Caponizing

[FreedomLover]

Good luck! Please update us on how it went, as I'm trying to decide if this is the way I want to go in the future with my extra Roo's.

 

[Minniechickmama]

OOps it will be tomorrow. Need to be off water too for 18 hours.

 

[partsRheavy]

Did you give them a_little_ food/water when you went over ~28 hours?

This sort of thing happened back in the early-1900s days before Accuweather and 15-day forecasts. If the old-timers "missed" the cockerels' appointment due to cloudy weather or thunderstorms, they would give them a _little_ food and water so they could be held over to the next day.

But,, the Best practice is to put 'em in wire cages that are in a shady spot (where heat and sun isn't hitting the cages) in the early AM of the _day before_ and to be _Ready To Go_ around noon the following day. It's good to have them be rather inactive while they're in the cage so they are not under stress.

Keep close watch on the weather sites etc. before locking the little fellas up in their wire cage...the goal is to have their intestines quite empty but also not cause unnecessary stress.

I have 2 that are ready to be done but Accuweather says that tomorrow we will have thunderstorms and UV index of only 3 so they get a "Get Out of Jail" pass for today....

 

[Minniechickmama]

I have them in a rabbit cage, in close quarters, in a dark garage. They have cheaped a lot for food, but I think they are fine. I am heading out to do them in a few minutes.
It was 35 last night and today should be 67, but in the garage is cooler. I think they will be fine once they are done and get some water in them.
Thanks for the tip though, if I do them in warmer weather, I will surely keep an eye on them.

 

[Kassaundra]

I completely understand the need for restricting the food prior to the procedure, making sure the alimentary system is empty and easier to see the testes. I have read in several places about the restriction of water and don't understand it's purpose. I would think a poorly hydrated bird going into a surgery would be a bad thing?

 

[Minniechickmama]

Well, I did it.
I had 3 to do, decided one was going to live as a cockerel to see what he will be when he gets bigger. If he has his father's attitude, he is going to be a short-lived cockerel.

Anyway, I couldn't take pictures this time. I need to make a board with the slots and hooks and such. I used my adjustable dog grooming table and it was still a pain in the neck, literally.
Results, I believe #1 is a pullet. If it is not, it is a lucky cockerel. I could see/find testes on the left side, so I closed and moved on.
#2 an EE/Blue Orp cross (a lovely bird) took a while, but I think all is good.
Both of those are just fine and eating in the cage. They are tired and stressed, no doubt. I stitched them rather than leaving them open. I used quilting thread and I covered the whole site with triple antibiotic ointment before stitching. it make the needle going in easier and the thread slide through better. I have some hooked needles that are working quite well for that.
#3 didn't fair so well. I am sad too because he is my secret meat project. Okay, not a secret, a Buckeye/Dark Cornish cross. I have a lot of them coming, so I am sure I will get better at this.
I think I knicked his artery that I read is right there by the left teste. They don't come out as easy as I thought they would, it took some work and the first one I took out broke in two when I was using the pointy ended thingy to try to get under it and try to lift it a little. The scoop end is too big. Once I get it in, I can't see anything. Maybe I should grow one finger nail long enough to notch it. NOT! That would be dangerous.

I will have more on Monday or Tuesday. I think if I don't have to put them off so much that it will go easier. I pulled food, and then had to feed them again because it was going to be too long before I could get to them (life as a mom gets in the way a bit lately.)

I think I have about 8-10 for next time, so I will have to set more time aside for that, and improve my set up.

So, there it is. I will try to take pictures next time, maybe set up a tri pod.

Question for you, Jeff, when there is a lot of blood clotting in the cavity, is that the artery? If so, it happened on the first side. I kept going. I figured that if I did do that, there was no saving it and practice could do me good.
Oh, also want to mention, the spreaders sucked! They don't go deep enough to hold. They kept slipping on me. I would think they would curve the flanged part to hook onto the rib. I may try to bend them a little myself to work better. Got any suggestion on tools?

