de-crowing a Roo

[chickencrazylady]

I agree with Hunter0704,
OMG, Why have a Roo if you don't want him to crow!!! I think that is mean. If you are unable to keep a roo then give him to somebody who can and is able to enjoy him!

 

[BarnGoddess01]

It seems pointless to me to de-crow a rooster. Chickens make noise. My hens easily make as much noise as the boys when they're loudly singing egg songs and such. I do understand the contraversial nature of your question and this thread but are you hoping to silence them all or just the boys?

 

[elmo]

Quote:
Well, if that's really true, then I guess all you need to do is contact the vet who did those procedures, right?

You asked for references, but the only one that has been provided in this thread is the link I provided from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture. They seem to be pretty familiar with chicken anatomy, and they say that you can't remove a rooster's crow surgically.

There may be vets out there who claim that they can decrow a rooster and are willing to take your money to try to do it, but I say "buyer beware."

 

[elmo]

Quote:
I have a friend who is working on just that: trying to breed a rooster who crows softly enough to live in a suburban backyard. He's only in the third year of the project, and so far it's not produced much in the way of results. He is breeding from Serama roosters, because of their size and generally quiet crowing to begin with.

He got some quiet little roos out of the program but they've also been infertile.

 

[kari_dawn]

Quote:
Sorry I don't have any refferenced to add, but I think this is a HUGE reason why many vets don't do birds. Birds are so super sensitive to anasthesia that any time you put them under, there is a very good chance they won't wake back up

btw, please don't eat me for this

what if OP just wanted an educational thread about something that isn't often talked about? Seems to me they are just looking for information

controvercial or not, are we not all here to learn? Wether or not it is humane, it is still a practice (apparently) that goes on in some areas. I kinda wish people here wouldn't be so quick to jump on someone who asks a question that may spark controversy. Humanity of procedure asside, I would be (albiet morbidly) curious about the how, why, and sucess of something so silly to do. Short of "trying it" on my own, the best I could do is research what others have already done.

Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Over on the Ameraucana thread, Mahonri has made mention of getting his(?) cockerel decrowed although I don't know if he has actually had it done or has any experience with it. It was the first I had heard of such a procedure, and there isn't any information specific to the procedure on that thread. But maybe if you PM'd him he could share the information with you. I do know that he had to get rid of a lot of his chickens, and for a while was in danger of having to get rid of all of them, because his neighbors complained about the roosters crowing. He lives in AZ, so I don't know if he could point you to any vets though.

As for everyone who states that birds always do poorly under anesthesia, etc...that depends entirely on the skill and experience level of the tech monitoring the anesthesia and the doctor doing the surgery (and to some extent what the surgery is). Having worked for a board certified avian vet and monitored many surgical procedures on birds that were much longer and more complicated than a decrowing surgery probably would be I do not believe that anesthesia for birds is necessarily any more dangerous than for cats, dogs, or other pets. Yes, with someone who doesn't know what they are doing there is a big risk. But birds do remarkably well with anesthesia for all the horror stories out there. All of the birds I have lost under anesthesia have been under for very difficult surgeries, usually to try to correct a condition that would be fatal without surgery anyway. For many birds we actually used anesthesia for routine x-rays because the risk of the bird hurting themselves while fighting us for the x-rays was greater than risk of the anesthesia.

 

[kari_dawn]

Quote:
That's good to know. It will make me feel loads better if I ever have reason for one of my birds to be put under anasthesia. Thank you for that tidbit of info.

 

[Pele]

Quote:
I have a friend who is working on just that: trying to breed a rooster who crows softly enough to live in a suburban backyard. He's only in the third year of the project, and so far it's not produced much in the way of results. He is breeding from Serama roosters, because of their size and generally quiet crowing to begin with.

He got some quiet little roos out of the program but they've also been infertile.

That's deeply interesting. I wonder if perhaps there is a correlation between the impulse to crow, and testosterone levels. That would make the decreased fertility make sense.

Perhaps instead of the focus of the breeding being around decreasing impulse to crow, it should focus on volume. Hm... I will keep this in mind once I get a property big enough to start a chicken breeding farm.

 

[Kevin565]

You asked for facts not my opinion so i will keep my views to myself. I called around and they all said no. Thr bird would need to be put under and this is too risky with birds. Too prevent crowing youd have to mess with the throat. This can leave to serious breathing issues. As well as in general one wrong cut and the bird is dead. One vet did suggest looking into clicker training the bird to only crow at certain times.

 

[Countrypunk92]

I think getting rid of a rooster's crow in any way is cruel. Thats a tool he uses to define himself in the flock.
Like a crab and his large claw.