GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[garp94]

I've read this thread through over the last couple of weeks. It seems to be a practical solution to the problem I have - I hatch my own eggs and around 70 - 80 % turns out to be cockerels. This past week I practiced on a 12-week old cockerel that was killed by a stray dog - and smoothly and successfully completed the task, which gave me heaps of confidence. So I reckoned I could practice on a live mutt cockerel which will not be too much of a loss should an accident occur. Apparently this cockerel has some advanced pain receptors or something but it absolutely flat-out panicked and screamed every time I attempted a cut. Also he bled a lot through just the skin cut. I did wipe the area with alcohol and there were no visible blood vessels where I made the cut (the blood vessels were visible over the whole area under the wing). There was way too much blood for me too continue - and the chicken was way too stressed. He was calm until I started cutting. I decided to release him - he really wasn't the right candidate, or I did something terribly, terribly wrong. Has anyone on this thread ever experience a chicken that panicked over the skin cut? It really seemed as though he felt extreme pain.

Alcohol stings, so that may have contributed to his struggle. If you've had blood drawn and they use alcohol, they wait for it to evaporate before puncturing the skin.
So next time let it dry some, or can you use betadine???
Just a thought.

 

[BoereMeisie]

How old was this mutt cockerel? If he was also twelve weeks, that could have been part of it. Younger is definitely better.
I would recommend having a least 8-10 chicks to work with for the first time, hopefully as you work your way through your confidence level and skill will improve. And you would have a greater chance of some of them surviving, which would give you something to focus on. With only having one, and it your first live one, there is a high probability of it not surviving which would leave you in a very discouraged and low state of mind.

Good point. He was around 12 weeks as well, but he really looked like a pullet until a week ago when he spontaniously decided he wanted to be a cockerel (just kidding). His legs doubled in length and those wattles! Wow, they came from nowhere. So I decided what the heck - I don't want him creating little mutt babies and if I lose him - too bad... I'm real tough until an animal seems to be in pain, then I melt. So off he went, testicles in tact, with only a skin cut. But I will definitely try a few at a time next time I think I'm ready for a live caponizing session - younger chicks too.

Alcohol stings, so that may have contributed to his struggle. If you've had blood drawn and they use alcohol, they wait for it to evaporate before puncturing the skin.
So next time let it dry some, or can you use betadine???
Just a thought.

Good point. I will wait a while next time.

 

[LindaB220]

Hmmm I will look into it, because I definitely do not want 80% males. I've quit hatching my own eggs for now, because I want to change my entire flock over to Light Sussex. I'm keeping the hens I have - culling the two Roosters and wanted to caponize the young cockerels. My plan is then to order Light Sussex eggs and hatch them out - keep the hens and a breeding rooster and hatch only those eggs. I have NO mentor to turn to here in South Africa but I will definitely watch more videos on caponizing as well as practice on a couple more dead chickens. I've heard that Sussex chickens make good eating, so caponizing the extra cockerels from future Sussex hatches should work great!

I will definitely look into fermented feed - I'm following Kuntrygirl's thread on raising her broilers on fermented feed with great interest. Thank you for your response

Good post. And good luck on the Lt Sussex. That's what I have coming along with some white dorkings in April. The taste is supposed to be the best. Old books said that the dorking and bramha mix made the best capons. But I'm in too hot an area I think for the Bramha. The Sussex was developed with a mix of dorkings so the taste will still be there. Keep us updated on your progress. If need be, start a thread tell the benefits of Sussex and caponizing.

 

[BoereMeisie]

Good post. And good luck on the Lt Sussex. That's what I have coming along with some white dorkings in April. The taste is supposed to be the best. Old books said that the dorking and bramha mix made the best capons. But I'm in too hot an area I think for the Bramha. The Sussex was developed with a mix of dorkings so the taste will still be there. Keep us updated on your progress. If need be, start a thread tell the benefits of Sussex and caponizing.

I will have to master the art of caponizing first

BUT practice makes perfect so I'm sure I will get there... Just need to find some guts again first. I felt so bad for the screaming cockerel this morning - Typical me. Lots of guts until I think I'm hurting something, then I just want to hug it and apologize repeatedly

 

[LindaB220]

I will have to master the art of caponizing first

BUT practice makes perfect so I'm sure I will get there... Just need to find some guts again first. I felt so bad for the screaming cockerel this morning - Typical me. Lots of guts until I think I'm hurting something, then I just want to hug it and apologize repeatedly

Don't worry, it will come. Have you tried another kind? I understand the flighty ones are HARD to do. I just found out today that the small hatchery that assured me they don't separate the sexes has a 3 to 1 ratio of roos. Just listening to others that have ordered from them. So out of 25 that I ordered, I will get 18-20 of roos? Wow. What an opportunity to practice my trade.!!!! With the other order of 18 coming from a hatchery I'll be having upto 30 or more capons walkin' around. Hilarious!!!

