Neutering Roosters

[patandchickens]

One big difference between neutering a male dog and caponizing a rooster is that for the dog, the operation is just minor basically-external surgery (open skin, snip snip right there near the surface, suture incision).

Roosters have the good (or bad, w/r/t caponizing) sense to keep their Manly Reproductive Bits way inside the body cavity, like way in, sorta near the kidneys not just under the skin. So it is much more major surgery, closer to spaying than to castrating in a lot of ways.


Pat

 

[MissPrissy]

Caponizing should only be done by an experienced owner and then the outcome can be still be death. The procedure is done with out anesthesia and the insicion is made through the breast/rib bones. It is very easy to mistake the testicals for the kidneys and remove the wrong thing. This is not something to be done without experience and familiarity with all internal organs of a chicken. I would not advise any one who is fairly new to chickens to try it.

 

[dlhunicorn]

Here is the article on that which should answer all your questions:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS051

...and here an article on a persons experience with doing the procedure:
http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Caponizing.html

 

[MamaEggEnd]

My partner and I are both vegetarian. Our chickens are companion animals first, layers second. We don't have any roosters, as we are uncomfortable eating fertilized eggs. We had two of our chicks turn out to be cockerels this year, and are basically heart broken at the idea of giving them up. We are too worried that they will end up on a table, despite offering them as "pet only" if re-homed. Is it absolutely unheard of to have my avian vet neuter the two boys so we can keep them? Cost is not an issue, so other than financial or "whats the point of having a bird that doesn't lay, protect or breed" arguments... opinions?

 

[donrae]

My partner and I are both vegetarian. Our chickens are companion animals first, layers second. We don't have any roosters, as we are uncomfortable eating fertilized eggs. We had two of our chicks turn out to be cockerels this year, and are basically heart broken at the idea of giving them up. We are too worried that they will end up on a table, despite offering them as "pet only" if re-homed. Is it absolutely unheard of to have my avian vet neuter the two boys so we can keep them? Cost is not an issue, so other than financial or "whats the point of having a bird that doesn't lay, protect or breed" arguments... opinions?

Keeping capons as pets would be purely your preference. My only advice would be to be sure the vet really understands the procedure, ask if they've done caponization before. Maybe check out the caponizing thread on the meat bird section so you can intelligently discuss the procedure. Testes in birds are located under the ribs---we had one member take her cockerel to the vet to be caponized only to get the bird back with incisions in his groin area, with the vet telling her his testes had not descended yet. Complete ignorance of bird anatomy......

 

[MamaEggEnd]

Keeping capons as pets would be purely your preference. My only advice would be to be sure the vet really understands the procedure, ask if they've done caponization before. Maybe check out the caponizing thread on the meat bird section so you can intelligently discuss the procedure. Testes in birds are located under the ribs---we had one member take her cockerel to the vet to be caponized only to get the bird back with incisions in his groin area, with the vet telling her his testes had not descended yet. Complete ignorance of bird anatomy......

thank you for the respectful response... tired of being told im nuts. she is an excellent vet thus far, but i will for sure discuss it at length with her if thats what we decide on.