When Dirty Wilson decided he was going to get ugly, and attacked my little Ty man putting a nice hole in his arm, it was time to give the rooster’s spurs a good trim.

The hardest part is catching the roo. Once you’ve got him it’s a very simple process. (Pssst, by the way, kids are wonderful at catching chickens!)

We used a pair of goat hoof trimmers, ’cause that was the sharpest thing we had. A good pair of dog nail clippers would work, too. Just make sure that whatever you use is clean so as to avoid causing an infection.

If you cut too much, it will bleed a little, so you might want to keep flour or some blood stop powder nearby. Although, we didn’t put anything on the nail after it bled a little, and it was fine.

Hold the rooster firmly, so that he can’t get away or kick, and clip the spurs to a blunt tip, leaving about a quarter of the spur intact. I’m sure there might be a better way to do it, but this is what we’ve found to work for us. The spur does grow back, so it’s only a temporary fix, but at least my kids don’t have to be afraid of being punctured every time they go out to play!