GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[BCMaraniac]

Thanks for the encouragement. I am far from giving up. I did loose one of the Barred Rock 6.5 week olds overnight, but I will continue until I am proficient. This fits me well, as most all my interests revolve around nearly lost skills and trying to recapture them. I received a PM suggesting I not give up on Black Australorps as he said he has a friend that caponizes 100's of them a year for an Asian market. 40% of my young cockerels are Black Australorp so I will keep on trying with them.

This is almost a lost skill, relegated to history by our sterile society which is content to consume cardboard tasting manufactured food in the interest of being politically correct and "civilized", only so they can keep their own hands clean of the matter. Eating industrially produced Cornish X chicken purchased in a store only makes them "feel" better, but they truly are part and parcel of the cruelty that is inherent to that industry. Off my soapbox now.

This is a soapbox most of us who raise meat birds sit on, stand on, or shout from. We will eat well because we are willing to revive skills from the past, and appreciate what these animals do for us, instead of relying on the chicken tree that lives just behind the grocery store.

Freedom and self-reliance are the principles upon which America was founded. We are participants in a Renaissance of those principles.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I can't wait for pics, BCMaraniac! Lots to learn here. Awesome!

I put some of my 4-week-old chicks up this evening, so I am planning on surgery tomorrow. They are young, but hopefully the procedure will be easier on them, and the anatomy will be more like what is described in the literature, which recommends the procedure at the younger ages. I am also charging my camera battery as we speak.

 

[muddymomma]

My husband was very skeptical at first, he is very "Pollyanna" though and wants nothing to do w/ killing for food. He doesn't mind if I do it, he would just prefer if HE has to hunt that it is in a meat isle at a grocery store. lol (but he still wants to eat meat)

my hubby hunts, slaughters the goats, pigs, chickens, ducks, etc... he just wonders why you'd do this to a chicken when it isn't necessary. I thought the same till reading this thread. after a little discussion I know he'll let me do it, but will likely not want to be helping me. maybe after he's tried one...

 

[BCMaraniac]

I put some of my 4-week-old chicks up this evening, so I am planning on surgery tomorrow. They are young, but hopefully the procedure will be easier on them, and the anatomy will be more like what is described in the literature, which recommends the procedure at the younger ages. I am also charging my camera battery as we speak.

Well, my efforts at poulardization weren't successful, but no casualties. I did get a cockerel caponized from the right side. I put him up with the girls to try to caponize at the 4 week mark to see how difficult it would be to caponize at that age, and it actually went very well. I was very pleased at how well he tolerated it.

I have done some more research on poulardizing and found some additional tips that I am going to try soon. Hopefully I will have success to report with my next adventure....and some pictures as well.

 

[Shellz]

Well, my efforts at poulardization weren't successful, but no casualties. I did get a cockerel caponized from the right side. I put him up with the girls to try to caponize at the 4 week mark to see how difficult it would be to caponize at that age, and it actually went very well. I was very pleased at how well he tolerated it.

I have done some more research on poulardizing and found some additional tips that I am going to try soon. Hopefully I will have success to report with my next adventure....and some pictures as well.

At least you tried & you won't give up. I know you'll get it figured out. Kudos on the 4 week old. Nice to know there's a preferred age for doing it. Good luck next time & I look forward to the pics!

 

[BCMaraniac]

At least you tried & you won't give up. I know you'll get it figured out. Kudos on the 4 week old. Nice to know there's a preferred age for doing it. Good luck next time & I look forward to the pics!

Thanks for the encouragement. According to my further research(which is from 1914) 2-3 months is the best age for poulardizing a pullet. So my girls are going to wait a little longer. In the meantime, I will gather up my boys and get them taken care of, since I know that I can do them from one side at this age.

It is absolutely amazing that we truly are reviving an almost lost art.....I may have to write a book describing the how-to. Hmm, perhaps an e-book???? Poulardizing is even closer to death than caponizing.

Since I messed with these girls, I will have to process them prior to laying because scar tissue is going to develop and the tract that the egg has to go through isn't going to be normal. So if the yolk can't get where it needs to go, then it is retained inside the abdomen and can cause all kinds of trouble.

 

[Shellz]

Live & learn, & you must be learning a lot! I mean that in the best possible way, BC.

I think it IS time for a revival of this almost lost art! I admire & respect your courage in breaking ground on these procedures. Same goes for Kassaundra & any others going forth on this journey.

 

[qajaqkelly]

Work gets in the way of all of my projects, and I never know how late I will have to work. That being said, I have tried to plan my caponizations for Sundays ( I work all of the other days of the week

). I decided last night to take 6 cockerels off food and water in case I was able to get home in time to caponize them. Well it worked out time wise, so I set out on the journey again although the sun was getting low and made seeing a bit more difficult than when it is overhead.

My results were 3 successful capons (2 Buff Orpington, and 1 Black Australorp), and 3 tender tasty morsels for dinner in a day or two. My observations are that even though I have seen some success in getting some done from one side, that my usual failures are in an attempt to locate and/or remove difficult testicles from the first incision. This was what happened today. I had 3 Buff Orpingtons and 3 Black Australorps 7 weeks old. I lost the first three trying to get it done from one side, trying to run when I should walk. I resorted to doing both sides and the next three were total successes. I will, for the time being, force myself to plan to do both sides unless an obvious opportunity presents itself to capture both from one side. No more looking and poking around to find what is hidden. My experience (limited at best) is that 6.5 week old Barred Rock has been easy to see, and capture, often from one side. Same for Rhode Island Red. Black Australorp (6.5-7 week and 11 week) and Buff Orpington (6.5 -7 week) have been more difficult to dislodge from either side and almost impossible to locate both from one side, and as a result, I will plan to caponize these from both sides.

These are my experiences only, and reflect my level of skill and decisions made during the procedure, as well as the breed and age of birds I am working on. I expect to get better. I also realize that some breeds may be better to do at a younger or older age, and that some breeds may be best to plan on doing both sides. So many variables, only time and experience will sort through it all. That is the point of posting this, so that in the end, we may be able to build a "Best Practices" database for all breeds we have worked with. However, skill, or lack thereof is currently an unknown variable for most of us here. Hopefully, time will minimize that variability.

Kelly

 

[Kassaundra]

Thanks for the encouragement. According to my further research(which is from 1914) 2-3 months is the best age for poulardizing a pullet. So my girls are going to wait a little longer. In the meantime, I will gather up my boys and get them taken care of, since I know that I can do them from one side at this age.

It is absolutely amazing that we truly are reviving an almost lost art.....I may have to write a book describing the how-to. Hmm, perhaps an e-book???? Poulardizing is even closer to death than caponizing.

Since I messed with these girls, I will have to process them prior to laying because scar tissue is going to develop and the tract that the egg has to go through isn't going to be normal. So if the yolk can't get where it needs to go, then it is retained inside the abdomen and can cause all kinds of trouble.

So was it you were unable to locate the ovary or couldn't remove it?

 

[Kassaundra]

Congrats on the successful capons to both of you, looks like this week has been a good caponizing week.