Cowboy Loses His Spurs

Mr. Big has come a long way from the days when he did not know which end of a hen to mount. Now he does his "Hey Baby" dance whenever I am out of sight and the hens are looking good. And they look good to him all the time....

Mr. Big, being a healthy Texas rooster, has a sharp set of spurs. Last year, when his they were small and blunt, it was no problem when he developed a favorite girlfriend. Now that his spurs are pointy, "Ride 'em cowboy" carries a high price.

Vo has been his very special friend for some time now and is starting to look the part. When you compare De and Vo, you can see that De lacks the oh-so-attractive bald spots that Vo is sporting.

De, Vo. Feathers, Bald.

Spur damage on Vo

 I guess you could say we were spurred to act.

Dr. Dolittle and I waited until nightfall and collected Mr. Big from his roost. He complained about being caught at first. Then he saw the clipper and became very still, as if he were preparing himself for his journey to the freezer. Sparing his life, we clipped 1/8 inch off the tips of his spurs. Mr. Big was not very impressed with this treatment and fluffed his feathers discreetly when returned to the roost. I pretended not to notice the stink eye he sent our way.

Mr. Big in an undignified position, showing spurs

Making the spurs less sharp

I hope blunting the spurs was enough. If this does not work, then I will have to take the spurs off entirely with pliers. This creeps me out because it seems to me like pulling out fingernails. Eeeeeew!

UPDATE: Still too sharp five days later. Here is how we removed the rooster's spurs.