Illinois...

[eracerx46]

I never had roosters, so I never turned one up side down.   I also never butchered any to do exploratory procedures.    Please help me out to understand a little better.  Are those marbles  kind of exposed and danging ???   Like on a dog or cat. ?  Or are they concealed internally ?    I read about capons  on Wikipedia,  but there were no  details given.  Only that it had to be done  before 10 weeks.

There are some good videos on YouTube of people doing it. Seeing might be better than explaining. But...the testes are inside the bird. You make an incision between the bottom two ribs when the birds are still young. They're marble or bean size. But apparently, if you don't get all of them they will be called "slips" and they'll still crow. When capons reach maturity, they look completely different than a rooster. They look like a giant hen. I was going to hatch some jersey giants and anything beyond 1 or 2 cockerels, I was going to buy a capon kit (theyre like 50 bucks) and give it a go.

 

[eracerx46]

The vet no longer does the surgery, but sells post-surgery roos for a pretty penny.
In our case, it was best to rehome our sweet boy.  Our current roo, Tank, is here temporally - or at least that's what I tell myself.

I think we still have a roo because many of my neighbors are widows & have a soft spot for my kids.  It's like having 5 grandmas living around us!  They're always keeping an eye out, baking cookies, and giving little trinkets to the kids.  Even willing to babysit in a pinch.  Only Downside:  DH has a lot of driveways to shovel in the winter!  Of course one of ladies gave us her old POWERFUL snow blower, so it's the least we could do.
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I wish I had neighbors that made cookies for me! I've got 2 neighbors. One is my father. The other is an older lady, also a widow. But she's crazy. She's been known to pop out of nowhere and ask if we were going to mow the lawn because she could see the dandelions. I have 5 acres, roughly half is woods. And its not like we let it go for weeks on end. The property was vacant for 4 years before I bought it but she's going to complain after 5 or 6 days of not cutting the grass?? I went to school with a girl that was her other neighbor, and her parents said the lady in the fall. Shed see them outside, and would gather up a handful of leaves from their trees that had fallen into her yard and hand them back to them and say "these are yours"!

Luckily, her husband was an old farmer. He died long ago, but she still puts up with the crowing. At least she hasn't complained about that yet. She said she has a shed that her husband wanted to turn into a chicken coop before he passed. But cookies would still be nice! Lol

 

[cavemanrich]

Quote: Thanks for informing me on the caponization. I don't think it is for me now. I would have to first take CAPON SURGERY 101. Probably fail a few times. Many years ago I ran across a tool at a farm and fleet store. It was made to service sheep. It used in conjunction a small rubber O-ring. In one motion. the oysters were hitting the ground and the O-ring prevented any bleeding. Not sure if there was any pain. to the farmer anyways. It was kwik n kleen. I thought there may have been a micro version to do roos.
Now to your nice lady neighbor. Some thoughts;;;;;; She most likely has hearing loss and roosters don't bother her. Could be the loud farm machinery or loud rock and roll music that did it. And when she hands you a handful of leaves in the fall , thank her and tell her to keep it up, as you need all your leaves back. Then bring her some cookies as a good gesture. As to dandelion seeds blowing onto her spread, well, you have to get creative on your own.

 

[SixChickFlock]

Ahhh... Dandelions! If you pick the flowers on the first big bloom day, they make a very nice mild bittering component in Mead... Add some coriander, citrus peels, camomile and a few Good-N-Plenty's and you end up with a Belgian Wit style Dandelion Mead. Very tasty... I'm waiting for a very alcoholic Black Current Mead to finish and may add some Dandelion to it for a while for balance. At 13% it's still a bit sweet.

 

[eracerx46]

Ahhh... Dandelions! If you pick the flowers on the first big bloom day, they make a very nice mild bittering component in Mead... Add some coriander, citrus peels, camomile and a few Good-N-Plenty's and you end up with a Belgian Wit style Dandelion Mead. Very tasty... I'm waiting for a very alcoholic Black Current Mead to finish and may add some Dandelion to it for a while for balance. At 13% it's still a bit sweet.

Last year was my dad's first attempt at bees. I've got too many things going to start that. He had high hopes thinking because he has a pond that he was going to do better than was expected of them. Nope. He did a little collecting of some uncapped stuff, but I wont touch that. Sorry. He's going to get a rude awakening this winter as he failed to supplement what they had already stored. He also didnt treat for mites. Went to one bee meeting just before he got the bees. Kept meaning to call the guy out, but that was as far as it went. Tried to tell him. But he knows all. Oh well. He'll learn from his hard headedness. With the advent of the internet it makes things so much easier when you have questions. But when you fail to use what you have available....well..."I can do nothing for you son."

