growth of the cells of the spur papilla, because in a chick this is not yet fully formed. It is fast, non-invasive and the chick hardly feels a thing and recovers well.

In a fully grown rooster the process is not so simple and if you look at and X-Ray, the spur grows out as part of the leg bone. Your rooster would have to have this “amputated” and this means a general anesthetic, sutures and infection control.

The vet removes the spur by means of a bone saw which is used to separate the spur from the tarsometatarsal bone. Infection of the bone is possible and this can be a serious complication.

Even in a backyard flock, roosters can be dangerous if they have spurs, it is this that make them so appealing as fighters in more savage days gone by. If you have an aggressive rooster (and they can be very aggressive) they may pose a danger to your other birds, pets or even children.

An aggressive rooster may be subdued by changing the social order of the flock and adding more birds. Chickens are very social an they need to establish a pecking order amongst their own species. If not they may try to dominate any other species they come in contact with, including you.

The spur continuously grows, the same as our finger or toe nails and the tip may be filed down with a dremmel, but as the growth will recur this is an ongoing process. Trimming is also possible, but the same applies the spur will grow back and care has to be taken with the trimming process.

People have use pliers and even baked potatoes (true) to remove the hard outer layer of the spur, but short of anesthesia and complete removal, the dremmel is believed to be the best, most humane and safest method.

If you need to build your chicken coop, get this guide. It will save you many hours of time and trouble. It is hands down the best of the best guides available.

Related Blogs

Roosters – What You Need To Know

If you hope to breed chickens, you will obviously need the help of a rooster. It may be that you already have a rooster in your flock, but, if not, you will need to acquire one for the purposes of breeding.

When searching for the right rooster, you should look for one with a good temperament. Ideally, your rooster of choice will be the same breed as your hens. If you’re looking for a rooster to breed with, but not keep long-term, and don’t know where to look, try talking to other chicken owners in your area or search the internet for local breeders.

Once you have found the right bird for the job, all you need to do is leave him with your girls for a few days and let nature take its course.

On the other hand, if you plan to welcome a rooster into your flock as a permanent fixture, then here are some things you might like to know about the male of the species.

Roosters are usually very chivalrous animals, they will protect the hens from predators if necessary, and they will share any tasty morsel that they find with the girls.
Usually, roosters require the same basic care that their female counterparts need. However, there are some ways in which the rooster’s needs may differ from those of the hens.
For example, you will need to keep an eye on the rooster’s spurs, if they become too long, they will cause great discomfort, so you may need to trim them from time to time.
Before welcoming a rooster into your flock, bear in mind that there is no way to prevent him from crowing. Subsequently, if you live in a town or city, where your neighbors are likely to complain about the noise, it is perhaps best not to own a rooster.
Roosters need company, typically, it is best to provide him with the company of hens rather than a fellow rooster, as rivalry may lead to aggression.
Even if they do not have a rival, roosters can become aggressive with other birds in the flock or humans. Therefore, it is a good idea to handle your rooster while he is small and to reprimand him when necessary. Usually, chasing the rooster is enough to show him who’s boss.
During the winter, a rooster’s comb and wattle are susceptible to frostbite. So it is a good idea to insulate your coop and keep all of your birds as warm as possible during the coldest months.

These are just a few of the things that you may like to consider before bringing a rooster into your flock, so it is advisable to do some homework. However, bear in mind that a rooster can be a wonderful addition, even if he is a little noisy!