Are capon's nicer and quiter then roosters?

[Bricheze]

If I get a rooster it would need to be kept inside in the night time and morning or something else needs to be done to keep it quiet. Especially, because my mom will not be okay with a rooster crowing in the basement all morning. Will caponization quiet it or will I have to resort to something else? When I caught the little guy at the farm I work at he seemed pretty chilled and quiet. Maybe he already has been caponized... how do I tell?

He is also just going to be a pet, would it make him more docile and nicer to humans? He is an Australorp Rooster. I can take him back to the farm for check ups and medicine and they can get me the feed.

BTW: I'm not committing to keeping the bird. I am just going to set up some sort of pen in the back yard and see how he does for a few days. If he doesn't bother the neighbors and is friendly enough I'll keep him, and build him a nice home, maybe eventually buy a few chickens and raise them for eggs, and chicks; if not back to the farm to be eaten he goes.

 

[greyfields]

I don't know of anyone still doing caponization. It has gone the way of the buffalo really. It's a very invasive procedure.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

Not sure where greyfields is getting their info, but up here in Canada, capons are a niche market that get top dollar at the butcher.

Just like neutering a cat or dog, caponization of a chicken is a simple medical process in the modern world.

A capon is a castrated rooster. In this procedure the testes of the rooster are completely removed; a surgical procedure is required for this as its sexual organs are not external (most birds do not possess a penis, however roosters have a small penis to facilitate mating). As a result of this procedure certain male physical characteristics will develop, but stunted:

The comb and wattles cease growing after castration, so the head of a capon looks small.
The hackle, tail and saddle feathers grow unusually long.
Caponization also affects the disposition of the bird. Removal of the bird's testes eliminates the male sex hormones, lessening the male sex instincts and changing their behaviour: the birds become more docile and less active and tend not to fight.

This procedure produces a unique type of poultry meat which is favoured by a specialized market. The meat of normal uncastrated roosters has a tendency to become coarse, stringy and tough as the birds age. This process does not exist in the capon. As caponized roosters grow slower than entire males they accumulate more body fat; the concentration of fat in both the light and dark areas of the capon meat is greater than in that of the uncastrated males; overall, it is often thought that capon meat is more tender, juicy, and flavorful than regular chicken.

 

[countryboy]

are they like mountain oysters? I like frog legs but was wondering.

 

[Wildsky]

I have seen them selling the "tools" to do this, on McMurray site.
I wouldn't be able to do it myself, but heck if I had too many roosters - and knew someone who could do it - I'd get it done rather than kill them all.

 

[LittleChickenRacingTeam]

More like caviar CountryBoy. We are talking small here...LOL

Here is a 1922 article explaining the procedure. According to my vet, very little has changed other than anesthetic & sterile conditions being used today.

http://www.afn.org/~poultry/capon.htm

 

[countryboy]

wow good article thanks for the link LCRT, maybe somebody else needs to read more on subjects like this they are really interesting.

 

[rooster-red]

How old is he?

 

[PurpleChicken]

That is just wrong. Poor rooster. We just eat our roosters
not deflower them.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Aren't you late for your back waxing?