Capon growout journal - update Super Bowl Sunday

[HorseFeatherz NV]

TNK - As I was cleaning an EE cockerel yesterday, I was thinking of you.



Are you going to do a control group? A group who keeps their.........uhm....manly man parts but yet gets the "same" treatment/food as the capons?

 

[Kassaundra]

Quote:
It is my understanding you can also sprout them to make the nurtients more accessible.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

I have read that too, but I found the data sketchy and the amounts of protien not worth the effort for me.. I guess that's why they are so much cheaper.

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

HorseFeatherz -

I was thinking about keeping a 'control' group, but as a true BACKYARD flock keeper, I have neighbors to consider. I would have to butcher at crowing age.

I thought about doing it simply for the data as 'increase in meat available' to the backyard table chicken raiser, but I think there's plenty of data on young EEs out there. They are scrawny little things.

So I am focusing on the capons as a lot. I am going to relieve them of their manhoods over a period of weeks, one lot of maybe 10 at a time and see which ones get the meatiest. There are conflicting reports on the "best" age to caponize. Also I am planning to butcher over a period of weeks to see if there is a "peak" feed/growth ratio, and hopefully determine what is the point of diminishing returns.

Now you CX growers, keep your giggles to yourselves...

I know these birds will never be as effecient as CX or other 'broilers', but I would like to see what kind of a run the capons give for the money. And hopefully provide the surplus from hatcheries (even small farm hatcheries end up with too many roos) another avenue of usefulness.

 

[Stefrobrts]

I don't think there's going to be much growout difference based on when you caponize, just that you want to hit an age where the birds are young enough to easily recover, and the testies are big enough to easily find and remove.

I think it would be interesting if you left one intact and when it came time to butcher him (for crowing) butcher a capon as well, and directly compare their growth at that point. However, in reality, you will probably have some 'slips' so you'll end up with a few 'real men' in your coop anyway, so you probably don't have to keep one aside for the comparison.

Good luck with your experiment!

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

hey, I'm not laughing! I'm really excited to see what you do. I don't know about the WL, I think you may get other cheap/free baby males that might grow better but I think it's one of the coolest experiments. I can't wait to hear about doing the castrations. . . are you going to eat the "nuggets"? Where I grew up turkey "fries" were common.

btw - I don't think Capons crow.

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

Updates 1/1/11 with stats.

Things I have learned:

102 chicks outgrow a 2'x8' brooder in less than 2 weeks.

Some of those 2 week old chicks can live outside in a temporary pen even when it's 30F if they are out of the wind and have heat lamps. (2 lamps/25 birds is my ratio.)

If you make the brooder out of foamboard insulaion, the chicks will eat the foam rather than their food.

Ameraucanas come in LOTS of very cool colors!

When startled, a 2 week old chick will take on a 75lb boxer/pit mix and win.

The testicles of a 2 week old chick are about the size of a crumble. The gizzard, however, is huge.

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

keep it coming

 

[Sunny Side Up]

I don't think caponizing is a guarantee that the bird won't crow. A lot depends on the age that you caponize and whether you've made any slips. I have some that were done at about 10 weeks or so, I'm not sure, but some of them are crowing and looking more rooster-y than the others. When I butchered some of this batch I found remnants of testicle that I must have missed. Whatever you leave behind will continue to grow.

I am searching for some better tools to use, I'm really not satisfied with the ones I have. They're an old set, I can't remember who made them, but they aren't very efficient for spreading or grabbing. I have been browsing at this site http://www.widgetsupply.com/page/WS/CTGY/bead-tweezer and plan to order some of their beading tweezers. They also have magnifing visors and light scopes that look helpful too.

Have you tried to caponize some of these lil' guys with their crumble-sized organs? I wish I had the near-vision and the skill to do that! I struggle to find the boy-parts of big 10-week-old chicks that are still the size of a dried navy bean!

I wish you continued success with this project! Perhaps you could find folks that hatch in your area to get their surplus unwanted cockerels for your next project. That way you won't have to bother with such young chicks.

 

[Bossroo]

There are circular florescent lights with adjustable arms with the center that has a 2 1/2 X power lens. I used one to do surgical proceedures on mice, rats, rabbits, chickens, etc.