Best set of caponizing tools?

[darkmatter]

Thanks dbcooper02, your pics convince me to try it on my home hatched "mutts". I assume you sex your birds by the spur starts and feather appearance at 5 weeks?

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Thanks to dbcooper I'm going to have a good set of tools to borrow & hopefully learn how to do this! Then I can have meatier meaty boys to bring to the table!

Darkmatter, the first indicator I look for to tell which chicks are going to be roos is comb size & color, which starts to show at 3-4 weeks. Sometimes it's difficult to tell which ones are going to be hens, or if they're just slow-growing roos. But the boys usually get combs that are bigger & redder than the girls, and they continue to grow & color. Then they start sprouting little wattles too. Spur starts aren't much of an indication, or at least not things I pay attention to, since the pullet chicks can also have the little bumps. And the feather differences don't seem to show up until around 10 weeks or more.

 

[darkmatter]

Quote:
I see I'm going to have a challenge if I want to caponize at that age, since I raise "mutts", comparing combs and wattles just isn't going to do it for me. I may have to wait until the difference is more apparent. Well, I see, I still have a lot to learn, I printed out the leaflet from 1922 Sears, and I’ll be making my own version of the tools.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Darkmatter, most of the cockerel chicks I raise for the table are mixed-breeds. Sometimes I can get some purebreds that were sent as packing peanuts with someone's hatchery order, but usually I am butchering birds that are a mixture of different heavy layer breeds. And I can usually tell their sex starting at around 3 weeks, with it getting more obvious each week. It's usually the comb color & size that is the best indicator.

Take a look at posts on the What Breed/Gender Am I section, or post your own photos. With a little practice you too should be able to tell the sex of your chicks.

 

[wildgeesego]

Those are beuutiful capons db. I made comments on tools in another capon post but will repeat some of them here. I first bought the NASCO kit and I had a hard time with it. The spreader is really poor and doesn't hold the ribs open well. The spoon tongs are very clumsy to use and caused slips and a bleed out in my first try. The only tools in the NASCO kit that work are the scalpel, the hook and the tweezers. I did ten birds the first batch and that was too many. I practiced on two dead birds and I recommend that to you too.

I ended up buying three different antique kits on ebay and finally got some good tools. Since using the antique tools I have not lost a bird nor have I had any slips. The key tool in my opinion is the wire hoop extractor. It is a narrow tube with a loop of fine surgical wire on one end. The ends of the wire are passed through the tube out the other side. So you have a little noose the size of a penny on one end and the free ends on the other end of the tube, and once you loop the little noose over the testical you pull on the ends of the wire as you lift the testicle out of the incision and twist the connective tissue and cut it clean, removing the testicle. If it falls into the body cavity you need to retrieve it.

I now have about 15 capons, my oldest are about 6 months old and they are growing nicely. They don't crow or fight or do any rooster things. Mine are crosses of black copper marans and barred rocks, and also some salmon faverolles and barnevelders in the last batch.

My capons live happily and peacefully with my pullets. I have not eaten any yet. The trick is keeping my son from naming them. I told him they are capons and no other name is allowed.

 

[back2basics4us]

You are all a wonderful wealth of information..!!!
I too have been attempting to caponize...I thought it was a great idea after reading about it. I am raising meat birds and have a good chunk (about 1/3) of roosters. I was a vet tech for many years when I was young, so the surgery does not bother me. I am however having a terrible time with the tools..!!
I did order the modern kit from enasco, and the rib spreaders are terrible!!!! I am searching online and can't seem to find anything that is really made for this. It is crazy that the 100 yr old kit works the best but you can't get it anymore....so far I have had 2 that I struggled with and wound up in the freezer...
I saw the thread from China where they are holding the chick with their feet and I want those tools...!
Unfortunately, everyone I know thinks I am crazy to try this, and that this is just disgusting to do.... Oh well...so much for passing on useful knowledge...the more I try the more the kids are getting use to the idea...maybe there is still hope...
I am going to Home Depot tomorrow to get a headlamp..!!!

 

[kizanne]

Wow. Sunny Side I wish we lived closer. I'm coming up on my first try ( a few weeks out as they grow to 1 lb). I brought retractors off of ebay using someone's recommendation of eye retractors. I'm afraid what I got won't be strong enough to hold the hole open. I'm very nervous as I want to be as successful as possible and not hurt or kill any birds. I know that I probably will but I'm want to minimize that as much as possible. Someone I think McButterpants recommended some Glib retractors but they were $75 and I saw that after I purchased these for $30. I have the small hook, a scapel, the straw/fishing line setup. I have a reluctant helper. I have chicks hatched and growing. I wish I could watch someone do it. I have watched the video, I have practiced on a dead meat bird. I think I can do the rib cut. Not sure about the finding the testes with a live bird. On the meatie to get to the testes through the rib cut I had to gut it to practice. I don't know if I'll be able to push everything out of the way and find it.

