Does anyone caponize or decrow roosters in Oregon? Not near Portland.

[JessicaThistle]

I love my hens and I don't even mind when they are hollering at me to let them out or complaining that their hiney hurts because they need to lay me an egg. BUT I hate my roosters crowing at 4 am!!! I am not a morning person and it is not even getting light at 4 am. Are these guys stupid?!!

I wanted silkies. So I found a lady nearby that had 2 white silkies, 1 black silkie and a beautiful gold laced cochin roo. The black silkie is a roo too. I think one of the white silkies is a roo but he is so sweet and docile at this point he is no bother.

I hate the 4 am crowing!! I hate these two boys chasing my laying hens to the point that they aren't laying much. It's incessant! I locked the boys in my chicken tractor because it currently doesn't have a batch of meat birds. Since doing that I have been getting more lovely eggs each day. I have crow collars on them both and it is not helping.

So, the conundrum, my daughter is in love with these two little roos. They are very sweet and friendly. You can pick them up and snuggle them. I can even touch their comb and wattles, (possibly because they are scared enough of me to not argue). They are adorable...erm handsome guys.

I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to keep them. The other part, well. I don't want to give them to someone that may cull them. I could do that myself and reap the reward. I raise meat birds. These two could go with the next batch. Does anyone know of anyone in the Willamette Valley that caponizes roosters? If not, I would be okay with a decrow and I could just keep them locked in a big pen that we are building them with daily outings. I am interested in caponizing because I am not really interested in breeding. Besides these are banties and my hens are LF. I would just like my peaceful barnyard back. The crow was kinda fun at first but then it started at 4 am. I'm a light sleeper. Ear plugs and a pillow over my head don't help.

Help!

 

[Amina]

From what I understand, chickens can see a slightly different spectrum of light than humans can, so it looks like sunrise earlier to them than it does to us. That's probably why they are crowing so early.

So that being said, have you tried keeping them in the dark at night? Maybe put them in a cage in the garage at night, especially on weekends.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I am currently keeping them in a cage in the garage, but I personally do not want to move them in and out day after day. They are still crowing constantly all early morning because there is a window in the garage. I can hear them while trying to sleep but it is quieter than when they are outside.

I read a study that found that roosters still crowed even when in the dark because of their inner clock. Therefore this is not the forever answer.

Does anyone know where I can have decrowing or caponization done in Oregon?!

 

[bobbi-j]

If you can't find anyone to do either for you, it sounds to me like your best option (for a good quality of life for your roosters) may be to find them a new home. If they're banties, the chances of someone eating them are probably pretty slim.

 

[JessicaThistle]

I have an ad posted here on BYC with no bites. On Craigslist roosters are a dime a dozen in my area. Everyone is trying to rehome their roos and that's where I got these guys anyway. I adopted them with two white silkies, which is what I wanted. I took the black silkie as we didn't know for sure he was a rooster and the cochin she gave me for free because she couldn't have a roo in town. I wasn't against having one at that point and willing to give it a try. Now I'm just frustrated and exhausted from the crowing.

 

[JessicaThistle]

Never mind. I found them a home at a nearby farm that my daughter visits often. Yay!

 

[bobbi-j]

Sounds like a great solution. Glad it worked out so well.

 

[ironwingOne]

I once was on a website called "My Pet Chicken" and they had a 'no crow rooster collar' on there. It is a little collar that does not hurt the roo at all, and it makes their voice no louder than a hen's. You might want to research that..... I tried to go back to that web page this morning but was not successful, but it must be available somewhere......

 

[ironwingOne]

Oh, sorry - after I posted all the other postings came up and I found out my suggestion was no help at all! Glad you got it handled!

 

[lorper01]

Hi,

I see you solved your rooster problem. I live near McMinnville, OR and have had 4 of my roosters caponized by Dr. Tina Johnson at Newberg Veterinary Hospital. I know Newberg would be quite a drive, but if you are ever in a similar situation, you might consider them. It is a major surgery and one neither I nor my vet can believe is still cruelly "practiced" without any type of anesthesia. Even under the skilled hands of a veterinary surgeon, things can go wrong and one of my guys didn't make it.

I had them done as soon as I realized they were roosters - at about 10 weeks. They are docile and get along just fine with each other. One crows (he was older, probably 12 to 14 wks when caponized), but his crowing is very infrequent. When he does it is only for 10 minutes or so in the morning. He isn't loud at all. I can't even hear him when I'm in the house. A lot of trouble to go through for a rooster, but I'm vegetarian and it was worth it to me as they turned out to be wonderful pets.