We want to raise capons

[tlink34]

Is there a place we can buy them at this late date?

I would like 12 or so to butcher in about 12 weeks.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Where do you live? I think you'd have to buy them locally since capons are typically made into capons when they are at least several weeks old. I don't know how early anyone can turn a cockerel chick into a capon, I haven't tried on anyone younger than 9 weeks. I'm letting mine grow out for a while, longer than 12 weeks, until they get really big & beefy.

Maybe you could learn to do the procedure yourself, there's been a lot of discussion & instruction about it on this forum already

 

[schmism]

at what point do they get to old? i mean the reason to capon-ize them is so the meet isnt affect by the male hormones so..... later would not seem to be better....

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Well, the younger the chick the greater the chance of incorrectly sexing it and prying open a pullet to look for testicles that are not there. I guess you could operate on very young chicks that can be feather- or color-sexed, like White Leghorns and Sex-linked breeds, but their testicles would be so tiny they would be more difficult to locate & remove. I don't know just how young a person could successfully caponize a chick. The ones I've done were between 9-12 weeks. Their testicles were the size of dry navy beans.

I think the purpose of caponizing is to make them grow meatier, just like other castrated meat animals like pigs, cattle, sheep & goats. I really don't think that the male hormones affect the taste or texture of the meat, but instead just regulate & limit the animal's growth. When their bodies are de-programmed for reproduction, they redirect their energy into growth.

I also don't know how old is too old for caponizing to have an affect. I guess like with other animals, the later you neuter them the more time they've had for their hormones to have an affect on their growth & behavior. I wouldn't want to try it on a fully-grown rooster, or even one much past 15 weeks. I'd try to operate on them between 7-14 weeks, as soon as I was fully certain of their sex, not after they started to act cocky.

I've processed & eaten intact roosters, at 20-24 weeks their testicles are the size of large peach pits. Their meat has been tasty & tender, especially when cooked slowly with moist heat, but there just isn't as much of it. The largest I've had was barely 5 pounds, most average around 4. I would like these standard and mixed-breed cockerels to grow bigger by butchering time.

 

[scubaforlife]

Why would you caponize and then slaughter at 12 weeks? Its like slaughtering a CX at 32 days. Not going to get much out of it.

Normally you'd let them run around for 24+ weeks and get HUGE

 

[mstricer]

Your supposed to do this between 2 and 4 weeks of age. The younger the better. they have less adverse affects from it and survival rate is higher. It takes alot to learn and I heard you kill alot before you get better.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Two to four weeks of age? Wow, I've never tried operating on ones that young & small, have you? I have a hard enough time finding the little testicles on older chicks, I don't know if I could find what I was looking for in younger, smaller ones. But it's really not that difficult a procedure to learn, especially with all the great information, help & support on this forum. And personally, I only lost one, the first one I tried. Even he wasn't a total loss, I turned him over and removed the testicle on his other side and prefected my technique. All of the others have survived the procedure with little after-affects or complications. Of course they won't speak to me ever again and only refer to me as THAT WOMAN.

I agree, it's best to let them grow out nice & meaty before processing, at 12 weeks of age they'd probably still be too small. Maybe the OP wants half-grown capons to let grow out another 12 weeks before they bring them to the table or freezer.