CanadianBuckeye
Songster
SURGICAL RESULTS.
As promised, here are the dismal results of my effort to caponize very young Dominique cockerels. Not promising at this point.
I have mentioned that dad taught me to caponize at an early age and I hesitate to brag but I'm actually pretty good at it. I have big hands but my fingers are long and dexterous. In working with birds that are 5 to 6 weeks old, my record is pretty good but I think it will be a while before I attempt to work with very young cockerels again.
To make it short, I cut the vessel in two of the chicks...dispatched them immediately.
Two 'slips' that were banded in white and to new capons, banded in blue, all four put into the same brooder with the other chicks th keep them safe and known to the flock.
Not what I consider a success.
However, in my defense, I was in a bit of a rush and shouldn't have done them that particular day. Dad I put them back and began in a more relaxed time period, I MAY have done better. This experience has not put me off caponizing at 3 to 4 weeks as opposed to my usual 6 weeks. I intend to order 25 Austra-Whites in the spring and hone my skills.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that I have the experimental chicks in a small cage where they can interact with their bretheren and not be picked on when they are returned to open population.
Turk, what was the biggest hurdle caponizing the very young chicks? Are the testicles too small, or the chicks too small to handle easily, or ???