GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[TaraBellaBirds]

Stupid hawks.
I went out to process yesterday and both of my big capons were missing. I walked out back in the tree-line and found some feathers from the first one I did. Still no sign of the big red one yet. I am so disappointed. The hawks have been terrible this year and have stolen several birds including my favorite hen. We are going to breakdown and just cover the entire run. That will cost a pretty penny but I have some very expensive birds coming in July and will not have them become hawk dinner. We will still have chicken for dinner tonight, just not capon.......

On a lighter note, I had an escapee yesterday. I went to move the cage that contained my 3 boys that were due yesterday. As I lifted the kennel, chaos ensued. Somehow they managed to pop up the bottom tray, which allowed one of the EE's to squeeze through the bottom wires......Imagine my total confusion as one of my boys races to the relative safety of the bushes

. After getting the remaining two settled, I went to retrieve the wise-guy who had managed to drink from the puddles. Well he got tossed in with the other three who were a day behind (ready for today). SMH, smart little buggers.

Of the other two remaining birds one is a full capon and the other is still intact. These fellows are incredibly high-strung and his panic coupled with my exhaustion from recent events saved his testes. He is the only white one of the batch and I decided to use him as a 'control variable' to judge how much faster and fuller my capons grow.

 

[Neuport]

Sorry to hear about the hawks. My SIL in Texas has raised a lot of chickens over the past 20 years, both for eggs and meat. She recently sold all of her laying flock because she had recently started losing one or two a day to hawk predation. She had been free ranging a large flock on a 200 acre parcel. She is hoping that if she waits a season the hawks will move on. I'm not so sure. Every where I go in the west, Texas, Colorado, Utah, California; I see a lot of hawks and other raptors. Many more than when I was young. Like coyotes and foxes. It seems like there are a lot more of them than there used to be as well.

 

[Rose-adamaj]

WOOOHOOO, YIPEEEEEE, YEEEHAWWWW & YAHOOOOOO

As of six pm yesterday:
I now have a roo with only ONE, UNO TESTICLE

And, yes, he is still alive - I don't know how, or why - it had to be divine intervention!!! I cut that poor thing up & down, left & right. Thank goodness I had the stuff to suture him, he was gaping so wide open I could see the top lobe of his liver

. As time went on and I couldn't find his testicles I was wishing I had killed him first. What kept me from going ahead and killing him was his lack of response to my probing around. So here is how it went:
I had pictures and notes thumb tacked to the wall.
I had a video on my laptop on a table next to me.
I pulled the skin over a little bit and cut the skin.
I let the cut go back in place between the first and second rib.
I cut through the meat (?) and couldn't see anything. It turns out I had actually cut between the second and third rib, and I had not cut all the way through the meat. I realized pretty quick that I had cut between the wrong ribs, so I made another cut between the correct ribs. I STILL didn't cut deep enough. So I extended the cut downward. I kept moving the retractor around. I just couldn't find the 'membrane' or testicle. I never considered quitting, but I did consider killing the poor thing! To keep a long story from going any longer, I finally figured out that I had not gone deep enough initially, I found the testicle, and I GOT IT OUT

It was attached along the whole length, but I had read about people having that problem and I was ready for it. I sutured the poor thing up, shocked that he was still alive, put him back in the cage with food and water, and he immediately started eating. This morning he is still alive, unbelievable. I am going to cage the other roo and caponize him before I do anything else with this poor thing.

About hawks, I live in Texas and see a lot of hawks. I had goats years ago and had a Pyr that lived with, and protected them. I had to get rid of my goats when a problem with a surgery left me disabled. I kept the dog and he transitioned to an indoor pet. Now, I have no idea why, but he hated any large bird that flew overhead. He was ten years old when we lost him two months ago, but he passed his 'bird guarding' to the other dogs. My chickens are free range, and I have not lost a single one to hawks!

 

[Rose-adamaj]

Sorry to hear about the hawks. My SIL in Texas has raised a lot of chickens over the past 20 years, both for eggs and meat. She recently sold all of her laying flock because she had recently started losing one or two a day to hawk predation. She had been free ranging a large flock on a 200 acre parcel. She is hoping that if she waits a season the hawks will move on. I'm not so sure. Every where I go in the west, Texas, Colorado, Utah, California; I see a lot of hawks and other raptors. Many more than when I was young. Like coyotes and foxes. It seems like there are a lot more of them than there used to be as well.

Neuport,
Don't know if your SIL likes dogs, but she should look into a guard dog. I had a Great Pyrenees to guard my goats, but they can be taught to guard anything. There are other breeds that are also bred specifically to guard.
Just a thought.
Rose

 

[jbkirk]

HELP the cocks I separated to caponize tomorrow morning have started eating each other. literally. I separated them in dark boxes. had to put one down it was so bad. :-(
What else should I do?

 

[Deerfield Acres]

HELP the cocks I separated to caponize tomorrow morning have started eating each other. literally. I separated them in dark boxes. had to put one down it was so bad. :-(
What else should I do?

Oh no!!!!!!! I'm afraid I'm going to have this problem too! I don't know what to tell you, maybe someone else has an idea. The last time I separated the birds they began picking feathers out of each other.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

How large of a cage are you using?
How old are the birds?

I haven't had this issue thus far. Maybe seperate cages would be the best solution.

 

[jbkirk]

How large of a cage are you using?
How old are the birds?

I haven't had this issue thus far. Maybe seperate cages would be the best solution.

Their were about 10-15 in one 2x4x3 wire cage, 6 weeks old.

 

[Rose-adamaj]

Update; 1/2 capon still alive!! I have him caged as he is limping on the side I cut him up so bad. I don't know if it's the right thing, as every time he sees me he jumps up looking for a way to escape (I can't imagine why). But if I put him out with the other chickens, I'm afraid that either 1) The others might attack him because he's injured, or 2) He will make it worse by overdoing because he is only 1/2 caponized. I'll figure it out, just wanted to share that he is still alive.

@Jbkirk.
How horrible! I can't imagine going out and seeing that. My one thought is maybe put fewer in, but that messes up your plans on how many you want to do at one time. I sure wish I had a solution.
Rose

 

[dfr1973]

Another round of caponizing here. Out of four, I have one still a complete cockerel ("Oh hell no you ain't doing nothing to me!"), Two capons, and one possibly-maybe slip. Of the three who held still enough to work on, two I got from only one side! One of those is the maybe-slip. These were 7 and 9 week olds, and I am definitely finding it easier to work on them at this age. The testes also tend to stay in one piece for extraction.

Those of y'all who are just starting out: keep trying. It does start to get easier, especially after the first full success.