GRAPHIC PICS of my day learning to caponize

[CindyinSD]

Take out the ovary so they get big too... has a name but can't think of it

Actually you only have to remove a small section of the oviduct. I guess removing the ovary is a pretty hard thing to do and unnecessary. Hope they're right.

 

[aart]

Actually you only have to remove a small section of the oviduct.

Tubal Ligation?

 

[CindyinSD]

Tubal Ligation?

Without the ligature, yes. (I went to some trouble to find that out, too. No tying needed, which makes things much easier.)

 

[Kabootar]

I caponized five cockerels this morning. They're all good, running around, eating & drinking. Having practiced on the adult roosters previously was a great help, I think. No pictures, alas. Unless I find someone else to work the camera, I'm just not gonna get any. There are quite a few on here anyway, some really good. It's all I can manage just to do the procedure.

1. I plucked them the day before, while they were fasting. I held them upside down by their feet mostly because they were fighting too hard to do it any other way. It turned out best, though. I was able to palpate the ribs easily and learn where I would need to cut. The feathers came out very easily and this didn't seem to distress the birds.
2. I forgot to remove the water (should have done that last night) until this morning early, so I waited several hours before I started this morning.
3. DH pled for one of the boys in case we should need him later (what with the China flu "apocalypse" and all). I put the biggest one back with the girls and one (later-hatched) smaller cockerel that I had decided was maybe too small. I'll do most of the pullets when they get to 14-16 wks. I don't think I'm in danger of running out of eggs. We had enough and to spare all winter, even without lights.
4. I set up my area--music stand operating table (solid, with holes spaced like polkadots over its surface), floor-stand craft (gooseneck) lamp, folded puppy pad on the music stand, tools laid out on a sanitized plastic cutting board, cotton swabs, alcohol, small bungee cords, large ponytail holders. I later added absorbent cosmetic cotton squares (I didn't have gauze).

Congratulations, I hope it increased your confidence.

 

[aart]

How are your 'patients' this morning @CindyinSD ?

 

[CindyinSD]

Congratulations, I hope it increased your confidence.

Thanks so much, Kabootar!

 

[CindyinSD]

How are your 'patients' this morning @CindyinSD ?

They're doing great! I could hardly catch them in the brooder this morning. Their great gaping ouchies are remarkably healed. I had to look for them. Soon I think they'll be nearly impossible to find. When I brought them out to their tractor they literally jumped from my hands. Hmmm... I wonder why they were so eager to get away from me?

 

[Kabootar]

They're doing great! I could hardly catch them in the brooder this morning. Their great gaping ouchies are remarkably healed. I had to look for them. Soon I think they'll be nearly impossible to find. When I brought them out to their tractor they literally jumped from my hands. Hmmm... I wonder why they were so eager to get away from me?

I told you that it isn't as bad as it sounds. I think caponizing is the best solution for cockerel problem. More the people learn about this skill less they will be afraid of hatching eggs. In my personal opinion raising capons is less cruel than breeding and raising Cornish cross.

 

[CindyinSD]

I told you that it isn't as bad as it sounds. I think caponizing is the best solution for cockerel problem. More the people learn about this skill less they will be afraid of hatching eggs. In my personal opinion raising capons is less cruel than breeding and raising Cornish cross.

You were right. I'm so pleased! I've read accounts by people who seem to have really tried but eventually gave it up because they had so many failures. That worried me. I think it's really helpful to have practiced on the roosters that I was butchering anyway. They were LOT harder to do, even though they were dead and there was no hurry.

Now I'm eager to grow out my next batch of baby chicks and do (I hope) even better next time.

I have a question... some people say capons grow significantly larger than other males of their breed. I'm a little doubtful, but what do you say? Do they really grow larger?

Thanks so much for all you've shared on here. Your advice has been really helpful!

 

[Kabootar]

You were right. I'm so pleased! I've read accounts by people who seem to have really tried but eventually gave it up because they had so many failures. That worried me. I think it's really helpful to have practiced on the roosters that I was butchering anyway. They were LOT harder to do, even though they were dead and there was no hurry.

Now I'm eager to grow out my next batch of baby chicks and do (I hope) even better next time.

I have a question... some people say capons grow significantly larger than other males of their breed. I'm a little doubtful, but what do you say? Do they really grow larger?

Thanks so much for all you've shared on here. Your advice has been really helpful!

You are welcome, I am glad that my suggestions were helpful.

I would not say that capons of a said breed grow "significantly larger" than a standard rooster of the said breed, but a full grown capon is certainly larger and significantly more plump than it's intact counterparts.

The main idea behind caponizing is not growing large birds, the main idea is to improve the quality of meat. In the past farmers lacked the the luxury of refrigeration and hybrid meat birds. Many people outside of USA and Europe still prefer fresh meat, but keeping so many intact roosters is not feasible. Also capons fetch higher price than say a Cornish cross or an intact rooster. A capons meat is tender like that of a young bird, but at the same time it's flavourful like a full grown chicken.

So in conclusion, yes, capons are somewhat larger than a standard rooster of the same breed, but most are not "significantly larger", but they are significantly more plump. We caponize a cockerel for the same reason we castrate a pig, a sheep, a goat and a calf. A hog, a wether, a steer is not necessarily much larger than a boar, a ram, a buck or a bull, but they are more plump, their meat is better and they are easier to manage and you don't have to butcher them when they are young.