When they grow up I'm going to offer them live on CL and if they don't sell, I'll be eating a LOT of chicken.

 

[BoereMeisie]

I haven't practiced again. I don't have any cockerels other than 2 6-week old Rhode Island Reds out of which I want to keep the best one for breeding. The other one will be culled - but since I can't determine which one is the best one yet, I can't practice on them

Soon though... I'm ordering some Light Sussex chicks from one breeder and some hatching eggs from another so I'm sure to get practicing then!

 

[wife2abirdman]

Some of the supplies. My instructor had a cool low tech "table" a piece of packing styrofoam and large bubble wrap. She said the slight stretching of the bird is ness. to cut the correct location. She put wide bands at the wing and feet and secured them w/ bungee.


The feathers in the area were very easy to pluck and the bird didn't seem to care. She is pulling the skin back so that her inscision of skin and muscle will not line up. She is going between the last two ribs. This pic doesn't show it well but there is a marked depression you cannot miss between the top of the thigh and the bottom rib.


This is the beginning of the skin inscision. She cuts the skin only on the first pass.


This is the completed skin cut


She adjusted the skin opening over the area of the muscle she was cutting. With the exposed muscle it was easier to see the correct place to cut.


retracting the opening to see and breaking the membrane for a view into the cavity. You can see intestine it this shot.


here you can see the tool she used to tear away the membrane (the piece of flesh diagonally from the end of the tool)


The object to the left with the slightly more yellow color is the teste, the uppermost one, the others are intestine


This is the modified straw and wire gripper, she gently twisted the straw to detatch it from the bird, but it just wouldn't easily detatch, so she had a plan B


here she is still trying to twist it.


she had a cauderizing tool, it worked well to seperate the teste from the bird. She bought it online she said it was around $50


here you can see the connective tissue being cauderized


and here it is out


Here is the second teste, she goes in through the same opening. You can see the second membrane that has to be removed before the teste can be clearly seen. She removes it w/ the same modified straw, she said the second one cannot be cauderized, at least through the same opening.


couple of stitches w/ sewing thread, but she uses a suture needle, she said regular sewing needles just were not sharp enough, there was way to much tugging of the skin


all stitched up


She uses alchohol on a cotton ball to swab the area and check for blood vessels before cutting anything at all, and plans her cuts where there are no blood vessels to lessen blood loss. It is like magic these were not very visible if at all before she swabbed with the alchohol.


I took several pics to try and show placement, but very few showed the detail and landmarks that were clearly visible in real life. this was the closest she stated how important the slight stretching of the bird is to locate landmarks easily there is a definate valley between the last rib and the thigh, the muscle cut needs to be between the last two ribs.



Sorry for the amount of pics, I took many more and tried to narrow it down to just the essentials to tell a complete story.

I want to make clear this isn't my information, I was the student. The woman showing me how to do this has an amazing success rate, she has only lost one bird total and that was to a respiratory infection, she has even caponized older birds then is recomended (special circumstances made this ness she doesn't do it regularly)and had no fatalities.

Thank you for this. I think we are going to start doing this to our culls. When I say we I mean my husband. I grew up on a farm and I am used to help slaughtering but apparently I have become squeamish in my middle age ha ha ha. I am so glad I saw this, it is such a good idea. My husband had told me about this years ago but I had forgotten about it.

 

[Kassaundra]

Thank you for this. I think we are going to start doing this to our culls. When I say we I mean my husband. I grew up on a farm and I am used to help slaughtering but apparently I have become squeamish in my middle age ha ha ha. I am so glad I saw this, it is such a good idea. My husband had told me about this years ago but I had forgotten about it.

Your welcome, further in the thread, but I'm not sure where exactly (what page) there is another set of instructional pics, using some of the Chinese techniques and tools.

 

[LindaB220]

Your welcome, further in the thread, but I'm not sure where exactly (what page) there is another set of instructional pics, using some of the Chinese techniques and tools.

I need to find it and bookmark it.

 

[LindaB220]

I need to find it and bookmark it.

Ok it took long enough to find it. I kept getting interested in the pages.

Post # 581 dated 11/13/13 is Kassaundra's post. Another that is also good is post # 646. on 11/20/13 by AletaG The Spanish tools pdf is post #748 w/ pictures and # 752 translated Hope this helps.