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Sounds like a good idea to practice during butchering before trying it on live chickens.
If you use a topical analgesic, be sure it is not one with "-caine" in the name (such as Novocaine). Those are VERY TOXIC to chickens.
I'd echo what Tamra of Fort Doom said (post #74) and try out caponizing your first time on one or more roosters that you have already killed for processing. Then you can take time to thoroughly explore and make your initial mistakes without causing excessive extra suffering.