GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[Double Kindness]

Tonight when I put the meaties up will be their last food again until after caponizing tomorrow and Sunday. Probably late afternoon tomorrow, we need more/better light.

When people hear we're castrating roosters they have all kinds of reactions, most think I have lost my mind. Or we're torturing them or harming them. Roosters as I understand, are going to happen, not all are going to live anyways, this delays that, and has other benefits. I think it's a very important flock management skill.

In the morning I'll let out the chickens we tried to caponize last weekend and the pullets. And take them out and start plucking them and trimming feathers where we need it. That took a lot of time last week.

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
when they give you grief ask them why it's okay on dogs cats cattle and horses then?

 

[Kassaundra]

I do not recall anyone reporting caponizing a game or fighting type roo'let. They will lose the male urges like any other male w/o testosterone. So the urge to fight, but also the urge to gather a haram. Their biology is no different then any other chicken. The only caveat to that would be if you are talking about trying a more grown adult roo, if the behavior is already learned and ingrained you might have less success, but w/o the testosterone to fuel the behavior it should lessen, but maybe not resolve entirely.

 

[Maggiesdad]

Will it make a game chicken not fight. Because there are few things in this world that will accomplish such a thing.
And will the rooster still protect his hens or will he loose the desire to collect a herd/harem (or whatever they are called).

My capons are below the hens in pecking order, when they are in mixed flocks. Other intact roosters just ignore the capons. No harem for capons, they just eat and hang out.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was a busy one. We processed the last of the meat birds and my first go at teaching someone to process! All went pretty smooth, if a bit drawn out, it took almost 3 hours for th two of us to do 10 birds. My 'student' was awesome and it was a good experence, very calm and easy on the people and the birds.

I also took care of my little capons wind puff last night. It seemed to get huge all of a sudden (normal?). It was super easy and I was greatly amused at 'deflating' a chicken! He spent the night in the laundry room to recover, and is doing great this morning.

Little Frosting (my 6 year old adopted him!)

 

[Jucknath]

Good morning everyone. Yesterday was a busy one. We processed the last of the meat birds and my first go at teaching someone to process! All went pretty smooth, if a bit drawn out, it took almost 3 hours for th two of us to do 10 birds. My 'student' was awesome and it was a good experence, very calm and easy on the people and the birds.

I also took care of my little capons wind puff last night. It seemed to get huge all of a sudden (normal?). It was super easy and I was greatly amused at 'deflating' a chicken! He spent the night in the laundry room to recover, and is doing great this morning.

Little Frosting (my 6 year old adopted him!)

Cute little fellow

 

[Double Kindness]

We didn't caponize yesterday, as a chocolate muscovy duck got into the coop somehow (first time ever) & I had to let them all out to get the duck out.

So last night I didn't feed them and today I took out the last weeks attempts and the pullets. My bf is still asleep I think. I'm watching game of thrones and still trying to figure out how to sex the 4 muscovy ducks I got last weekend

 

[Kassaundra]

We didn't caponize yesterday, as a chocolate muscovy duck got into the coop somehow (first time ever) & I had to let them all out to get the duck out.

So last night I didn't feed them and today I took out the last weeks attempts and the pullets. My bf is still asleep I think. I'm watching game of thrones and still trying to figure out how to sex the 4 muscovy ducks I got last weekend

I am getting moscovy ducks this spring, but I have having them pinioned, and plan on doing it for all future ones hatched here. I live in town and can't have all that flying.

 

[Double Kindness]

Is pinioned like clipping their wings? Mine don't fly it doesn't seem like. They do like to flap their wings and run back and forth across their pen though. It has bird blocking on the top.

I hope that we can do better today with caponizing. I also hope this chocolate muscovy is a boy, b/c I would love sex linked ducklings. I am not great at playing are you a girl or a boy chicken/duck.

One of my new production red roos makes egg song noises and one of the speckled sussex roos tried to mate it yesterday. We're so curious as if this is a roo acting like a hen. I guess we'll find out later on today when we caponize.

My 2 ayam cemani roos came back yesterday afternoon and are doing well after decrowing surgery. We are debating as to if we're going to caponize the other 5 ac roos I have that aren't as nicely black saturated as the 2 that went for decrowing. I'm really wanting black meat capons.

 

[Kassaundra]

Pinioning is actually cutting off the last section of wing. On ducks it is done as day or two old, from one wing. I have not done it yet, these will be my first ducks. If done as day or two there is very little to no bleeding and recovery is very quick. Unlike clipping feathers, it never has to be redone and they absolutely cannot fly, where some determined ones can fly after clipping feathers. Many people have fits about it (much like caponizing) but I CAN NOT have any to go over the fence, it would be a horrible death, much worse then an instant clip as a day old.