Caponizing a rooster?

[Hen Pen Jem]

You are so right, humans do things to animals that they shouldn't.

That is why it is good, that we talk about the unethical treatment towards a species, that doesn't require castration.

Man has done well at manipulating chicken genetics, through breeding, in order to create meat birds. The original purpose of caponizing was to cause the rooster to put on weight, not to alter its behaviors. The original post is an inquiry about the effect of caponizing to alter rooster behavior. The poster wasn't interested in plumping them for the plate. These roosters are pets.

Caponizing has already been banned in the United Kingdom, due to animal welfare concerns. Scientists and veterinarians agree that birds can and do feel pain, and the castration of unanesthetized cockerels is undoubtedly a serious welfare concern.

Due to the animal's potential size and weight, a pig is castrated to stop development of it's sex hormones, to stop aggression behaviors. Preventing off odor in the meat, is another reason male pigs are castrated. And, pigs also experience pain during castration.

Perhaps we should reconsider the practice of pig castration as well.

If we are to use animals as food, I think we should do our best to exercise humane and ethical treatment in the process.

Let's think, and research before we do things to our animals, whether they are for food or pets.

This is the 21st century folks, we have to do better!

So, these are my thoughts on the subject of caponizing roosters.

God Bless.

 

[nminusyplusm]

I'm really curious if people who think caponing is so wrong, also think other farm methods of castration are wrong? Like castrating a week old Piglet, banding goats, or even dehorning an animal with a hot iron? And should a farmer pay a vet to anaesthetise 100 piglets (or a small farmer pay for 5) when they get over it in minutes? What about crop surgery? Would it be better to put the bird down then to heal it without pain medicine? Caponing causes some amount of pain, I'm sure, but we'll never know the degree of pain given the nature of birds to not react much to pain. But I tend to think it's better to cause that few minutes of pain and have them live a peaceful life.

Anatomically a rooster is very different from any male mammal, it's a very different and invasive procedure.

 

[Brahma Chicken5000]

hello! i have somehow ended up with 4 roosters... and dont need but 1... theyre all good boys and i dont really want to get rid of any of them, as theyve become like pets... so i was wondering how many have caponized their roosters? and how many have actually tried it themselves? im having trouble finding a vet in my area that knows how... im considering doing it myself but was curious if it was very difficult to do or heal afterwords. all these are over 6months old

From the little that I have read on caponing a cockerel, a cockerel is caponed at a young age so that the body doesn’t produce so much testosterone. Unfortunately it’s too risky at your cockerels current age for the surgery, I suggest building the 3 that you intended to capon a bachelor pad and let them live out their lives. Good luck

 

[casportpony]

Anyone want to know what an avian vet thinks about caponizing and castration? If so, read this:
https://www.avianstudios.com/blog/bird-vasectomy-and-castration/

 

[Fairview01]

If you're worried about inflicting unnecessary pain, ditty bop down to your local car parts store and pick up a can of diesel starting fluid and make sure it says di methyl ether on the back. This was the first generation of anesthesia used for people. There's a risk to much will put him to sleep permanently but without pain and the mistakes are still edible.

 

[ALS1104]

i appreciate all the replies. i know an older gentlemen that has raised chickens his entire life that has done the procedure countless times, i should have specified i wasnt thinking of just cutting away without any guidance. hes offered to do it and says hes done it on old roosters as well. if i decide to go that route, i will probably let him do it... i personally dont see the procedure as awful or barbaric, anymore than fixing any other farm animal. but thats just my personal opinion... i have the space to make another bachelor coop so i also may go that route.

i have a friend thats going to take one of the roosters... so im down to 10 total now... 3 roos and 7hens

 

[casportpony]

i appreciate all the replies. i know an older gentlemen that has raised chickens his entire life that has done the procedure countless times, i should have specified i wasnt thinking of just cutting away without any guidance. hes offered to do it and says hes done it on old roosters as well. if i decide to go that route, i will probably let him do it... i personally dont see the procedure as awful or barbaric, anymore than fixing any other farm animal. but thats just my personal opinion... i have the space to make another bachelor coop so i also may go that route.

i have a friend thats going to take one of the roosters... so im down to 10 total now... 3 roos and 7hens

Did you read the link I posted?

 

[casportpony]

The vet wrote:

"Castration is a whole different subject. As a general statement, I do not recommend castration for anything other than testicular disease (mostly cancer). In other words, I do not recommend castration as a means of behavior modification."

and

"While I have castrated many birds, some regrettably for behavioral reasons, I now only consider the procedure for medical problems. My experience has been that castration for behavioral modification does not work. This includes attempting to curb aggression in parrots, ducks and poultry and crowing in poultry (chickens and peacocks). The birds temporarily stop their behaviors (probably because the surgery is invasive and they feel rotten) but have all resumed at some point later (some were even checked to make sure there was no remnant regrown testicular tissue). There are actually quite a few studies in various bird species that show the same results- once the behavior is established, castration tends to not make it stop. Some of the studies have even shown increased aggression with castrated birds. Castration would probably be most effective in preventing some behaviors (and normal adult male plumage) when done on young birds. However, I cannot justify the procedure at this time."

Part of the problem is that we are asking a bird to not perform a normal behavior such as crowing in roosters and aggressively protecting a mate (which may be a human). So I focus on understanding the behavior and look for other means of modification.

 

[casportpony]

I watched caponing and they go in the ribs to pull out the testicles.

Have so seen how big a rooster's testicle can get?

 

[ALS1104]

yes i read the article posted. i dont have any behavior issues with these boys. they are all very well behaved and sweet. im doing it for population control and to keep them from tearing the hens up