Neutering Roosters

[mlwheeler1]

I'm not neutering to prevent reproduction. I'm neutering to reduce unwanted aggressive behavior and so that I can keep the two roosters together with less fighting. Otherwise the roosters don't have many options other than death which is not an ethical option for me.

I have 2 roosters who get along just fine. I think whether or not they will actually fight depends on their personalities.

 

[onwingandhoof]

I want to do this to save their lifes and be a responsible pet owner. I got 3 chicks as a rescue situation and two look like they are going to be males. I feel it is my ethical obligation to keep these animals and not give them away. There are too many unwanted chickens in my community as it is. I volunteer for a local chicken rescue group and absoultely don't agree with killing an animal because it doesn't suit my needs. As far as the procedure goes, my vet does not cut into the back of the bird and pull out the testicles. She is using an up to date technique and it has been very successful. I guess I don't understand the negative comments. I'm trying to be a responsible pet owner and have to the funds to do it. It's only $30-40 per bird. My dog and cat's vet visit are much higher than that and ALL pets in my family are equal.

I applaud you. If it's possible, you should ask your vet if they know of a vet in my area that does this as well. I'm in Clearlake California and would love to fix my boys. I now have 4 of them and they are starting to need separation.

 

[Justliveandletlive]

I want to do this to save their lifes and be a responsible pet owner. I got 3 chicks as a rescue situation and two look like they are going to be males. I feel it is my ethical obligation to keep these animals and not give them away. There are too many unwanted chickens in my community as it is. I volunteer for a local chicken rescue group and absoultely don't agree with killing an animal because it doesn't suit my needs. As far as the procedure goes, my vet does not cut into the back of the bird and pull out the testicles. She is using an up to date technique and it has been very successful. I guess I don't understand the negative comments. I'm trying to be a responsible pet owner and have to the funds to do it. It's only $30-40 per bird. My dog and cat's vet visit are much higher than that and ALL pets in my family are equal.

Good for you. If only there were more people in the world with this caring heart. Thank you! The animals in your care are so very lucky. I wish you all the luck in the world.xx

 

[onwingandhoof]

I want to do this to save their lifes and be a responsible pet owner. I got 3 chicks as a rescue situation and two look like they are going to be males. I feel it is my ethical obligation to keep these animals and not give them away. There are too many unwanted chickens in my community as it is. I volunteer for a local chicken rescue group and absoultely don't agree with killing an animal because it doesn't suit my needs. As far as the procedure goes, my vet does not cut into the back of the bird and pull out the testicles. She is using an up to date technique and it has been very successful. I guess I don't understand the negative comments. I'm trying to be a responsible pet owner and have to the funds to do it. It's only $30-40 per bird. My dog and cat's vet visit are much higher than that and ALL pets in my family are equal.

Good for you!!!! I'd love to have this option for my boys. We live in an are where we're not suppose to have roosters, but we do. No one complains because other people do as well. But we put them up at night to contain the early morning crowing and they have to each be crated all day. However, they are sweet and friendly so we try to take them to the front yard as much as we can to give them relief from the wire crates. I don't want to kill them. It breaks my heart to do it. So we've kept them and they follow us like dogs. I'm all for this and would love to see this as an option with more vets. Where are you? And is there a way to share the procedure? I won't attempt it at home, as I love them and will not hurt them without Anesthesia. I've watched you tube videos and it looks horrible, cruel and so inhumane to do this without meds. I'm so glad you're doing it.

 

[Sussex19]

This is a very old thread, you might get more replies by starting a new one.
All the best!

 

[raingarden]

DIY capon

 

[Kora-doodle-doo]

I want to do this to save their lifes and be a responsible pet owner. I got 3 chicks as a rescue situation and two look like they are going to be males. I feel it is my ethical obligation to keep these animals and not give them away. There are too many unwanted chickens in my community as it is. I volunteer for a local chicken rescue group and absoultely don't agree with killing an animal because it doesn't suit my needs. As far as the procedure goes, my vet does not cut into the back of the bird and pull out the testicles. She is using an up to date technique and it has been very successful. I guess I don't understand the negative comments. I'm trying to be a responsible pet owner and have to the funds to do it. It's only $30-40 per bird. My dog and cat's vet visit are much higher than that and ALL pets in my family are equal.

