Ever nuetered a rooster?

[chickengeorgeto]

... With a creature such as poultry, castration is inhumane....

So it is inhumane (according to some) to kill and eat a rooster but I personally feel that it is more inhumane to eat a rooster without first killing him. Then it is inhumane to raise purpose bred chickens that in most respects are the same as a Capon or a castrated rooster. What you seem to think or say is that anytime a human lays his or her hands on a chicken it is basically a cruel or inhumane act. The chickens in a fryer-broiler house are basically a Capon without the operation.

 

[lazy gardener]

Hey folks, I posted this topic to learn about the subject, not for anyone to become a keyboard warrior. I would appreciate knowledge and experience on the act of doing this, or scientific facts why you chose not to do it. I do not deem castration as a cruel measure if it means that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that that animal will live a very long happy healthy life with me. And as I stated above, I most likely will not do this, I simply want to learn about the topic. So please refrain from insults.

Sorry you feel attacked. Understandably so. You asked a valid question, and require a valid answer based on anatomy and physiology, rather than individual value systems.

Chicks can safely be caponized b/c they have not yet undergone puberty. Their testicles are tiny. Caponization is done without anesthesia. A person skilled in the art of caponization can do so very quickly, and the chicks are soon back to pecking at their crumble. They grow faster b/c they will not be putting energy into sexual growth or activity.

Once a cockerel is mature enough that the typical BY flock owner notices that this chick "is not like the others", the flood of testosterone has left it's mark. His testicles are now huge, and the accompanying vascular supply makes the likelihood of castration without causing him to bleed out very slim. This is why such surgery, if you can even find someone to do it is so expensive: RISK! There are vets who are doing it, but they are about as common as hen's teeth. One vet I read about stopped caponizing mature cockerels for flock owners. But, he did change up his practice so that he was caponizing cockerels and then offering them up for sale.

Now, I jump into "value systems". IMO, putting a "no crow collar" on a rooster IS an inhumane act. The collars come with warnings not to feed the birds pellets while they are wearing them b/c of the risk of choking. Now, what's gonna happen to that roo when he finds a frog, or a huge grasshopper, or a mouse in his territory? Is he gonna say, "Perhaps I shouldn't eat that.", or maybe, "I should pull out my jack knife so I can cut it into bite sized morsels!" Nope. He's gonna do his usual and instinctive behavior: hoover it down before any one else tries to get it.

Roos are loud. Very loud, especially on Saturday morning, when they start in at 4:30 AM, the only day of the week that you can sleep in. If I was not willing to put up with that, I would rehome or eat my lovely roo.

 

[ThatParrotLady]

I disagree that no crow collars are in humane, with the number of Roos discarded into shelters or killed for meat when they were originally intended for pets is massive right now. I have collared my boys when family had been over early in the mornings and uncollared them when I let them out into the yard. And thank christ I do that because a large predatory bird almost took one of my chicks yesterday and I had advanced warning to get outside just as he pinned her down and I chased him off of her. My Roos, one had herded the ladies into the coop and the youngest boy was waiting at the stoop for me as I came out and followed me as I chased the raptor off.

I don’t blame them for not taking the raptor on he could have easily carried them both off. But my point remains, no crow collars are fine and a better option especially when they only really need them in the mornings. During the day, that crow might be what saves your flocks life.

 

[bobbi-j]

I disagree that no crow collars are in humane, with the number of Roos discarded into shelters or killed for meat when they were originally intended for pets is massive right now. I have collared my boys when family had been over early in the mornings and uncollared them when I let them out into the yard. And thank christ I do that because a large predatory bird almost took one of my chicks yesterday and I had advanced warning to get outside just as he pinned her down and I chased him off of her. My Roos, one had herded the ladies into the coop and the youngest boy was waiting at the stoop for me as I came out and followed me as I chased the raptor off.

I don’t blame them for not taking the raptor on he could have easily carried them both off. But my point remains, no crow collars are fine and a better option especially when they only really need them in the mornings. During the day, that crow might be what saves your flocks life.

Unless a person lives where they can't have roosters and thinks they can "hide" that rooster by putting the collar on them...

 

[JanetMarie]

Maybe you can find a vet. who would be willing to do the surgery. Anesthesia is more tricky for a chicken as I've been told by a vet., but possible. Listen to your heart.

I've had a pet rooster before, and would I have been willing to pay for an expensive surgery on him?....absolutely.

 

[Kessel23]

I disagree that no crow collars are in humane, with the number of Roos discarded into shelters or killed for meat when they were originally intended for pets is massive right now. I have collared my boys when family had been over early in the mornings and uncollared them when I let them out into the yard. And thank christ I do that because a large predatory bird almost took one of my chicks yesterday and I had advanced warning to get outside just as he pinned her down and I chased him off of her. My Roos, one had herded the ladies into the coop and the youngest boy was waiting at the stoop for me as I came out and followed me as I chased the raptor off.

I don’t blame them for not taking the raptor on he could have easily carried them both off. But my point remains, no crow collars are fine and a better option especially when they only really need them in the mornings. During the day, that crow might be what saves your flocks life.

Cool and all but roosters don't warn the hens by crowing... Also, who brought no crow collars into this, I thought we were talking about neutering roosters... IMO the OP should rehome the roosters, if it is illegal to have them then don't have them. It is too late to neuter them anyways. Also, no crow collars are a massive choking hazard for roosters, as others already pointed out.

 

[ThatParrotLady]

Cool and all but roosters don't warn the hens by crowing... Also, who brought no crow collars into this, I thought we were talking about neutering roosters... IMO the OP should rehome the roosters, if it is illegal to have them then don't have them. It is too late to neuter them anyways. Also, no crow collars are a massive choking hazard for roosters, as others already pointed out.

I brought them into this because neutering does nothing to stop crowing a collar does and that was their actual issue. Rather than be a jerk about it like some of the people on this thread OP was asking for things to help her situation and this fits the bill. I don’t know if OP has any other birds and she made no indication that where she had them it was illegal to keep the roosters just the noise level concern.

Also there is no choking issue if they are put on right they need an inch of space which is plenty of room to swallow and drink. Stop trying to scare the poor woman!

 

[Ohmyheart]

Just to put this out there before you make a decision.

If your city does not allow roosters then they most likely will still make you get rid of them even if neutered. I know here the no roosters mean no roosters. There is no wiggles room of only neutered roos.

 

[Chickassan]

It won't completely stop the crowing but it will lessen it greatly and what is vocalised won't sound even close to a proper crow. It is like they want to crow but they don't follow through. Rooster will get fat but not obese fat, his body will deposit fat in places normally reserved for hens. I've never fixed a rooster but I was given an accesories not included boy as a kid. I pretty much just had a big hen. So that is what to expect, if you can find someone to do it and that is your decesion.

 

[Folly's place]

It's abdominal surgery, and traditionally done with young cockerels destined for the table as capons. It's brutal without anesthesia!!!
Older cockerels, hitting sexual maturity, are very poor candidates for this procedure, regardless of who's the surgeon. Very young birds, with anesthesia and an expert surgeon, maybe. Nobody else!
Enjoy your roosters, or rehome them.
Mary