The Great Capon Experiment

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

Bossroo -

No, I haven't figured our how to save the planet from all the horrors and obsticles you have brought up. My superhero cape is at the dry cleaners.

I am just going to see if caponizing DP roosters is a potential alternative to throwing them away in a garbage bag or tossing them into a meatgrinder while they are still alive, and see it's worth raising them to roasting size which as a byproduct would provide another source of food for those willing to put in the effort. I would think that the people interested would not be living in apartments (though the community garden is making a comeback, maybe community chicken coops is the wave of the future) or they would be from cities that allow poultry but ban roosters.

I did note that many of the obsticles you brought up have to do with laws and ordinances. We the People should still be in control of those, aren't we?

 

[Stefrobrts]

I'll be eager to hear how you do. I am also hoping to learn to caponize roosters this year. I asked on my local chicken group's forum and got a lot of replies like you see here - what about the pain, can't you knock them out, it's unnatural, you're horribly cruel, etc, but I also got a couple responses from people who have done it and they had good things to say about it. They learned to do it and had very good survival rates (I think they said they lost 3 out of 25), and the birds were up and about again immediately and not showing any signs of pain or suffering. And they grew huge and stayed tender, which is the whole point.

Every year I let my hens raise several batches of DP chicks, and there's always too many roos. And since I've found someone local who knows how to caponize, he's offered to teach me and a couple other folks who were interested in learning.

As for helping poor folks, I think you're unlikely to help much there. It's impossible to raise a chicken in your backyard for cheaper than you can buy them on sale at the supermarket. As best as I can figure it - it's about $1.50-$2 a lb just to raise them, then you have to do the work to kill and clean them. At the store I regularly see them for 79 cents a lb. You just can't beat that. But if you've got room and enjoy the work and feel like you're not supporting the industrial chicken complex and that your meat will be healthier and you'll know they were treated humanely (that's how I justify it), then go for it. But it won't be cheaper than buying it at the store unless you find a way to feed them that doesn't involve expensive sacks of feed.

The best deal for the food bank would be to collect all those free roosters that show up halfway through the summer when folks discover their sexed chicks turned out to be roosters, butcher them and give them to the food bank. Unfortunately I guess regulations make that more complicated than it sounds.

 

[Omniskies]

Still, that would be a fantastic idea, Stef. Sort of like the "Share the Harvest" or "Share the Hunt" programs that take place now, where people donate extra garden produce or extra deer. If the food banks could set up some sort of deal with a processor and have people "Share the Roosters" then have them processed via USDA standards and made into inexpensive meals like soup (plus maybe grind those feathers as a byproduct that can be sold to make money for the shelters?), then everything would be legit, extra roosters would serve a purpose, and people wouldn't be so opposed to straight runs or the extra rooster because they would be doing a good deed in the process.

It isn't for everyone, but now that more and more cities are legalizing chickens - roosters exempt - we're going to see more and more unwanted roosters on the market and more chicks hatching - meaning more male chicks needing an outlet and so forth.

 

[chickenlorena]

Thanks for all your input. Just to set the record straight, I'm an advocate of alleviating human and animal suffering. I don't put animals first. We all suffer pain at some point but if there's a way to alleviate it then I'm all for it. I don't believe in causing little or great pain for my benefit, only for the benefit of the one who's suffering pain (with the exception of my own survival). Caponizing roos comes down to the benefit of humans and I believe there's consensus on that.

As I mentioned before, I know that the topic of this forum is about caponizing roosters (not "if", but "how"). I just wanted to share my two cents and try to understand the reasoning behind it. Isn't this the best way to try to understand each other and hopefully make a better society?

I have to say that you all have reinforced my idea that most humans will rationalize anything as long as it benefits them. FOrtunately, looking back at history, we have become a more compassionate society and with time we'll look back at our treatment to other humans and animals with an appaling view. Each and everyone has the choice to do whatever he/she wants with the animals they own, as long as it is not illegal.

Have you ever thought or questioned why is it that the only law that pretects animals in our country is the "Animal Welfare Act" and that farmed animals are excluded from it? I live in GA and animal cruelty is a felony in my state, in most states it's at least a misdemeanor. However, castrating a dog without anesthesia will end you up in court if someone turns you in, but if you do it to a chicken the law protects you. Pretty relative, isn't it? Calling them "pets" and "livestock" does not change their pain receptors magically. It's only our own morals that dicate what is right or wrong in our view, based on our values and beliefs.

Good luck to all and have a great holiday season!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Tiffrz-N-Kidz How soon do your boys show up?

 

[BarkerChickens]

I am excited to see how your experiment goes. My great-grandfather used to raise BRs and he would caponize many of the roos. BRs are not commonly broody, but the capons sure were! And don't dare try to mess with their chicks!

 

[Tiffrz-N-Kidz]

I am LOVING the discussions. It is good to hear differing views and I appreciate everyone keeping it civil and on point. As was stated, such dialogue keeps one sharp AND it brings up issues that I hadn't thought about (like indirectly supporting the factory farming industry by making good use of their castoffs. The idea is to put them out of business, not make them stronger! <grinning wickedly>).

The chicks will be here next week. Hatch/ship is the 15th. I am SO looking forward to fuzzy butts again.

They will probably get spoiled rotten since I know their lot will not always be peaches and cream.

As for record keeping, I have seen some others' stats and hope to do something like them. First off I plan an initial count-in, noting breeds if I can figure it out, and I;ll just record a total chick weight or weigh a few to see what the start point is.

After that I am debating how to best record the progress. I am thinking maybe dividing them into 3 groups with a group getting caponized at 3 weeks, one at 6 and the last at 9 weeks. Depending on how many different breeds they send I may try to leave 1-2 of each breed uncaponized to slaughter at 'crowing age' which is what the average city dweller would have to do. Sortof a 'baseline'. Not sold on the idea, because as has already been pointed out, they are all bone and skin at that age.

Feed, I am thinking how to keep it cost effective! I like Purina Gamebird starter and may use that the first week or so to get them off to a good start, but it's pretty expensive so I am open to ideas for inexpensive food that would be available for the average suburban dweller. The chickens get my garden leftovers, and I read some people give sprouts, that'd be easy enough to do. When they are big enough, they will get table scraps like everyone else, of course. When recording costs, basically if I buy a bag of feed or a bag od seeds to sprout, that will go in the 'Cost" column. If they get a helping of DD's leftover ramen noodles, that's not getting a cost, but will get weighed and recorded so I know how many pounds of foodstuff went into them.

I am getting excited. Thanks for the support, y'all!

 

[Erica]

I'll probably never caponise, but I just wanted to say I really enjoyed Omniskies' comments.

In the wider picture, these are chicks that were going to be minced alive at day old. That's all-body trauma in about the same time as one small caponising cut.

This is a dignified and realistic proposal and I look forward to results.

 

[Barred Rocks forever]

Tiff beacuse of you and another byc member i may give this a shot to im trying to figure out how much feed would say 40 roos need

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Good luck! I'd love to see what comes of it!