Hi All,
I've been gone a while, but wanted to check in and see if anyone has been caponizing this summer. I didn't caponize any of my boys this time, finding that people wanted roos, now they don't want roos. I give up.
However, a community member has a roo that he wants caponized. The roo is much older than he thinks, at least 4 months old. I attempted to caponize the bugger, and I'm pretty sure I found the testicle on the left, but I could not find one on the right; there was a VERY large white ball inside that kept getting in my way. After a while we closed the bird and they are going to bring him back in two weeks so I can look for it again.
HOWEVER, in the middle of the night, I siddenly realized that the big white ball is probably, well, a ball after all ! I forgot they get large, but that thing was about the size of a kumquat. has anyone opened a mature roo for dinner and found white kumquats inside with the entrails? Good God that thing wouldn't have come out the incision I'd made in his side! AND, i am curious, does one testicle atrophy in the same way one ovary atrophies in a hen? If that is so, that would explain A LOT of confusion I was having yesterday.
I have read some intersting things about how testicles can be transplanted from one to the other by just popping them into the body cavity thereby making a capon a rooster again, although incapeable of inseminating; but the endrocinology is fascinating.
So my two questions are : does one testicle atrophy like a hen's ovary, AND, was that giant white kumquat a mature testicle? I have never removed anything larger than a navy bean before.
ALSO, I found a simple way to anesthesize the bird, although it is probably not practical for most of us. I put about 1 ml of Sevoflourane on a couple of cotton balls, placed them in a plastic baggie sandwich size, and placed the roo's head in the bag, but didn't close the bag to allow for some room air to circulate with the Sevo. It was highly effective and he prompty recovered within 30 seconds of us removing the bag. But, the cotton balls were dry in about 30 minutes, so have to work quickly. The trouble is getting the Sevoflourane - it is restricted to doctors (DVMs) and so you need to beg your vet for a cotton ball of Sevo and convince them you are not going to abuse it. it's also very expensive, but each cotton ball would give you time for one or two roos if you are quick. Isoflourane would probably be just as effective, but it's not quite as safe as Sevo.
Has anyone come up with some better tools yet?
Hope all of you are well and up to your ears in chickens! Holly, Las Vegas
