How to caponize a rooster Warning Graphic pics

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

The oldest rooster I've performed the surgery on is about 14 weeks. That was because I wanted to practice, and that was what I had available at the time. The problem with older roosters, is that the testes are larger, and more fragile, so it is easier to do a "miss", where part of the testicle is left inside, and will therefore regenerate somewhat, and then you don't have a true capon and supposedly the meat isn't as good. They may even start crowing, fighting, etc.

I don't know about other types of poultry, but I am planning on caponizing a few bantam roos I have to keep as pets for the kids. Haven't done them yet, but probably will in a couple of weeks.

So far the capons I have are not over friendly, so I don't know how good of pets they would make, if you want a lap chicken per se. They act a lot like a hen that has not reached laying age yet, so a bit stand offish and hard to catch. My oldest capon has started making odd noises, like a broody hen, but hasn't shown any inclination to take care of chicks.

I think I'm going to try the super glue when I do 5 tomorrow. I hope I don't glue my fingers to the bird!!

 

[wisdom_seeker]

Quote:
It took me on average 9 and a half minutes per bird. I think a good chunk of the time was cleaning of tools and tying up the bird to the board. This is something that could be done by an assistant if I got an extra set of tools.
As far as telling hens apart from roos. I look at the size of the combs and the color. The roos will also have the start of waddles.
Not to mention, I'm not sure how accurate sex linking is! I had two sex-link "roosters" that I could not find any glands to remove. They had almost no combs and time will have tell what they are.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

THANK YOU so very much for posting this! I have been wanting to learn how to do this since most of my meaties are home-hatched mixed-breeds. This would be a great way to get them to grow bigger for the table.

Where did you get your tools? Could you please post pictures of them? Must you use specialized tools or can other tools be used?

 

[Rootball]

The tool kits are about $40 most supply houses and hatcheries sell them.....Strombergs is one place that comes to mind

 

[Royd]

Quote:
You know, superglue is now used to close wounds.... I would think you could use it on the chickens....... as long as you didn't glue their wings to their sides.

 

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

I caponized 5 roos today and used superglue to close the skin opening (not the ribs). It worked great!! I liked it so much, that I pulled out the 7 roos I had previously done that were closed with stitches, took the stitches out, and closed with the superglue. Now I won't have to worry about removing stitches before they go outside!

Things I really wish I had for caponizing:

A good strong headlamp (I'm using a reading light right now)
A "loop" to fish out or at least loosen up the testicle (I'm getting tired of going back in for "the piece that was left behind")
Someone to walk me through doing both from one side.
Some decent rib spreaders that actually worked well

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Did you glue the very edges of the cut skin together or overlap it somehow? Do you have to dry the edges? Are they wet with blood or serum, or already dry enough to glue? How much glue must you use? And what brand/style? (gel, liquid, brush, etc)

And did you ever have any scary moments when you almost super-glued your fingers to the side of the cockerel and wondered how embarassing it would be to have to go to the ER and have it removed?

 

[HidingInTheHenHouse]

Sunny, too funny.

I only glued the edges of the skin together, I didn't overlap them. I used "Flash" brand super glue, medium gap filling formula, because that is what I had. It was just the regular thick liquidy kind, no brush. I put a small amount of glue in a metal lid, then used a toothpick to apply the glue to the edges of the skin, while I pinched up one side of the cut. This allowed me to apply to just the edges, without gluing the skin to the muscle below. After I applied the glue, I used both hands to pinch up both ends of the cut, so that it was closed while pulled away from the body. Think of an open rubber band, where you pull out and lift up to tighten and close the circle. I blew on the cut for about 10 seconds, then slowly released while at the same time reaching for the accelerator, and quickly giving the cut a quick spray while it held closed. I made sure I was in no way touching the bird when I sprayed the accelerator.

I didn't worry about drying edges too much. After removing the rib spreader, I cleaned the area with an alcolhol swab to remove any blood or wetness. The superglue worked fine even when the edges bled or seeped a tiny bit.

I used enough glue that I could see it on both edges of the skin, but not enough that I was in any danger of gluing myself to the bird. The glue did not run down the skin or anything. It really was a fairly tiny amount.

I had already thought about what I would do if I glued myself to a bird. Fortunately, I have a close friend that works a lot with superglue, and he always has some debonder on hand. A quick call to him and he would have helped me out. However, I was extremely careful not to glue myself to the birds, or myself together, hence the toothpick and use of the accelerator. By using the accelerator, I didn't have to wait until the bond was fully set before I released the ends; just set enough that it would hold until I sprayed the accelerator.

Good luck! So far this morning, all the birds are doing fine and all cuts have held closed.

 

[wisdom_seeker]

Quote:
It is very cool that this has been working for you!
The tools like you said are not what they should be. If I find that I want to do more on a larger scale I would seek better tools and/or design better ones to be fabricated for this purpose. As far as the gland on the other side, it is not something I would try all the time. Even when I can find it, it is not always in a spot that can be reached with the forceps. You got to dig deeper in the membranes and find the gland "under" the backbone. If you have any blood pooling at all it is next to impossible. Also, what I thought was membrane was the artery on the bird I lost. It is critical that you know what you are picking at when trying for number 2.

 

[Rootball]

Does anyone have a better image of the ropes and pulley you are using to hold the chicken down?