I understand where you are coming from and I’m in the same situation. Thank you for asking these questions!!

 

[Valeriya]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not. I'm considering neutering my two young roosters. A local vet has done many and only charges $30-40 per bird. I've heard it will prevent aggressive behavior and crowing. Mine are only 5 weeks old and she will do them starting at 6 weeks of age. Has anyone neutered their roosters?

Hi! Could you please share your experience with neutering roosters? I have three, they don’t fight but overbreed. I read it’s impossible to neuter a bird .

 

[casportpony]

Hi! Could you please share your experience with neutering roosters? I have three, they don’t fight but overbreed. I read it’s impossible to neuter a bird .

Welcome to BYC. Read this

Bird Vasectomy and Castration

by BirdDoctor - June 30, 2011

Yesterday, I vasectomized a peacock. The procedure itself was straightforward, but it was all of the discussion that followed that prompted me to write. In fact, a lot of the comments and questions were ones that I had heard before. So I thought I would take advantage of the time to discuss bird castration and vasectomy.


Dr Echols and vasectomized peacock

Vasectomy is simply cutting the ductus deferens which is a long tube leading from the testicle (deep within the abdomen or ‘coelom’) to the cloaca. This is the conduit for sperm to travel from the testes to the outside world. The ductus deferens is cut and a section removed preventing future inseminations. This can be done via endoscopy (mildly invasive), open coelomic surgery (most invasive) or in small songbirds (like finches) at the protrusion of the cloaca (minimally invasive). In order for vasectomy to be effective, both vas deferens must be completely transected. Depending on the species, some birds can still effectively inseminate females for up to 6 months after vasectomy. This occurs because sperm may still remain in the vas deferens segment that was not removed.

Vasectomy does not affect a bird’s behavior or plumage, just the ability to inseminate (after the tube has been completely emptied). So, this procedure is used mainly as a means of population control. Potential side effects are mostly related to surgery such as anesthetic complications (including death), cutting the wrong structure (such as the ureter and major blood vessels which lie close to the ductus deferens) and incompletely severing the ductus deferens (which may heal and still be functional).

Castration is a whole different subject. As a general statement, I do not recommend castration for anything other than testicular disease (mostly cancer). In other words, I do not recommend castration as a means of behavior modification.

A bird’s testicles are located deep within the coelom making access difficult and requiring either invasive open body or multiport endoscopic surgery. The technical difficulty of castration in large part depends on the size of the testes (which varies dramatically with breeding season and any disease present). Additionally, seemingly any remnant testicular tissue can regrow. So if a spec of testicle is left (which because of its intimate attachment to surrounding tissues is possible), it can regrow into an active, healthy and very determined organ! Caponization is castration done at a very young age before the testicle has fully developed and enlarged.

While I have castrated many birds, some regrettably for behavioral reasons, I now only consider the procedure for medical problems. My experience has been that castration for behavioral modification does not work. This includes attempting to curb aggression in parrots, ducks and poultry and crowing in poultry (chickens and peacocks). The birds temporarily stop their behaviors (probably because the surgery is invasive and they feel rotten) but have all resumed at some point later (some were even checked to make sure there was no remnant regrown testicular tissue). There are actually quite a few studies in various bird species that show the same results- once the behavior is established, castration tends to not make it stop. Some of the studies have even shown increased aggression with castrated birds. Castration would probably be most effective in preventing some behaviors (and normal adult male plumage) when done on young birds. However, I cannot justify the procedure at this time.

Part of the problem is that we are asking a bird to not perform a normal behavior such as crowing in roosters and aggressively protecting a mate (which may be a human). So I focus on understanding the behavior and look for other means of modification.

Dr Scott Echols

https://www.avianstudios.com/blog/bird-vasectomy-and-castration/

 

[onwingandhoof]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this or not. I'm considering neutering my two young roosters. A local vet has done many and only charges $30-40 per bird. I've heard it will prevent aggressive behavior and crowing. Mine are only 5 weeks old and she will do them starting at 6 weeks of age. Has anyone neutered their roosters?

Omg. Where are you located? Or what vet will do this for you? I have been looking for this option for the longest time. There are you tube videos but there's no way I will do it without anesthesia.. please let me know the name of the vet. It's worth a drive or plane.