GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[Poco Pollo]

@Poco Pollo I put in for that Sat night off, so I won't be up for 24 hours before the clinic.

Awesome! For those interested in attending our clinic Sunday, September 13th, please know that you'll have the opportunity to meet Kassaundra, the thread starter. She's going to be my extra pair of hands at the clinic.

Send me a PM if you'd like more information.

 

[Kassaundra]

I have 5 chicks separated and ready to go. Two are 7 weeks old and the other three are 6 weeks old, all Buff Orpingtons. I have tools, I have an operating table and I've plucked the sides of two and I cannot for the life of me figure out where to cut.

I've been looking at Chicken anatomy drawings, read through the first 115 pages of this thread (it's a long one!), looked at pictures and feel like I'm feeling the ribs but they seem so close together, almost as if there is barely a gap for the scalpel. I found the valley reference between the thigh and ribs but I can't identify any other valleys no matter how I stretch the skin.

I started making the incision on one and could only get a very short distance, it felt like I was hitting or trying to cut through something crunchy - not bone but maybe that (lookout - technical term) white sheet membrane-ish material found in the cavity of a whole roasted chicken.

Am I perhaps cutting too low? In the completely wrong area? Help!

Have the chicken secured and stretched in the right position. Head upper left, feet lower right. Now take your forefinger, find the biggest valley, between the thigh and rib, now gently glide your finger towards the head until you touch the rib, pointing w/ your finger towards the head the rib will be touching the point of you finger tip, roll the finger towards the rib (like your rolling it up and over the rib) your finger nail should be in the depression you are suppose to cut.

 

[osbmail]

Frasier episode 252 he makes a remark about Capons.Funny I actually know what he talking about.

 

[TaraBellaBirds]

Frasier episode 252 he makes a remark about Capons.Funny I actually know what he talking about.

I'm a huge Frasier fan, I will have to check that out!

 

[gregg3]

I completed all 5 this morning. Still having a really hard time finding the right place to cut though. Probably close to half of my cuts were between the 2nd and 3rd rib instead of the 1st and 2nd - I could tell when I ran into the lower horizontal bones and barely had enough room to get my rib spreaders in. Definitely made an extra challenge. When I can find the right spot though, things definitely go easier.

Results from this morning are:

1 possible slip - a little bleeding made it hard to see if I got everything.
1 half intact - My cut was between the 2nd and 3rd rib and I couldn't find the right testis at all, complicated by bleeding.
3 likely capons!

I couldn't imagine even trying to use the thread tool at this point - everything is so small. I ended up having the most success with the ear forceps although I struggled getting them out whole. Popping the air sac is also harder than it looks!

 

[Kassaundra]

I completed all 5 this morning. Still having a really hard time finding the right place to cut though. Probably close to half of my cuts were between the 2nd and 3rd rib instead of the 1st and 2nd - I could tell when I ran into the lower horizontal bones and barely had enough room to get my rib spreaders in. Definitely made an extra challenge. When I can find the right spot though, things definitely go easier.

Results from this morning are:

1 possible slip - a little bleeding made it hard to see if I got everything.
1 half intact - My cut was between the 2nd and 3rd rib and I couldn't find the right testis at all, complicated by bleeding.
3 likely capons!

I couldn't imagine even trying to use the thread tool at this point - everything is so small. I ended up having the most success with the ear forceps although I struggled getting them out whole. Popping the air sac is also harder than it looks!

Congrats.

 

[dfr1973]

I completed all 5 this morning. Still having a really hard time finding the right place to cut though. Probably close to half of my cuts were between the 2nd and 3rd rib instead of the 1st and 2nd - I could tell when I ran into the lower horizontal bones and barely had enough room to get my rib spreaders in. Definitely made an extra challenge. When I can find the right spot though, things definitely go easier.

Results from this morning are:

1 possible slip - a little bleeding made it hard to see if I got everything.
1 half intact - My cut was between the 2nd and 3rd rib and I couldn't find the right testis at all, complicated by bleeding.
3 likely capons!

I couldn't imagine even trying to use the thread tool at this point - everything is so small. I ended up having the most success with the ear forceps although I struggled getting them out whole. Popping the air sac is also harder than it looks!

You've scaled the steepest part of the learning curve, congrats! I have discovered that out of the ten I did earlier this spring, at least eight are slips ... possibly nine. Then again, I did them late - 14/15 weeks old due to weather and schedule shtuff - so I had problems with the testes breaking up on me. The first batch is the hardest, and I also had difficulty finding the proper spot to cut.

 

[Neuport]

Popping the air sac is also harder than it looks!

If you haven't already, next time try tearing it with a hook. A couple of quick passes with a sharp hook made easy work of that part of the procedure on the few I did.

 

[Maggiesdad]

I completed all 5 this morning. Still having a really hard time finding the right place to cut though. Probably close to half of my cuts were between the 2nd and 3rd rib instead of the 1st and 2nd - I could tell when I ran into the lower horizontal bones and barely had enough room to get my rib spreaders in. Definitely made an extra challenge. When I can find the right spot though, things definitely go easier.

Results from this morning are:

1 possible slip - a little bleeding made it hard to see if I got everything.
1 half intact - My cut was between the 2nd and 3rd rib and I couldn't find the right testis at all, complicated by bleeding.
3 likely capons!

I couldn't imagine even trying to use the thread tool at this point - everything is so small. I ended up having the most success with the ear forceps although I struggled getting them out whole. Popping the air sac is also harder than it looks!

Next time you've got some to do, drop me a line. I'd be willing to come over to show you how I go about it.

 

[gregg3]

Next time you've got some to do, drop me a line. I'd be willing to come over to show you how I go about it.

That would be AMAZING! I've read a ton of your posts throughout this thread but had no idea you were local. I have another 5-7 (rough counted as they were coming out of the coop) that are approaching 7 weeks that I was planning to do this weekend. I can plan it for whenever you're free if you have the time.