 

[cavemanrich]

Ahhh... Dandelions! If you pick the flowers on the first big bloom day, they make a very nice mild bittering component in Mead... Add some coriander, citrus peels, camomile and a few Good-N-Plenty's and you end up with a Belgian Wit style Dandelion Mead. Very tasty... I'm waiting for a very alcoholic Black Current Mead to finish and may add some Dandelion to it for a while for balance. At 13% it's still a bit sweet.

You need to get your dandi lions before true green invades the neighborhood . Those pesticides sure do spoil the flavor. Now as to black currats only a select few know about those lil devls. I had a few bushes growing, but they died off. Only have one small red currat left. She is struggling though. Are those black currats growing in your yard? I'm looking to get some from a nursery in Ohio maybe this spring.

 

[cavemanrich]

Last year was my dad's first attempt at bees. I've got too many things going to start that. He had high hopes thinking because he has a pond that he was going to do better than was expected of them. Nope. He did a little collecting of some uncapped stuff, but I wont touch that. Sorry. He's going to get a rude awakening this winter as he failed to supplement what they had already stored. He also didnt treat for mites. Went to one bee meeting just before he got the bees. Kept meaning to call the guy out, but that was as far as it went. Tried to tell him. But he knows all. Oh well. He'll learn from his hard headedness. With the advent of the internet it makes things so much easier when you have questions. But when you fail to use what you have available....well..."I can do nothing for you son."

I know a person keeping bees in Galena IL. He tells me about the mite problem. NASTI NASTI NASTI. Finishing off his bees for sure. He gets these exotic bees from somewhere in Eastern Europe, They come by mail. They are not cheap. But somehow he is still getting by. Beekeeping a science all its own.

 

[SixChickFlock]

I've had a pesticide free organic yard for over 30 years... And convinced all my neighbors to go "more natural".

A buddy (with experience) is getting bees this spring. Just ordered 6 pounds. If he wants to expand... I have a larger space with better flowers. Keeping bees seems to be more than I wish to take on this year. There is a lot to learn. I've been reading the blog diary of Kirk Webster (kirkwebster.com). Over saturated with " too many things i don't quite know what they are" syndrome. I need some hands on time... Maybe only a few hours. Probably more!

I prefer to keep things as Native as possible. First I get chickens... And now I consider honey bees??? Hope my native species preference philosophy will survive alongside eggs and honey .

 

[SixChickFlock]

Every so often even during these cold spells, a couple of my girls want to roost in their run, which is pretty well protected from wind, snow and such. I relocate them at bed check. Last night, 8 of 9 choose to roost "outdoors". I made some light in the hen house and one by one, put them inside. They all took to their bedtime roost and I turned out the light.

If they want to sleep "outside", should I just let them? They don't seem to mind going inside nor be irritated from waking up. I'd hate to have them stay "out" in the cold coming tonight, if it was in the 40's i'd leave them be. I'd hate to have just one shivering alone in the hen house while the rest enjoy their camp out... Do chickens know best?

Thoughts?
Thanks!

- 7of 9 choose the outside roost tonight. Took only 10 minutes to move them all indoors, listen to each gals breathing... Check feet and just sorta chicken cuddle!

 

[ChicagoClucker]

I've had a pesticide free organic yard for over 30 years... And convinced all my neighbors to go "more natural".

A buddy (with experience) is getting bees this spring. Just ordered 6 pounds. If he wants to expand... I have a larger space with better flowers. Keeping bees seems to be more than I wish to take on this year. There is a lot to learn. I've been reading the blog diary of Kirk Webster (kirkwebster.com). Over saturated with " too many things i don't quite know what they are" syndrome. I need some hands on time... Maybe only a few hours. Probably more!

I prefer to keep things as Native as possible. First I get chickens... And now I consider honey bees??? Hope my native species preference philosophy will survive alongside eggs and honey .

I am pesticide free and organic for years too. Unfortunately, all of the neighborhood is not and the bees don't stay in their own yard. The agricultural school by me has beehives and have had to replace bees quite often. They now have them in the middle of the farm field and seem to be doing better. They sell their honey and its all pressed by the students. I would love to do bees, but I will have to wait til I move to a larger property.

Your native species would have the best chance of survival over anything else. As long as you watered them in the first year, then you can be guaranteed that they will survive on their own, as long as they are planted in the correct environment (sun/shade/soil) and as long as its something the chickens don't like!