Ever nuetered a rooster?

[ButteCA]

All castrations are inhumane.

What are you gonna do sometimes though? It has to happen. Not with a rooster though. Just find it a home with some nice ladies.

 

[Colorado Chick]

Hi

I think @lazy gardener probably gave the most factual info regarding caponising. I have no personal experience of it but I have encountered a fair amount of info from reading and having processed surplus cockerels myself.
You do not say how old the birds are that you have and that is obviously a critical factor. Bantam cochin cockerels tend to be obvious from a pretty young age so your birds may still be young enough to safely do the procedure. The two problems with them getting older are tying off the extensive blood supply that develops as they approach adolescence which is very closely branched to the main artery with little room for isolation and the physical size of removing them because the surgery is done through their back from what I have read and the ribs are prised apart with rib spreaders to get them out. Adolescent roosters have some pretty impressive sized testicles but not very wide spaced ribs.

I agree with your assessment about doing it without anaesthetic. I have done crop surgery on a bantam pullet that was on her last legs and whilst I am not saying that she was unfazed by the surgery...... she definitely struggled when the incision was made..... she suffered no post surgery trauma and was up on her feet running around as soon as I glued her back together and happily wolfing down food 10 mins later with no sign of distress or shock..... she was actually a bantam cochin (we call them pekins here in the UK) and I can understand your attachment, they have lovely temperaments and are so cute.

If you are very attached to these birds, I would imagine you would want to do a lot of practising before you attempted the surgery on them yourselves. Finding a vet to perform it would be a very limiting factor and they would probably be obliged to use anaesthetic which greatly increases the risk as you are aware, so you are looking at a large expense with no guarantee of success in the sense of having a live capon at the end of it.

I would imagine the reduction in crowing from this procedure may depend upon the age at which it is done as I'm pretty sure there will be a "habit" element to crowing as well as a hormonal one. If the birds are caponised before they ever start crowing then they will be less likely to crow afterwards. Some cockerels crow very early at a couple of weeks old, others are very late developers. Your chances of the success you hope for would probably be higher if your boys are in the latter camp.

I did read about a vet who was trying to do work on the vocal chords to reduce the volume of crowing but again the surgery was very expensive and risky due to anaesthesia. Just throwing that in as another option.

I'm not sure any of this helps you come to a decision but it is as much knowledge as I have to offer on the subject.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Well, I'm a goober... Clean spaced telling you their age. They are about 7/8 wks old right now. I've never had a frizzle or Cochin before, so I wasn't sure about their development rates. Now I know

 

[Abriana]

The process is called caponizing and a caponized rooster is called a capon. It is a stressful, invasive, and painful surgery. Many cockerels survive the actual surgery but die later of stress. Chickens are pretty delicate. I would find them a nice home in the country where they can live peaceful, full lives. It’s so hard giving up animals you love and are attached to, but sometimes you have to do what’s best for the animal.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Capons are rare for a reason. Please don't subject your maturing boys to this procedure which is normally performed on tiny chicks. A rooster is meant to crow- and shouldn't be modified not to or choked out with a collar (no matter what you say, that is what happens- I bought a collar once and it was dreadful)

 

[cassie]

So come to find out I have two roosters, but I have gotten so attached to them. I can't keep them in the city. My husband mentioned nuetering them. So I am reading up on it and so far I have found it usually is done around 3-4 weeks. I honestly doubt I will do it, but I thought I would inquire about it anyway. My main question is when it is done, would it keep them from crowing? I do know that it reduces aggression, and they get fat. Getting fat is already one Mark against the process. Me being selfish and nuetering a bird just to keep it is another! Thanks in advance!

I may be repeating what others have said but here's my two cent's worth anyway. Castrated roosters are called capons. Caponizing was a common practice until development of the Cornish X made it unnecessary. Capons do not crow. Crowing in chickens is hormonal. A caponized rooster will quit crowing as soon as the testosterone is removed from the system. Capons grow large, are docile, and my grandfather used them to brood chicks, among other things. I have thought about caponizing a couple Jersey Giants just for the heck of it and keeping them for pets but I never have. It may interest you to know that birds do not feel pain the way mammals do. For instance, I stitched up a large gash on the side of a turkey and he didn't even flinch. If you are interested, go on eBay and get a poultry book published in the 1940's or so. I have one. In mine, caponizing covered in detail, with pictures and everything. In any event, the book makes interesting reading. Caponizing is usually done on young cockerels. I read somewhere that the testicles on mature roosters can get quite large. One way to learn to caponize is to practice on a bird that you have slaughtered for the table.

 

[cassie]

All castrations are inhumane.

Really? You think people should ride an intact stallion? Or that people who want a pet male goat should put up with a smelly raunchy buck rather than a wether? Or you think I should not neuter my pet male kitten and let him grow up and spray urine around the house? Ever smell tomcat pee?

 

[cassie]

Does neutering a dog stop it from barking?
Crowing is a part of being a rooster. There is nothing you can do to stop them from it.

Neutering will not stop a dog from barking because barking in dogs is not hormonal Both sexes bark. Only male chickens, or hens with a hormonal abnormality, crow. A rooster that has been castrated will stop crowing when the testosterone is gone from his system. That will take a few weeks after the testicles are removed.

 

[cassie]

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!

What makes you think neutering a rooster won't make him stop crowing? It does. It may take a few weeks, but it does.

 

[cassie]

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

I wonder how brutal it it actually is. I can tell you birds do not feel pain the way mammals do. My big pet turkey came in one day with a huge gash in his side. I took a needle and thread and stitched the wound closed. He just stood there while I worked. He didn't flinch at all.

 

[Folly's place]

In the 'good old days' animals were not considered to think, or feel, or have emotions. We have learned better! 'Birds don't feel much pain' is a cop-out, IMO.
Rant over.
The issue is about surviving this surgery at all, and it's unlikely unless these cockerels are very young, and the surgeon is very experienced. I saw it done while in Poultry Science in college, and it wasn't pleasant, and the birds died.
Mary