GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[CindyinSD]

Thanks! I downloaded it... got to figure out where my ipad put it now.

 

[CindyinSD]

A quick update on my capons... Three are exhibiting signs that they are slips, so I need to either use them for stock/soup or butcher them soon. The remaining two look like nice, plump dumplings--neither like hens nor like roosters . So, I guess they were maybe successes? (Thus far, at least.)

It is time to caponize my four pullets. They're near POL. I'm vacillating over what I want to do with them. With the Chinese Flu and the rioting and all, lots of people want chickens. I may advertise them on Craig's List and find out what people are willing to pay. They're not pretty--just plain black birds with a very small amount of iridescence, so maybe not all that much. If they don't go inside a week, I'll withdraw the offer and go on with my previous plans to sterilize them. I sure don't need more layers.

I also have a bunch of mixed chicks growing out--thirty or so, I think? They'll all or almost all have rose combs from their papa so it may be a bit tricky figuring out boys from girls, but I'll be caponing the males and likely poulardizing the females unless I decide to sell some of them.

Here is my current group of capon candidates:

There are six (one is hiding). I plucked the surgical areas last night and will be caponing sometime later today. I'd be doing it right after posting this, but I am old and have CRS disease and somehow STILL had 12 hours in my head as the water fast period. So they will have to wait a bit. They won't be without water for the full 24 hours, but they'll be close.

These are Light Brahmas. They weigh 2 lbs each, so they're just at the upper edge of the desirable weight range. Hopefully they're all males. I removed one that weighed 2.5 lbs for my breeding rooster and one whose bones felt more delicate and who has always been more retiring, as the sole surviving (presumed) female from the hatch. These all feel very robust and have a "cock-sure" attitude. I'll be cutting the left side first in case I'm mistaken. (The functional/developing ovary is on the left side.) If I see that any of them are female, I will send that one to recovery without removing anything.

I don't know whether poulardising at this age is feasible, but in any case, I want any females for breeding. If I've made a mistake in sexing, I guess that will give me a chance to see whether or not I can see the fallopian tube yet.

Update later.

 

[speedy2020]

Some of the supplies. My instructor had a cool low tech "table" a piece of packing styrofoam and large bubble wrap. She said the slight stretching of the bird is ness. to cut the correct location. She put wide bands at the wing and feet and secured them w/ bungee.


The feathers in the area were very easy to pluck and the bird didn't seem to care. She is pulling the skin back so that her inscision of skin and muscle will not line up. She is going between the last two ribs. This pic doesn't show it well but there is a marked depression you cannot miss between the top of the thigh and the bottom rib.


This is the beginning of the skin inscision. She cuts the skin only on the first pass.


This is the completed skin cut


She adjusted the skin opening over the area of the muscle she was cutting. With the exposed muscle it was easier to see the correct place to cut.


retracting the opening to see and breaking the membrane for a view into the cavity. You can see intestine it this shot.


here you can see the tool she used to tear away the membrane (the piece of flesh diagonally from the end of the tool)


The object to the left with the slightly more yellow color is the teste, the uppermost one, the others are intestine


This is the modified straw and wire gripper, she gently twisted the straw to detatch it from the bird, but it just wouldn't easily detatch, so she had a plan B


here she is still trying to twist it.


she had a cauderizing tool, it worked well to seperate the teste from the bird. She bought it online she said it was around $50


here you can see the connective tissue being cauderized


and here it is out


Here is the second teste, she goes in through the same opening. You can see the second membrane that has to be removed before the teste can be clearly seen. She removes it w/ the same modified straw, she said the second one cannot be cauderized, at least through the same opening.


couple of stitches w/ sewing thread, but she uses a suture needle, she said regular sewing needles just were not sharp enough, there was way to much tugging of the skin


all stitched up


She uses alchohol on a cotton ball to swab the area and check for blood vessels before cutting anything at all, and plans her cuts where there are no blood vessels to lessen blood loss. It is like magic these were not very visible if at all before she swabbed with the alchohol.


I took several pics to try and show placement, but very few showed the detail and landmarks that were clearly visible in real life. this was the closest she stated how important the slight stretching of the bird is to locate landmarks easily there is a definate valley between the last rib and the thigh, the muscle cut needs to be between the last two ribs.



Sorry for the amount of pics, I took many more and tried to narrow it down to just the essentials to tell a complete story.

I want to make clear this isn't my information, I was the student. The woman showing me how to do this has an amazing success rate, she has only lost one bird total and that was to a respiratory infection, she has even caponized older birds then is recomended (special circumstances made this ness she doesn't do it regularly)and had no fatalities.

Thanks for the photos. I want to do it someday with the Bresse rooster. My main concern is not 100% sure where to cut.

 

[Ruthster55]

It's great to see activity back on the thread again! Hope all goes well for @CindyinSD and her increasing experience!!

It appears that caponizing is a widespread, current thing in Vietnam, and (surprisingly) there's lots on YouTube about it for those who are still learning. (The trick is to search for a term that isn't in English or Spanish, which is ----- Thiến gà ----- )

Most of the caponizers in Vietnam use a type of thread tool with a sawing motioin as the remover.

They also hold the bird down with their feet and their position looks backbreaking!

The videos are worth watching even if the conversation is not understandable.

This video has a very clear demonstration -

This video has a bunch of caponizers who work in the market, doing surprisingly large birds that people buy and bring to them. Start around 3 1/2 minutes into the video.

If you search for Thiến gà you will find even more videos!

A couple more useful videos are

and

(Fun music and a huge removal).

 

[CindyinSD]

Thanks for the photos. I want to do it someday with the Bresse rooster. My main concern is not 100% sure where to cut.

