Just in the interest of fairness, it's not exactly "sawing open a bird's ribcage." The incision is placed between the last two ribs. I read all the descriptions I could find, including the modern homesteading website and the old Sears & Roebuck instructions, and honestly, it doesn't sound terribly daunting to do, and the homesteading guy said that when he did it, his birds didn't so much as blink during the process.
When we geld horses, the incision is not stitched, but left to heal on its own, which takes a while and is painful and unpleasant. My neighbor castrates her lambs by placing a tight ligature above the testicles until they drop off. My point, I guess, is that we do comparably traumatic things to animals who AREN'T intended as food. I guess I don't have a big moral or ethical problem with the concept of caponization.
I think I'd have to practice on a whole bunch of butchered fryers before I'd try it on a live bird, though.
I roasted a capon instead of a turkey on Thanksgiving not too long ago...if they're available in Arkansas, of all places, they can't be *that* rare.
Belinda
Thats what I mean, if it was MY rooster, I'd send him to get "fixed" 
