GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[CindyinSD]

I think Kabootar is saying to withhold food for 36 hours prior to the surgery but to withhold water for only 12 hours prior to the surgery.

Is that accurate @Kabootar ?

I withheld food for 24 hours and water for 12, but yes, the original poster said 36 hours. Because I intended to kill the roosters first, I thought I might get away with not fasting them so long. As you said, it's cold and I didn't like doing that to them. This rooster was sick, as it turned out, so there wasn't much in him but gas/air in his intestines and only bad-smelling liquid in his crop.

@aart , @Kiki thought he might have been suffering from coccidiosis. Does that sound right? I'm pretty sure he was the only one if so. Everyone else seems perky and with normal elimination.

 

[Kabootar]

You said 36 hour fast, which means not eating.


I withhold feed, but not water, for 12 hours or so before slaughtering.

Why would you feed without water?

Seperate the candidates from the flock.

Withdraw their food in the evening

Withdraw their water in the morning

Leave them for 24 hours without food or water

After withdrawing water 24 hrs, that is the next morning after withdrawing water, take them to the caponizer.

 

[aart]

Withdraw food 36 hours beforehand and water 24 hours beforehand. That's the way my father taught me. When someone bring cockerels to me and I open up a bird and see that there is liquid inside the intestine I immediately stop the procedure and return him to his owner and move on to the next bird.

This is much clearer.

 

[CindyinSD]

Oops! I saw 12 hours somewhere, but I misspoke. 24 hours without water. Thanks!

 

[Kabootar]

Oops! I saw 12 hours somewhere, but I misspoke. 24 hours without water. Thanks!

We try to cause the least pain to our livestock, but end up making it more painful. The welfare of the cockerel lies in how quickly we complete the process. If the digestive tract is not empty enough, it will take you more time to find the testes and the the intestine will keep sliding in your way.
Similarly a smooth incision made by a sharp blade takes longer to heal and cause more blood loss, but a tear or rupture made by a blunt blade heals faster. You should also pull the skin towards the thigh so that the cut in the skin and the cut in muscle tissue cannot line up. These minor details may look unprofessional, but they substantially help in the speedy recovery of the capon.

 

[Kabootar]

I think Kabootar is saying to withhold food for 36 hours prior to the surgery but to withhold water for only 12 hours prior to the surgery.

Is that accurate @Kabootar ?

I withheld food for 24 hours and water for 12, but yes, the original poster said 36 hours. Because I intended to kill the roosters first, I thought I might get away with not fasting them so long. As you said, it's cold and I didn't like doing that to them. This rooster was sick, as it turned out, so there wasn't much in him but gas/air in his intestines and only bad-smelling liquid in his crop.

@aart , @Kiki thought he might have been suffering from coccidiosis. Does that sound right? I'm pretty sure he was the only one if so. Everyone else seems perky and with normal elimination.

My guess is that the poor bird was suffering from sour crop. You mentioned his digestive tract was gassy and it had foul smell, if it had sharp acidic smell them most probably it was sour crop.

 

[Molpet]

Withdraw food 36 hours beforehand and water 24 hours beforehand. That's the way my father taught me. When someone bring cockerels to me and I open up a bird and see that there is liquid inside the intestine I immediately stop the procedure and return him to his owner and move on to the next bird.

This is for processing , not caponing, but it seems like fasting over 12 hrs is hard on the intestines
https://www.poultryworld.net/Home/G...wal-minimises-losses-at-processing-WP009469W/

 

[Kabootar]

This is for processing , not caponing, but it seems like fasting over 12 hrs is hard on the intestines
https://www.poultryworld.net/Home/G...wal-minimises-losses-at-processing-WP009469W/View attachment 2036882

See I am not a veterinarian, I caponize to help my community and make little money which is very few in US dollar. I can tell you what I do and what works for me. I can't tell you what a researcher found out, that must have worked for him.

 

[Molpet]

See I am not a veterinarian, I caponize to help my community and little money which is very few in US dollar. I can tell you what I do and what works for me. I can't tell you what a researcher found out, that must have worked for him.

I have found people who actually do the job, know more than a researcher. Keep doing what works
After thinking about this I think this article applies more to to processing. I know when I delayed processing to 24 hrs the intestines kept breaking when I tried to pull them out

 

[Kabootar]

I have found people who actually do the job, know more than a researcher. Keep doing what works
After thinking about this I think this article applies more to to processing. I know when I delayed processing to 24 hrs the intestines kept breaking when I tried to pull them out

We do not pull the chicken off food before processing. We just grab from the coop or the field and then slaughter it and then pluck it.
We clean the intestines anyway so there's no need to starve it before processing.