Breeding my own flock, sound advice appreciated

[chrissynemetz]

Hello, and welcome to BYC! We're happy to have you with us!

 

[Tookie]

Hello, welcome back to BYC! We're glad to have you here again.

 

[SnackMeat]

I've been curious about caponizing since we are doing meat chickens. I can do surgical stuff but feel a bit squeamish about operating on a bird who I can't give an anesthetic to (or isn't on death's door and is going to die anyway.)

Did you ever source the chemicals for chemical castration? Or (and I have seen videos) simply doing the back cuts for the testicles was fast enough that hopefully they weren't in a ton of pain?

I've watched videos of birds having impacted crops cut open and largely they hold their pain so well.

And I also know that if it's culling a rooster versus caponizing and giving them more months of life they would probably choose the extra life, but still. Has there been stuff that has worked for you to mitigate pain, or simply working as quickly as possible?

 

[DADixon]

I've been curious about caponizing since we are doing meat chickens. I can do surgical stuff but feel a bit squeamish about operating on a bird who I can't give an anesthetic to (or isn't on death's door and is going to die anyway.)

Did you ever source the chemicals for chemical castration? Or (and I have seen videos) simply doing the back cuts for the testicles was fast enough that hopefully they weren't in a ton of pain?

I've watched videos of birds having impacted crops cut open and largely they hold their pain so well.

And I also know that if it's culling a rooster versus caponizing and giving them more months of life they would probably choose the extra life, but still. Has there been stuff that has worked for you to mitigate pain, or simply working as quickly as possible?

Short answer.. Working as quickly as possible. This may surprise most people but THE SECOND they are released back on the ground they go back to normal behavior. They don't seem to be phased by it after the fact. But also remember I'm doing this at between 3-5 weeks when there's a lot of room in there to not have to displace hardly anything to get to the testicles.
Sometimes I will have to quickly pluck some of the down feathers so they don't get into the opening and that seems to cause more discomfort than the actual procedure, but again that's just been my observation.
I'm not as quick as some of these 7-12 second guys on YouTube but I work pretty quick and try to make it as stress free as possible.
And about your comment about 'a few months more life'- some of them I have kept for a year after and they Iived happy lives. Their demeanor, no matter what breed (though I haven't tried them all, but most) is very 'chillaxed'. They just go with he flow and I have even found one or two trying to sit on some eggs.
On a side note my intent is to serve these birds while they are alive because they are serving me. I could go off on a tangent but I believe God created animals for specific purposes and we are to see that in the animal, appreciate it's purpose, serve it, giving it the best chance possible in the most advantageous environment possible, and in return it provides for our needs as well. That to say if I though it was torturing them I WOULD NOT do it.
I did look into the chemical castration but I don't believe that is healthy for them or me. I tend to stay away from vaccinations, medicated feed, etc. But that's not to say that I wouldn't use something natural like certain feeds to treat my flock, but the chemical castration doesn't appeal to my view. Less than a minute's worth of pain and its done.
I don't know how this would go over but I would make a suggestion of getting some cockerels that were going to be culled as babies raise them to the age that they should be caponized, quickly 'dispatching' them and then practicing on them so you can take your time and learn without causing unnecessary anguish to the bird. Get to know your way around in there. Find out what tools in the caponizing kit works best for seperating the membranes but doesn't nick arteries. Can you get both testicles from one side... Just some thoughs. And in my opinion WELL WORTH IT!