Julie Curl wrote
At what age does the male develop the spur? Is it possible that the
> spurs were removed to stop the males hurting each other - is this a
> common practice?
There is some information on this in:-
West, B. 1982. Spur development: Recognising caponised fowl in archaeological material. In Wilson, B., Grigson, C. and Payne, S. Ageing and Sexing animal bones from archaeological sites. BAR British Series 109. 255-261.
Also Tonya Largy wrote that 'most archaeozoologists assume that only roosters have spurs'.
I don't think this is true, at least in my experience. However there is the belief that spurred females are rare, see for example the bird bone report in Maltbys world renowned Exeter report.
Kevin Rielly
Archaeozoologist
MoLSS
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