DUBBING (REMOVING) EXTRA LARGE COMB OF ROOSTER "LIFE SAVING GUIDE"

Thank you so much for sharing this very detailed informative process for removing only a "portion" of your rooster's comb. My rooster is my very pampered spoiled pet, and I love him very much. His egg came from one of my son's chickens which I took home and placed in an incubator. I actually turned his egg every day while he was in the incubator, and then watched over him as he struggled thru the hatching process to free himself from the shell. I was the 1st thing he saw, and as a result, he thinks I'm mommy. I named him "Miami" because we had made reservations to go to Miami for the weekend, but when I noticed the tiny pin-hole crack in his shell the morning we were supposed to leave, I cancelled our trip. At that point, it just seemed befitting to name him Miami. Like your pet, his comb is really huge and hangs over completely covering one side of his face. As a result, he is constantly shaking his head, keeping his one eye closed because the comb is constantly banging into it, and bending his neck into a strange position in order to try to see better. Plus, he tends to walk sideways instead of forward. I've called several veterinarians, even as far as 2 1/2 hours away, but for some reason, they just keep passing the buck and referring me to somebody else, who then refers me to somebody else... So, I started the research process and of course learned the importance of the comb. I live in Florida where it can be very hot, so I wanted to remove only a portion of his comb so that he could still have the benefit it helping to keep him cool. But I could only find information pertaining to the removal of the "entire" comb....that is until I finally came across your article. Thank you so very much for sharing your experience, and for going into such depth and detail and for the accompanying photos. Thanks to your article, I feel more certain than ever that Miami will be happier with a smaller comb. Since I can't seem to get the help of a licensed veterinarian, using your detailed instructions, my son and I are going to do this ourselves.

i also have a rooster, he also has a big comb, and am worried about it.
dont you think that the operation will be painful ?
my rooster also facing the same problem like yours.

Five stars because despite the moderate spelling and grammatical errors, this person has EXCELLENT and IMPORTANT information about a subject that there's much too much misinformation about freely available. Gamebird dubbers completely neglect the idea of a comb having a "root", or the fact that the comb and wattles make up a natural cooling mechanism that you're then disrupting when cutting off the root of a comb. This writer touches on that, and so much more. They're not professional veterinarians, but with psychology as a profession, and a deep passion for her animals, this writer has gone far beyond typical research into the world of passion. They love their roosters, and that much is obvious when you read the depth and detail this writer put into researching for this article.

Key points:

*Several photos show before and after surgery

*Author contacted veterinarians BEFORE attempting home surgery

*Clear and detailed descriptions of anatomy, and what to consider before attempting this surgery (and why it might be necessary for you)

*Author resides in New Delhi, India (some procedures and medical paraphernalia are different across the globe- hence my inquiry in the comments about Benzocaine)

*More than anything, this author shows compassion about her animals, intelligence in the ability to research properly, and a cool and level enough head to do what's necessary, even when it's not pleasant

Very well written article about a life-saving procedure no chicken owner wants to perform with a rooster. Many before and after pictures help to understand why the procedure must be done to save some rooster's life. Reading about the procedure made me shiver, especially because no numbing or anesthetics seem to be available for chickens, boy am i happy that my ducks don't have combs and/or wattles!

I struggled with this article. The article itself is well written and informative. I'm just not convinced that dubbing is something humans should be doing to chickens.

I love his huge comb. Too bad it caused him to suffer. I love how he looks after as well! He looks very happy and rather cool in a James Dean sort of way!

Wow, you are amazing to have tackled doing the "dubbing" but you love your Roo. Great job and article.

I've done some home operating for bumblefoot. That's stressful enough, and there's hardly any bleeding. I can only imagine the amount of blood that would occur when dubbing such a large comb, which would be full of blood vessels. The healed pics look great. You clearly made a precise incision, which can be hard.

I never knew a rooster's comb could get that big. Glad your boy is ok!

Helpful article for those with big combed roosters

Nicely laid out formatted article!

What a great story! Dubbing saved a beautiful rooster's life. What a handsome boy, now!