cockrels

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hi Guys and gals
i have bred some great birds this year including a lot of male chucks
rather than send thm through the sales and not knowing where they will end up
ive decided that im going to caponize them (castrate) doese anyone know the procedure
ive rung so many vets in my area but none do poultry as ive decided to fatten and
cull and put to good use at least i know where they are hope people dont think me callus
but i owe it to them as they didnt ask to be born so i need some help anyone out there
any suggestions
Tony
 
Hi Tony,

It's not really something that's done these days as far as I'm aware because of the faster growing / cheaper hybrid options to get meat. A capionised cockerel takes longer to grow than normal birds 20-24 weeks I think.

I can see your reasoning though. I would try asking a specialist poultry vet - have a look at our poultry vets list on the poultrykeeper site. Some of these are poultry only practices.

If that fails, I've found cockerels are still tender up until the point where they get spurs and big combs. Failing this, there are lots of slower cooking methods that will work on a tougher meat. Coq Au Vin was traditionally for old cockerels that were really tough for example...

Let us know how you get on, I'd be interested to find out what happens.
 
Hi Tony,

There is a large section on capionizing at the Domestic Fowl Trust at Honeybourne,granted in their section/musuem on poultry and poultry keeping.I've also see the intsruements that were used to carry out this procedure.If there is anywhere that would still carry out this procedure,they may know where?
I got the impression that it was carried out by poultry keepers as opposed to vets,like dew claw removal from dogs used to be carried out by dog breeders not vets.
As Tim said,it doesn't appear to be a practise that is carried out anymore,but,with the increased interest in poultry keeping, it is certainly an option that could be a great benefit for poultry keepers like myself and others.
I have found out that my black pekin cockerel is unsuitable for breeding black pekins.He is a tame friendly bird,who does not have the correct markings or comb,so,I will not use him for breeding pekins.
I have no wish to dispatch him,I wasn't dispatched because I wouldn't win a beauty contest :D .
So I would certainly have him capionized to be kept as a pet.
 
I have a feeling it is now illegal to caponize. I went up that road in depth when I tried to find a vet who would castrate my 2 ganders and spoke to a specialist poultry vet in Swindon who said it was so difficult because their 'bits' were situated deep in their body cavity so is quite a dangerous procedure :o

If anyone can find a vet who has a different opinion please let us know - it would be wonderful to be able to keep cockerels,ganders or drakes that can't be allowed to breed or can be a handful at times because of those hormones.

Nothing so loveable as a castrated male I always say! :shock: :lol: :lol:
 
Anne W said:
Nothing so loveable as a castrated male I always say! :shock: :lol: :lol:
Click to expand...

You could only mean male homo sapiens.....my Bertie Bantam is lovely,as are my 3 entire male dogs :D :D

Did I mention that I really enjoyed having my ex-husband castrated,that was wonderfull :twisted: :o :lol: .
 
Lydia---Did you take him to the vet or was it a DIY jobbie? :lol: Ros
 
--I think caponisation is done by hormone implant , so presumably would need repeating pretty frequently.If you dont want to breed from a cockerel all you have to do is not incubate the eggs. :lol: I actually prefer cockerels to hens-they have so much character and make me laugh. its always the boys that seem to end up as pets and get kept for that reason alone! Ros
 
podstable said:
Lydia---Did you take him to the vet or was it a DIY jobbie? :lol: Ros
Click to expand...



I was quite happy to perform the act :lol: ,he wimped out and went to hospital :( .
 
hi there well ive dedided tht i wont go ahead with castrating my birds and like tim
says i will have to wait a little longer for them to mature and fatten then do the deed
at least i know where they have gone and not being shunted from pillow to post
 
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