After you remove the feathers in front of the thigh, way up close to the backbone--maybe an inch or a half-inch down, feel with your fingertips for the ribs. Most people cut one rib too far forward The last rib is deeper under the surface, so you have to feel/palpate very carefully. If you cut where most newbies on here have cut in the past, you'll see pink, spongy lung tissue. That means you should stop, put the bird back & maybe try again after it's healed. Swab with alcohol and try to avoid blood vessels. Make a line with a sharpie or similar before you cut. If you get a lot of bleeding, you've hit a vessel. Apply gentle pressure with a gauze square for a few seconds until it stops, then proceed.

 

[CindyinSD]

Okay... I am bummed. No, I didn't kill any. The first one was good. I got two testes out whole. Second one was going well until I dropped the second teste. I couldn't find it. I couldn't keep poking around either. So after a few minutes I gave him a second leg band and called it a slip. After that, every single one had an ovary, not a teste. The last one I didn't have the heart to cut, so she or he is intact either way. Maybe I'll try later, if it definitely starts looking like a male. I had watched the feather development on these, and from that I believed I had one female and the rest males. the combs were all very similar. Next time I do rose-combed birds, I'll definitely wait until I can be more sure of their sex.

The testes were still quite small (about 4-5mm long) and would still easily fit between the ribs when pulling them out. Next time I will wait until they're showing secondary signs like a redder comb, etc.

BTW, the ovaries were shaped like an elongated wedge and were (in these birds at least) a creamy white color. They had a granular texture similar to the lung tissue you'll see if you cut between the wrong set of ribs (instead of the last two.) The lungs are also unmistakably pink, in case you haven't seen them while butchering.

So... I have one capon and a slip. (sigh) And an unknown, and three girls who are probably pissed at me, understandably so... Sorry, girls. Plus I have another seven Lt Brahma pullet chicks I ordered because I thought I had nearly all boys.

 

[Kabootar]

Okay... I am bummed. No, I didn't kill any. The first one was good. I got two testes out whole. Second one was going well until I dropped the second teste. I couldn't find it. I couldn't keep poking around either. So after a few minutes I gave him a second leg band and called it a slip. After that, every single one had an ovary, not a teste. The last one I didn't have the heart to cut, so she or he is intact either way. Maybe I'll try later, if it definitely starts looking like a male. I had watched the feather development on these, and from that I believed I had one female and the rest males. the combs were all very similar. Next time I do rose-combed birds, I'll definitely wait until I can be more sure of their sex.

The testes were still quite small (about 4-5mm long) and would still easily fit between the ribs when pulling them out. Next time I will wait until they're showing secondary signs like a redder comb, etc.

BTW, the ovaries were shaped like an elongated wedge and were (in these birds at least) a creamy white color. They had a granular texture similar to the lung tissue you'll see if you cut between the wrong set of ribs (instead of the last two.) The lungs are also unmistakably pink, in case you haven't seen them while butchering.

So... I have one capon and a slip. (sigh) And an unknown, and three girls who are probably pissed at me, understandably so... Sorry, girls. Plus I have another seven Lt Brahma pullet chicks I ordered because I thought I had nearly all boys.

You should not delay the procedure because you are unsure of the sex. If you open a pullet then simply stop the procedure and move to the next one. The cut will heal fine. It happens often.

You should look harder for the testicle if it falls in the body cavity, because the testicle may cause necrosis in the bird.

I am much happy for your two full capons, don't worry about the slips. You should be glad that you didn't kill like half of them. Practice makes a lady perfect.

Brahmas are good birds for caponization. Other breeds like Jersey Giants, Marans, La Fleches, Cornish, Dorking etc also make good capons.

 

[CindyinSD]

Thanks so much for your advice, Kabootar. It means so much to have an experienced person like yourself to give council and encouragement. I have a bunch of 3.5 week old chicks (hopefully more boys this time) growing out now, that I want to caponize. They'll all or nearly all be rose-comb too, because the cock who sired them is. Good for cold winters here--not so much for sexing chicks, alas.

All the juveniles I worked on yesterday are back home with their flock, so hopefully the one with the detached teste floating around won't suffer from it. Next time (though hopefully I won't be so clumsy again) I'll not be so timid and will look harder/longer to find it. How long would you spend searching before you stopped? I was afraid I would cause him more stress than he could tolerate.

 

[Kabootar]

Thanks so much for your advice, Kabootar. It means so much to have an experienced person like yourself to give council and encouragement. I have a bunch of 3.5 week old chicks (hopefully more boys this time) growing out now, that I want to caponize. They'll all or nearly all be rose-comb too, because the cock who sired them is. Good for cold winters here--not so much for sexing chicks, alas.

All the juveniles I worked on yesterday are back home with their flock, so hopefully the one with the detached teste floating around won't suffer from it. Next time (though hopefully I won't be so clumsy again) I'll not be so timid and will look harder/longer to find it. How long would you spend searching before you stopped? I was afraid I would cause him more stress than he could tolerate.

Please don't stress yourself. You are doing a really fine job. You caponized 5 cockerels and didn't kill any. I don't have that record.
The first day my father forced me to learn (tbh he didn't force me, I was just pressured into it, a subtle differences), I had 10 cockerels. 6 were slips and three died. We ate the dead one for the dinner.

I have never had a cockerel die because of stress, they only died because I snipped the artery. I really can't say how much time it takes to fish the testicles from the body cavity, because under those circumstances I really lose the sense of time, but my father told me never to leave it inside. In case it dies, we can atleast eat it right away.

Frankly in most places chickens are just chickens, a cheap and spendable livestock. I understand however that in the States backyard chicken people are different and I respect them.

 

[Parront]

backyard chicken people are different

You got that right!

Right about not leaving the detached organ, too, if I could not get it out I would consider him dinner or pet food.