# Cockfighting question: Why the metal spurs?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockfighting-question-why-the-metal-spurs/706098>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [December 2, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockfighting-question-why-the-metal-spurs/706098 "2014-12-02T03:21:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockfighting-question-why-the-metal-spurs/706098/1 "2014-12-02T03:21:58Z")

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In my personal experience growing up around chickens, when we had more than one rooster, they would fight to determine dominance, but so far as I know, we never had one actually kill another. As with most similar confrontations, one would withdraw, and that would be the end of it. I know that fights to the death (outside of a pit) do happen, but it never happend with ours.

From what I’ve picked up in docs, news blurbs, etc., it’s pretty commonplace, if not the rule, to put metal spurs on one of their feet. Why? Is that to ensure that the fight will be over pretty quickly because one of the birds is pretty much ensured to get slashed/skewered?

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**Author:** ![saje](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saje/32/3631_2.png) [@saje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saje)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockfighting-question-why-the-metal-spurs/706098/2 "2014-12-02T12:38:20Z")

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Because humans are barbaric and like to see blood and suffering.

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**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\
**Post date:** [December 2, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cockfighting-question-why-the-metal-spurs/706098/3 "2014-12-02T22:23:04Z")

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Your assumption is correct. Cock fights are generally to the death (or critical injury) and. as you said in the OP, two roosters fighting naturally rarely kill or critically wound one another. The spikes help to ensure that at least one of the roosters will die pretty much every time.