A Comparison of Spur Growth in the Cock, Slip, and Capon

Ancient breeds of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus f. domestica) distinguished on the basis of traditional observations combined with mixture analysis

“…It is only when capons are kept alive for a longer time that spur size will be a useful criterion. Quigley and Juhn [27] have shown that castrated individuals have a longer (keratin) spur and spur core at all ages than cockerels. Luff (see Ref.…”

Estimating the age of domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticusL. 1758) cockerels through spur development

“…Some types may develop multiple spurs, notably the Sumatran Gamefowl, which may have as many as five, each with their own sheath (Hutt, 1941;Washburn & Smyth, 1971). At hatching, the outer sheath measures approximately 0.5 mm in length, gradually increasing to 20-30 mm by 12 months in modern commercial breeds (Juhn, 1952;Louvier, 1937;Quigley & Juhn, 1951) (Figure 1a).…”

“…However, Louvier (1937) The development of the spur is heavily influenced by the endocrine secretions of the gonads and thyroid. Although the overall size of the tarsometatarsus is unaffected by caponisation, full or partial removal of the testes may result in the formation of longer and sharper spurs (Domm, 1927;Finlay, 1925;Quigley & Juhn, 1951) although others contend that the keratinous and osseous spurs of the capon are indistinguishable from those of the cockerel (Beuoy, 1921;Goodale, 1916;Yarrell, 1856). The most authoritative work comes from the radiographic imaging of a single flock of identical age by Quigley and Juhn (1951) who observed the unfused spur core to be on average 3 mm longer in capons than cockerels at 12 months of age.…”

“…F I G U R E 2 Location of measurements taken on the tarsometatarsus as outlined in Cohen & Serjeantson (1996). GL, greatest length; Bp, breadth proximal Bd, breadth distal; SC, smallest diameter of the corpus; SP, spur length Note: Includes data from (a) Sadler (1991), (b) Thomas et al (2016), (c) Juhn (1952), and (d) Quigley and Juhn (1951).…”

Farmers, Monks and Aristocrats

“…Sadler (1991) argued that capons are probably under-represented in the biometrical records of archaeological material because they would be slaughtered before they were skeletally mature and unfused / immature bones are rarely measured. Quigley and Juhn (1951) established that spur cores of capons grow faster than those of cockerels. If fusion of the core is determined by its length rather than by the age of the bird (Juhn 1952), then those of capons would reach this critical length at an earlier age than cockerels, and their spurs would fuse to the shaft earlier (West 1985).…”