Sterilizing a chicken

[BJ_BOBBI_JO]

Please forgive my extreme ignorance. I was not wanting to post this question for fear of looking like a complete idiot but what the heck Ill do it anyways.

I have had chickens on and off but they were always in an uncaged area and we rarely got the eggs because the chickens always hid their nest in thickets and so on.

We had one egg hatch but I assume the cats got the baby because after a week the bay was missing.

Now that we own this place and land we are planning on making a small chicken shed with a somewhat large fenced in area for the chickens protection and so we can have a few babies without them getting killed off.

But I dont want tons of baby chics because I just fall in love with my pets and can not stand to get rid of them so I am the type that would end up with 500 chickens real fast because I could not get rid of them. And I certainly could not butcher them.

But I want a male chicken because I like the crowing. I miss that.

SO Im wanting to know does Vets ( or whomever) ever sterilize chickens?

We want to eat their eggs so we want for them to still lay eggs but we just dont want for them to be making tons of babies.

I know how male chickens will sometimes fight eachother to the death if they are in the same contained area so I dont want to end up with all those male chicks either.

So do chickens get fixed?

Thank you, Im so glad I found this forum because now that Im getting back into having chickens I want to do it right this time and already today I have learned alot from this forum.

 

[speckledhen]

No, you can't sterilize a chicken. Just don't incubate the eggs; collect them without letting the hens set on them and you won't have a bunch of baby chicks. Even if it's fertile, an egg won't develop sitting in the fridge.

 

[bmarshall61]

Roosters are caponized. This makes them big, fat and docil, but they may not crow much or at all. You don't have to have your roosters caponized in order not to have baby chicks. Just don't let the hens set on the eggs when they go broody. If you choose your breeds carefully, fighting will not be a major problem. There are several sites on the net you can go to and they will list the breeds that are best for laying, most of those breeds are pretty docil. Just type in Chicken breeds and you will have several sites to choose from. If you have a large area, as you stated for the chickens to range, they will be fine. You might consider ordering pullets and if you get a reason number, there is a good chance you will have a rooster or two in the batch. Hope this helps, and welcome to the site.
bmarshall

 

[silkiechicken]

If you just want a laying flock with a big roo, just go pick up a bunch of female chicks from the feed store that are sexed and you will probably end up with at least one roo.


A few roos can get along especially if they are raised together. If they are enclosed an you have a little house for them to go in and out of that you can lock up at night, they will lay there eggs inside and you can collect them all without worry of chicks popping out because you can eat them! If a hen does get broody, just don't let her hatch them. Simple as that, except it's so cute to watch!!! Don't let chicken fever get you too bad

Welcome and enjoy learning about chickens!!

Oh, if you get sex link hens at the feed store though, you will for sure not get a roo.

 

[Hotwings]

I was just thinking if you want a rooster but no chicks maybe a bantam rooster with standard size hens? Or can a bantam sucessfully breed a full size hen? Has anyone had this happen? I wouldn't sugest caponizing. I have seen equipment in poultry catalougues on how to do this. Most people don't caponize anymore since meat chickens are readily available and cheaper. I am not really up on my chicken knowledge to even know if a capon lives very long.

 

[silkiechicken]

I had a silkie who was a pretty small boy compared to his standard sized hens, and after a few weeks of trying and realizing the head side of the chicken had eyes on it, he was able to mate with them successfully using back feathers rather than neck feathers for support. Never tested eggs for fertility but they probably were.

 

[poppycat]

I'm with speckled hen. Daily egg collection and subsequent refridgeration will ensure that you have no little peeps running around. Ever.

 

[SpottedCrow]

I agree with the mob here...LOL
Eggs won't have chicks in them unless they're set upon. If you take them as soon as the hen lays them, then there won't be any chicks.
Long Story: When one of my first babies started to crow and I had to rehome him, I looked into caponization. It is best done when the cockerel is 6 weeks old, older than that and he may bleed to death because they or you have cut the wrong thing out.

 

[TheBigWRanch]

If your chickens are kept in a coop and run, then just collect the eggs. The trouble with having a rooster will occur when they free range, and the hens find a very good hiding place to hatch their babies at!

 

[chickbea]

I plan to have my vet caponize a little guy within the next couple of weeks, because I've fallen in love with him. I'll let you know how it goes...I'll be a basketcase!