All in all, I think it was successful.

 

[Zootopia]

I think you will find alot of good information on a thread "How to caponize a rooster warning grafic pics" the thead was locked due to "Off topic flaming" but you can still read it and there is alot of good learning material there. Lots of Lessons learned and they found several tools that are easily and cheaply obtained on line. Especially the spreader.
I remember my Grandfather used to caponize the roos from the 100 chicks they ordered in the spring. Wish I'd been old enough to pay attention then, my job was just to catch the chicks and hand them to him. I am going to do the "dead roo" research thing this weekend

as I too have a new hatch with some cross bred roos that will be used for meat. I live in Texas so it will be purely a "livestock" thing no problem with the law as long as you don't live in town.
Good luck to everyone and let us know if you figure out an easier way to get both from one side. There is a video in the above thread that showes a guy doing them both from one side and easy as pie. My 40+ eyes aren't that good.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I can visualize in my head how you would do both from the left side of the bird, but I don't know the inside of the actual chicken to know would need to be cut and what wouldn't. I am thinking about looking for my MIL's old magnifying lamp to do this. I already where glass for my not young eyes, and I still had trouble really seeing inside.
I think my next batch will be Tuesday or Wednesday. There are more of them from that hatch.
Thanks for the thread. I had already read a couple of them on here, I just hadn't seen where it said how long it takes to grow them out, hence the reason for the post. I am not trying to re-invent the post on this topic. There are a lot of good reasons for doing this. It is amazing to see how the bird will just go into sort of a trance/sleep mode, but one was actually preening a bit during the whole thing. I am just trying to make good use of the extras. It seems a lot better than killing them at 2-3 weeks old knowing they are extra. I cannot have 1000 cockerels in my yard all fighting, much less the feed for that many! I have had a hard enough time getting rid of 50 extras that have reached 6-8 months of age.
Anyway, I will not go into a rant.

 

[Zootopia]

You have a small business, right? Me too, mostly eggs, some chicks and spring meat birds. I want to hatch my own replacement layers and I want to replace the CRX. I think the New Hampshire X will be a good dual purpose and I'm willing to do this cause I need them to be able to free range with the girls without harassing them. This way I can also choose when to do the butchering as I need them. They get to live a nice quiet, pampered life till the dinner bell instead of being culled as soon as I figure out they are roos. The dogs will be disappointed, but hey, they still get any small or dirty eggs.
I do understand the whole surgery without anesthesia thing. Be real people, no one is going to let a layman have the stuff and taking the birds to the Vet is not practical, most Vets wouldn't want to do it, many wouldn't even know how.

I can visualize in my head how you would do both from the left side of the bird, but I don't know the inside of the actual chicken to know would need to be cut and what wouldn't. I am thinking about looking for my MIL's old magnifying lamp to do this. I already where glass for my not young eyes, and I still had trouble really seeing inside.
I think my next batch will be Tuesday or Wednesday. There are more of them from that hatch.
Thanks for the thread. I had already read a couple of them on here, I just hadn't seen where it said how long it takes to grow them out, hence the reason for the post. I am not trying to re-invent the post on this topic. There are a lot of good reasons for doing this. It is amazing to see how the bird will just go into sort of a trance/sleep mode, but one was actually preening a bit during the whole thing. I am just trying to make good use of the extras. It seems a lot better than killing them at 2-3 weeks old knowing they are extra. I cannot have 1000 cockerels in my yard all fighting, much less the feed for that many! I have had a hard enough time getting rid of 50 extras that have reached 6-8 months of age.
Anyway, I will not go into a rant.

 

[Minniechickmama]

I am doing a lot of my Buckeye/Dark Cornish crosses. The boys are turning into monsters! as in big boys, not nasty.
But I am also doing others as I see as culls from breeding.
I am working more on the breeding end of this. The egg sales for eating are in addition to for the extras. The meat birds are going to be my extras turned capon and those I decide to cull out as I see them mature and select my breeders.
No more CRX freaks here.