castrate a rooster

[nirado]

I am desparately looking for a vet that will castrate a rooster in Asheville NC. (not to eat, we don't eat our chickens) Anyone know of one?

Thanks!

 

[theoldchick]

Sweeten Creek Animal and Bird Hospital
828-684-8875.

See if they can help you.


Welcome to BYC!

 

[nirado]

Thank you! I'm excited to be on it. As a chicken mama for 1 year now, I have a zillion questions. LOL

I called Sweeten Creek and was told they don't do that and that it was inhumane to do. I'm not doing it for inhumane reasons, I'm trying to keep my rooster to be sure he has a good life, not someone's dinner. But the bottom line is that they don't do that. Thanks for the suggestion. Perhaps you have more?.

 

[donrae]

Caponizing is a tricky business with a rooster. How old is the bird in question? There's an age limit for a successful outcome (meaning your bird lives through the procedure), I'm not sure right off how many months is safe. You could look on the caponizing thread in the meat bird section and see what ages are appropriate. Most vets don't do caponizing, I think your best bet would be to put a wanted ad on your local CL or similar in the farm and garden section, see if anyone local has mastered the procedure. Again, it's not so simple as castrating a mammal as the testes on a bird are internal, and the chance of a bad outcome is pretty decent, even with an experienced caponizer.

IMO, an animal can have a great life right up until they become dinner. The two aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[nirado]

My little guy is 16 weeks. I hope it's not too late. I wasn't even convinced he was a he until he was 14 weeks. That's when he started crowing. I'm trying very hard to be sure he is not someone's dinner. He has had a great life up to now and I'd like to keep it that way until it's his time. I know it will be challenging to have the outcome I would like, and I'm willing to take it on. Just need to find someone who's also had this experience and had success, to see how I can proceed.

 

[enola]

Most people who are successful at caponizing cockerels prefer that the covkerel weigh about one pound. At 16 weeks, especially since your cockerel is crowing, his testicles have begun growing, which makes the procedure even more difficult.

 

[nirado]

Just as a curiosity, how do they ever get "caponized" at such an early age since it takes so long to identify some of the breeds? I know there are some that are easy to identify, but most I think are not? At that age I mean.

 

[donrae]

Experienced folks can usually tell a cockerel around the 5 week mark. Of course, if it's a sex link, you can tell at hatch. Or, folks just order cockerels from a hatchery to caponize and raise up as meat birds.

 

[nirado]

What age do they start to bother the hens? That will let me know how much time I have.

How sad. I will have to try to find him a new home. His "flock mates?" will really miss him, as will we. He is the sweetest little guy, and so beautiful! He's a Golden Comet, and boy is he Golden! A really deep yellow. He never was white or red or reddish. Just this beautiful yellow gold. I saw a Buffington rooster and he really looks like one of those, not a Golden Comet at all. Who knows, maybe he is a Buffington. I think I will not buy chicks or eggs from a feed store anymore. I don't think I got what I wanted AT ALL!

 

[enola]

If he is not white, he is not a golden comet. If you got him at a feed store, he may have gotten mixed up when a customer put him in the wrong bin.

Now, we want to se a picture of him!