Decrowing Roosters.

[shabbychick23]

Thx by rooster passed away moments ago.

 

[insanity]

I'm sorry to hear that.

 

[shabbychick23]

Thank you.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Oh no. That's so sad to hear. Did you go to Dr. James for the procedure or did you contact this other dr you spoke of? This is the first on this thread I have heard of this happening and while I know that any procedure on any animal is a risk, it's never nice to hear about. Also wondering if your bird had to travel exceptionally far? Stress alone could make a difference.

I think I will teach my rooster (still a chick) to be OK with cardboard boxes such as those used to ship poultry in case I decide to have this procedure done so the bird may be under less stress from the shipping. Just feed them in a small cardboard box that has ventilation holes for a while.

 

[FourteenChicks]

I wo

...

Fourteenchicks, what if you went to sleep and woke up and you could never have children ever again? Or you woke up and your BALLS were missing? Imagine if that happened to your husband, wife, daughter, son... This is what we do to dogs, cats and even rabbits every day. It is strongly encouraged by most groups including the biggest animal rights groups that you do this to your animals and if you don't then you are a bad pet owner!

Luckily we know through many cases where animals have had to have limbs or other things amputated or surgeries to remove organs, etc, that they do not express mourning over the loss of a typical function... Which is why spay/neuter is considered OK.
There is no months of sadness and sorrow that humans experience when they wake up and suddenly find that they have lost a part of themselves. They simply wake up and are happy to be experiencing life. Most dogs will not even notice the limb is missing except to have to find a new way to move. They work to find a way around the disability rather than mourn it. Similarly dogs when debarked will continue to bark, and may try even harder, because the goal is to make sound... But they're not mourning the loss of the voice, they are just trying to make sound still, much like a dog who has 3 legs will try to walk still. Why people think determination to succeed is mourning I am not sure, but it isn't. Animals are not quitters and they live in the moment, enjoying life for what it is.

I think with the testimonies of the people here, we know that the goal of these roosters crowing is simply the act of crowing... Not to produce a loud sound. The people on here have said that the roosters proceed to act totally normal and do not become obsessed with trying to make sound like some dogs do so that points to this being the case... Especially since not a single rooster yet has become neurotically obsessed with crowing. Even if the odds were low you'd think we would have seen ONE by now. So it is the act of crowing, not the volume of the crow that is satisfying. That makes sense since chickens have very little brain anyhow and a rooster that has a naturally quieter voice will still crow the same amount as a chicken with a loud voice.

I have some kinda pricey chicks growing out right now and I suspect 2/3 are roosters... I am strongly considering having one of them decrowed so I can have a rooster in my flock. If I have the money for it I will contact Dr Dave to have this procedure done. As someone who keeps chickens because of a concern for the welfare of the animals that provide me food, I feel like this is a totally acceptable procedure when taking the welfare of the animal into consideration.
[/quot
I wouldn't know what it would feel like to wake up and notice my balls were missing cause IM NOT A BOY

 

[FourteenChicks]

Oh no! That's so sad!

Thx by rooster passed away moments ago.

 

[sandiklaws]

Melabella,  Kate's from Sussix county, Ive been up there twice so far and once to South Jersey (gross).  Pretty country, just a lot of laws and houses.  There seems to be a town every 5 miles!  A few dairy cows around, some very spoiled horses.  Just not for me.  Make sure you hang electric fence around your coop.  Thats the only thing thatd stop a bear if he really wants in.  Thats what Kate's mom does with her pens.

About pain meds, I have used Banamine in my birds.  Really works and perks them up when they are dumpy.  But can be kidney toxic.  Everybody out there, PLEASE do not use human pain meds in your animals.  Not worth trashing liver and kidneys.  Tramadol is very safe in mammals, dont know about birds.  I'll need to do some researching to find what NSAID is ok for birds.  The Dexafort suggested earlier is a steroid, would not be a first choose for analgesia in any patient, in my opinion.  Does reduce inflammation and thats most likely the response you saw.  Makes a dumpy critter feel better.  But feeling dumpy and sick is not the issue here, pain is the concern.  From my observation, these guys dont even look the slightest bit sick and I dont see any type of behavior that would indicate pain.  They eat, fight, fly, mount, crow and cackle, just without the noise.  But an injection of banamine would be cheap and easy, as long as the bird is hydrated enough for it.  We hauled 4 roosters, shortly after the procedure, the long way from AZ back to OK, no issues with a respy outbreak.  They all handled the stress of the trip nicely.

I understand the cost issue.  But, we do the same procedures with the same equiptment and drugs as MD's, radiologist, anesthesiologists, surgeons and dentists etc.  Just compare the costs.  I agree that human medicine is too expensive, but there are alot of vets that undervalue their services (yours truly)  and some over value it.  With the cost of things, interest on my school loans (which are huge, over a quarter million between my gal and I) and such, this is still a business.   And I'll get off of my soap box.  I hope I didn't offend anybody.

Thanks heaps.

Dr. James

P.S.  Tried a guinea, seems to work but I didn't like it.  The anatomy is a bit different and I'm not sure that it'll be permanent.  But he's doing great.

Now a silent guinea hen is definitely something many people would be interested in. Noise is the only reason I do not own them.

 

[trilliumcoop]

Dr. James- I live in Central Florida and recently visited an avian vet in Palm Harbor, Fl. We got to talking and he told me that there are five avian vets in the area, he claimed five of just 60 in the country. Do you think anyone in this area is doing this procedure? He also said they see a lot of chickens. We just re-homed a sweet black Silkie rooster pet. I would have paid for this procedure in order to keep him and I would consider it in the future.
Thanks!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Fouteenchicks, you seem to have missed my point entirely.

 

[bluedogsonly]

There's been a lot of activity lately.

Sorry to hear about the rooster, Shabby. This is not an easy procedure by any means and all surgery comes with risk. I have lost some also, the usual culprit is anesthesia. It's just not consistent with birds.

I do not know of any other vets doing this procedure short of me and the guy that taught me. There is a vet coming down soon to learn the procedure from me though.

The guinea didn't work, the noise came back after about 3 weeks. Plus I don't think there's much of a market since guineas are not usually valued as high as some pet chickens.

Well I'm sure I missed a question in there. Feel free to message me if you have any. Don't forget to check out the website,
http://www. quietroosters.wordpress.com
I have a nice Welsummer that is the quietest standard sized rooster I have done so far. His sisters are laying some pretty spotted eggs right now.

Thanks all.

Dr. James