How important is physical touch?

Hi Christine, thank you so much for taking those sweet boys in and for all you're doing to provide them a safe and happy life! I'll just touch on the considerations when it comes to both handling and things like spur maintenance, because of course there are pros and cons to weigh and individual temperaments and environment should always be a factor in these kinds of decisions.

When it comes to handling, there are a great many benefits to working to tame down flock members and get to a point where handling is welcomed. You're absolutely right, however, that it's important to go about this in a way that won't damage trust or inspire fear. Your boys' situation isn't entirely normal, given the past trauma they're working through, so it would be important to proceed with caution. The primary reason physical examinations are so important is because chickens are stoic by nature, this means they suppress signs of injury and illness as a survival strategy. Not only does a weak bird more readily draw the attention of predators, but they risk being exiled by the flock (as the others know they're likely to attract that unwanted attention to the group as a whole). It can be very difficult to identify problems just through observation. Now I have found that birds who are alone, say when removed to a separate area for treatment, are more willing to exhibit symptoms clearly. The difficulty here is that they would have to be away from not just humans but flock members as well, so we're talking observation by something like baby monitor or security camera while they're solo. This of course would require catching and removing them to an isolated area for monitoring. Since your flock free ranges, security cameras outside likely wouldn't be particularly helpful unless they were isolating away from the flock in a place like the coop. In cases where they're isolating, that alone is typically a sign something is wrong.

So I would encourage working with them to get to a point that they can easily be handled, but in the meantime it might work to give a once over on the roost after dark (working with just a small flashlight or similar). They're typically quite subdued and accepting once the sun sets and they're settled, as their night vision is very poor. Look particularly at their eyes, ears and nares to ensure they're clean and free of drainage of any kind. If you look just behind their eye, at about a 45 degree downward angle, you'll note a stiff oval of feathers. Their ear hole is just under this, and can be seen clearly if you gently brush those feathers forward towards their beak. There should be no clumps of material or obstructions in that cavity. If possible, check the pads of their feet for any areas of swelling, redness, or scabs. Check the bases of the feathers under their wings, on their neck, and around their vent to confirm there's no sign of parasites. You should see no clumps at the feather bases (clumps could indicate eggs) and no creepy crawlies in the area. As we move into spring, fly-strike becomes a greater danger if they happen to have any stuck poop near the vent. If you haven't heard of this condition, I would advise against pulling up pictures, as some are quite horrendous. Essentially, the poop can attract flies to tender and irritated skin which they will lay their eggs on, resulting in maggots hatching and feeding on the area. This condition can be, and often is, fatal so I make a habit of religiously checking vents in seasons with high fly presence, both to ensure they're clean and to confirm there are no issues taking hold. You can also check their preen glands, which look like a tiny thumb just at the base of the tail. You may have to fish around a bit to find it, but if you've watched them preen and seen them stick their beak into the feathers at the tail base and make a nibbling motion, what they're doing is extracting oil from that gland to coat their feathers. Watching where they reach to access this could direct you to more easily locate it. A preen gland should have just a gently mounded base, be the same yellowish/pink as their other skin, and not be red or inflamed. These can on occasion become impacted which can lead to infection, so it's just one thing on the list I like to keep a bit of an eye on and ensure it's looking healthy. I would recommend having a kennel on hand, or something similar, that they can be taken to worst case should anything be found to be amiss during that inspection. As reassurance, I find that most chickens seem to understand (perhaps just intuitively) when what we're doing is to help or care for them. I've had to do some treatments on flock members that I was sure they would hold against me, but they never have. They seem to understand when our intentions are good and our focus is on protecting them.

With spur trimming, it's a bit of a tough call. With free-ranging flocks it's absolutely a survival tool and one that I would be reluctant to deprive them of. The dangers of leaving the spurs sharp would be risk of injury to hens during mating and risk of injury to other males during disputes. We as keepers can do a good job keeping safe by donning appropriate attire when boys are allowed to keep their spurs sharp, but the others in the flock don't have the same kind of protection. Saddles can help prevent spur injury for the hens, but can have the drawback of posing a risk of entanglement. In a run with nothing to get caught on this is less a concern, but when free-ranging the terrain may present a greater danger of that issue. Sometimes saddles can scare predators and deter them from approaching, but they can also make them easier to spot, so again there are pros and cons. Unfortunately, there's really no way to prevent risk of injury to other roosters when spurs aren't dulled. If they're able to injure and even kill a predator, they will necessarily be capable of doing the same to each other. This really comes down to a personal decision and requires weighing goals with the flock and those risks vs benefits of different settings and activities. The free ranging presents a great benefit in terms of enrichment and freedom, but does come at a greater risk of harm. Penning deprives them of some ability to express natural behaviors, but provides a much greater ability to ensure everyone is kept safe (not just from predators but from each other as well). Penning would also facilitate socializing and bonding if that's something you would like to do. With our boys, we elected to trim spurs and keep them mostly penned, but would allow them yard time with our close presence and supervision. They could nibble plants and dig for treasures while we kept watch on the skies and made sure no danger was looming. If you do decide to leave spurs sharp, I would just advise keeping a very close eye on how the boys are interacting and reach out if you see any signs of conflict brewing. Roosters will shake up pecking order somewhat regularly (this seemed to be a couple times a year for our gents) and some amount of "fighting" is to be expected during those periods. I would also keep a close eye on their interaction with the girls when mating and if you start to see that those spurs are positioned badly consider some protective measures. I've seen some truly awful lacerations on the sides of hens caused simply by those sharp spurs digging in and slipping down their sides. It's not common per se, but can absolutely happen.

If you want to chat more or have any other questions, toss me an email at jointheroovolution@gmail.com and I'd be happy to brainstorm further.