 

[McButterpants]

HI Kizanne and other future caponizers.
The Gelpi retracor I purchased was about $8 - I'll post a link below
Vintage sets on ebay are also a GREAT way to go - I have purchased 4 sets (plus the NASCO - which I didn't like at all!). They vintage are all smiler with the exception of the extractors and the all important spreaders. Of the ones I've used the Sears "easy on" and Montgomery Ward sets are my preferred - I really like the extractor on these sets. I will also post a link to one currently up for sale on eBay so you can see it (and bid if you like, but I am too and I wont try too hard to win since I do have 1 with this extractor still (I gave the other to a local poultry farmer and am looking for a 2nd).
If you go with the Glepi - look for blunt and prepare to file them down a little (not necessary, but helpful).
You'll know the testes when you see them. Like little kidney beans about the size a a large rice grain to a small bean (like canned green beans).
You may have to push the intestine out of the way - this is why its important to withhold food & water 24 hours prior to surgery (as you become better you can lesson that to 12 - 18, but you'll want the room to start). Tilting the bird just slightly towards you helps too.
I havnt tried the Chinese instruments but there was someone who purchased them on here, I dont recall the thread, but I never heard whether they continued. I will say this that retractor looks great and there is no denying the incredible speed they are doing the procedure at.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=caponizing&_sacat=0&_from=R40

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gelpi-Retra...986?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d26cb1d12



And I just saw this one while getting the link and frankly it looks like it might be the best of all:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOLT-MOUTH-...058?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a25ead3c2

 

[kizanne]

thanks McButterpants I got so excited I ordered the Gelpi before I read the last link.

 

[partsRheavy]

You guys have found some good sources for the retractors.

Wanted to disseminate a note about eating capon....

Had an early T'Giving dinner (owing to one of the participants' work schedules) and ate rotisserie capon. This was a RIR-Barred Rock mix that had been obtained as a "free/cheap baby Rooster" in early Spring. Put rosemary in the cavity but that was pretty much it as far as preparation.

The capon was very good. The meal was rich and more tender and juicy than a Butterball....

Relaxed the capon overnight in buttermilk after butchering.

(Sorry big fella - that Christmas music on the radio was bad news for you....)

Capon was about 6 lbs.

One notable thing was that the capon yielded an unbelievable amount of delicious schmaltz.

When I butchered, I was astounded at how much visceral fat this bird had. He also had plenty under the skin. Obviously, he had "no nuts." Pulled out a whole bunch of schmaltz on the way to getting his gizzard and getting rid of the gallbladder and lungs.
Mind you, this was a free-range bird who had been running around a barnyard up until about 30 hours before butchering. (No, we don't have a TV out there in the barnyard....he wasn't sedentary....)

I had him in a rabbit hutch the day before with snacks, water, and milk but that was just for one day. (Poor fellow had to have a nice last meal or two...). Starved about 5 hours before butchering to clear the gut.

I haven't seen much schmaltz on the slips that I've butchered, and its not present with all capons either. However, evidently some breeds or mixes produce more than others, I would definitely recommend caponizing RIR-Barred Rock mixes.

Not only is the schmaltz good for the sauce but also for frying things like potatoes ----- anything from French fries to chips to _latkes_ (potato pancakes).

Normally, I saute' things lightly in order not to waste precious EVOO, but there was so much fat from the capon that I was able to deep-saute' some potato slices today....yum!! The chicken fat is "cleaner" than lard but does not smoke from heat like vegetable oils. It's ideal for cooking.

It's just rare to get a great deal of chicken fat from supermarket birds - just enough for broth.

Of course, every chicken has _some_ fat. Hens have more than roosters....and cornixhX (6-week-old 'chicks') have a fair amount....but the capon we tried had a lot more than hens or store-bought CornishX do.

People ask, 'What's the big deal about capon?'

I think it has to do with:

1) Better behavior in the barnyard. I felt sorry to slaughter him/it. (This wasn't an obnoxious rooster).

He/It was a nice chicken who was well-behaved and had beautiful feathers although he'd never win a show because he was a mutt!

2) Meat with mature chicken flavor that is also more tender than that of a hen or rooster.

3) Large yield of good cooking fat

I think that the high fat content along with tender meat is the reason that Medieval and Renaissance folks saw capon as such a delicacy. Remember that fats, butter and oils were in short supply all the way up to WWI.

The last two days' meals have been so rich that I've hardly had any of my common snacking hunger which is usually oriented around potato chips etc.. (Note - I'm 5'2" and 135 lbs and I love snacks as much as anyone else!!)