Neutering male quail: a philosophical discussion

[Susan Skylark]

Has anyone ever neutered a male coturnix (caponized)? I know this sounds ridiculous (it is!). Meat quality isn’t an issue in quail so that isn’t the issue here. Keeping the bird in the dark so he doesn’t sexually mature also isn’t an option, (he’s going to be with the breeding flock or nowhere). I’m fine selling him but my son is rather attached and doesn’t want to part with him. He’s a good male, our best actually but color wise and genetically he shouldn’t be our main boy, I kept him around as a backup and he’s become the main event! And no, we won’t just tie him down and yank them out, he’ll have the benefit of general anesthesia, and while there is a 5% risk of surgical complications there is a 100% chance of going in the freezer otherwise. I’m assuming when healed he’ll just be like a winter bird with no supplemental lighting, not obsessed with girls or aggressive towards the other males? This is still hypothetical just wondering if anyone has actually had experience with this?

 

[GodLovesU]

@Nabiki, have you ever had any experience with this?

 

[Nabiki]

@Nabiki, have you ever had any experience with this?

Nope. I know I wouldn't attempt it personally, and the cost to have a vet do it would be prohibitively expensive.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Like I said, this is not a financially feasible idea! One perk of my job is it won’t cost me a fortune to get it done and even if there is some risk involved, the chance of death without it is 100% (freezer!). That and I’m just really curious if you can do it, what is the procedure, how do they recover, long term effects on behavior, etc. apparently it is a novel idea even to the interwebs, I’m extrapolating from chicken information so we’ll see what quail specific issues arise, I’ll keep you posted!

 

[Susan Skylark]

We’re on day 10 post op, recovery is a lot slower than I was expecting but considering the size of the bird/hole and location, it is probably akin to a double hernia surgery in a person, lots of tender, weight bearing muscles have been traumatized and will take time to heal. He’s doing really well, just a bit tender for a good week, pain meds would be highly recommended but there’s nothing safe or reasonable to give a quail, he had a bit of dexamethasone pre-op but nothing since. He’s also been very mellow and chill ever since, not at all distracted by girls or rival boys. Overall, not something I’d recommend except in really bizarre circumstances where you can get it done inexpensively and are okay losing the bird. I didn’t get pictures as we were too busy actually doing procedure stuff but I did ‘neuter’ a cull male and took some shots to write up an article on the process, and I think that guy would have bled out (hit the renal artery) if he wasn’t already dead! Also can’t recommend doing it without general anesthesia! Moral qualms aside, quail are so little and high strung and the procedure fairly invasive that most would likely die of stress. So yeah, totally niche market here, do you think I can start a line of capon companion quail, $100 a pop? Just kidding!

 

[eddie_van_quailen]

Wow, this is fascinating! I’ll definitely be interested to hear how his behavior changes, and how the flock accepts him, once he goes back in with the flock.

 

[le_bwah]

I didn’t get pictures as we were too busy actually doing procedure stuff but I did ‘neuter’ a cull male and took some shots to write up an article on the process, and I think that guy would have bled out (hit the renal artery) if he wasn’t already dead!

Wow, never even considered this as a possibility. And yeah, medicating an animal that lightweight with something that suits its biology AND doesn't break the bank is a challenge. Not quite sold on the ethics, but medically very interesting. I look forward to your write-up—thanks for sharing your experience!

 

[Susan Skylark]

Our boy is living the high life, he’s fully recovered from surgery but wasn’t too happy in the breeding flock, the males kept pestering him! I ended up with a red golden pheasant by some strange twist of fate and it took me a week to track down another one, but he was freaking out alone, and as people do keep them with other birds, I thought I’d give it a try. They aren’t best buds or anything but they got along just fine, so when we brought home the hen pheasant we just left them together. The quail is perfectly happy, no more bothersome male attention plus access to seeds, fruit, and veggie scraps which the quail don’t usually get. My hen is 4 months old and still a kid, she ran over to investigate what the quail was doing when he took a dust bath, she was fascinated by this quirky little bird! It’s a weird trio, but it works for now! I must say I never anticipated neutering a quail or owning pheasants either, life certainly stays interesting!