Capon growout journal - update Super Bowl Sunday

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Fantastic -

Might want to leg band the single "manly" cockerel - just to see if he grows different than the others?

 

[KatyTheChickenLady]

we are with ya' keep up the good work!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Yay for you! At least your patients survived their operations, that's a big success! It's okay if things don't go perfectly, this is all a big experiment and learning experience for you -- which we're glad that you're so generous to share with us. Certainly tag the guy with the one part left undone. How old are your cockerels now? How big were their testicles at that age?

How many chicks do you have left in this group? Would you take on so many next time? I hope you find out what's ailing your chicks and causing the losses, that can be so very discouraging.

 

[mixedchickens]

Quote:
Good for you! Hopefully, someday I will get up the nerve to try it. I have no problem butchering animals, but it is a lot different for me since they are dead when I start cutting. Keep us posted on how The birds do.

 

[Omniskies]

I may be a horrible person, but I really think it's funny that all of these little roosters are becoming less manly on one of the most testosterone-laden days of the year

I pronounce it "KAY'pon."

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

awsome cant wait to see when there adults

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
Oh you horrible, horrible person you

<---------------another horrible, horrible person - OH the irony

 

[Newbean]

While everyone is updating, I should probably as well.

We failed at surgery at 6 weeks. We didn't lose the bird, but couldn't find the manly bits. We tried on both sides and never succeeded. It was a good experience though. It is much different than butchering a bird because of all of the breathing. Also, I'd like to talk to anyone who says the bird feels no pain or little pain. Maybe we chose a wimpy bird, but it seemed like the bird cheeped in pain while we cut. It threw me off.

Anyway, after glueing him back together, and some time in a box with food and water in front of the fireplace, he started perching on the side of the box (about 11-12 hours after surgery). So I put him back in the brooder with his buddies and now (about 4 weeks later) he seems just fine. Although, he has blown up like a balloon a few times.

We will try again next week when they are 10-11 weeks old. One thing we learned was that although we had read that 6 weeks is a good time to do the surgery, we should have paid attention to the other guidline that said 1.5-2 lbs. We weighed the chick afterwards and he was under a pound.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

If your chick keeps cheeping check his restraints. Maybe his legs and/or wings were being pulled or held too tight. The thing that seems to bother my chicks the most is when I have to pull out a few feathers around the incision site. That and the first poke with the knife. I put a small dark-colored sock over their heads to help keep them calm.

Or maybe your chick really was a wimp, thus the tiny hard-to-find testicles.

I'm going to give caponizing another try after I get some better tools & especially a better light & magnifier. Then I will try on cockerel chicks at an early age, around 7-9 weeks. Otherwise, I wonder if it's really worth the time & effort to caponize older cockerels, if it's too late to supress their manly urges, too late to make a difference in their finished weights.

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

I ended up doing 5 total. They all survived and are still vertical this morning. They ate a little breakfast and drank water OK. They are puffed up and unhappy, but I would guess that's to be expected.

On 3 of them I was only able to find 1 doodad. On another, I got both and am quite sure I got all of both. The last one, I got one fully extracted but the second one crumbled so he may be a slip. The 3 I know are only 1/2 done are marked with an unclipped white zip tie. The one I feel is fully caponized has 2 clipped white zip ties. The last one I plan to mark with just 1 clipped zip tie and maybe an unclipped one? I dunno. Just need a way to keep track of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Any I do this week will get white zip ties. Next week I'll switch colors.

And you experienced caponizers... why are some of the testicles all white and some are half black?