Neutering your Cockerals so they can live!

[Granitestater]

Of the 7 chicks my grandaughter brought home from 4-H, 3 are cockerals! Our town ordinance only allows 1 rooster and neighbors on both sides have complained about the crowing (they are 7 mos old). Well of course we love them too much to find new homes where they of course will be "euthanized" because inevitably they won't fit in and people joke about the stew pot (the story I hear the majority of the time). Not for my babies, no thank you. After much searching I found a delightful avian veterinarian that is willing to work with me to neuter my most aggressive boy (he's rough on the girls and his brother). The removal of the testes may make a difference on this behavior; of course it may not. I read the summary of a UK vet who did one and the rooster crows much less and is docile. Vets are not schooled in neutering of roosters in school but my vet (Weymouth Massachusetts) has operated in birds abdomens and pelvises, uses a bird anesthesia machine (not a human one), and has 2 certified anesthesia techs (which are rare). One of my hens is going too in case blood is needed; in that case she will be sedated and blood removed with a syringe. He has done tons of research to prep for this surgery for my boy and is kind and enthusiastic towards this whole project and us. Scheduled for Veterans Day 2019. 10% chance of not making it. Please pray for my Checkers!

 

[NHMountainMan]

I hope this goes well for you and the cockerels. I’d love to hear how it goes and whether their behavior changes. Good luck

 

[aart]

Wow, sounds like quite the vet!
Has he done an avian castration before....on a bird this old?
I thought the testes to be removed between 5 & 8 weeks old.
Best of cLuck!
Do keep us posted.

 

[FortCluck]

Best of luck with this. Keep us posted on how it works out.

 

[CatWhisperer]

Hope it all goes well. I hate when I see people advocating at home do it yourself caponization. I am a veterinarian and I would never do this without anesthesia and medication for pain.

 

[AsaDotJava]

I'm very curious to hear about the cost and outcome of this procedure.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I've heard that a lot of roos still crow plenty if you don't caponize early enough. Lots of people who caponized 'too late' have mentioned it. So keep us updated.

 

[AsaDotJava]

I've heard that a lot of roos still crow plenty if you don't caponize early enough. Lots of people who caponized 'too late' have mentioned it. So keep us updated.

It makes sense that they may not stop crowing... It is like male cats who spray or male dogs who lift their legs. Hormones play a huge roll, yes, but it also becomes a behaviour of habit that may not cease when the hormones are removed.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

X2. It may be too late. It is best done prior to 3 months of age.
If one has no experience caponizing, it would be best to practice on a couple dead birds first.
Most large hatcheries sell caponizing kits as does Amazon.
https://www.countryfarm-lifestyles.com/caponize-chickens.html#.XcWrymfsbct
I'll be following on Veteran's day to see how it goes.

... people joke about the stew pot (the story I hear the majority of the time). Not for my babies, no thank you....

It wasn't a joke. 66 billion chickens are killed for meat each year. That's almost 150 million a day.
And that is just broilers. Same goes for egg type chickens. They hatch at a 50:50 ratio. Global laying hen population is 6.5 billion. So an equal number of the males are killed as hatchlings.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

It makes sense that they may not stop crowing... It is like male cats who spray or male dogs who lift their legs. Hormones play a huge roll, yes, but it also becomes a behaviour of habit that may not cease when the hormones are removed.

My understanding is it's more like a mans voice dropping. Castration early enough keeps it high but once it's broken and developed it's already done and there's no changing it.