Post pictures of your capons

[bngowe]

Rhode Island Red capon at 19 weeks.
Initially I really liked this breed because it grew so quickly, feathered quickly and was very rigorous, but at a certain age (maybe around 16 weeks?), growth started to slow down, and instead of getting fatter, RIRs seem to get leaner and have more of a square shape to them. They are also a bit more aggressive to everyone else. If they continually grew larger this would be a great breed, but unfortunately they seem to become leaner rather than rounder. This is a hatchery stock so i think from years of breeding RIR to focus on the egg production, the meat aspect of this dual purpose breed has suffered. At 19 weeks, My RIR capon is still pretty scrawny looking, and still needs a lot more time to plump up.

 

[Mimi13]

I’m just curious and wonder, once a cockerel is caponized, which does away with his hormones, will he still continue to look like a rooster with the beautiful tail, saddle and hackle feathering? Or will his appearance change to more of a hen’s appearance?

 

[cassie]

Rhode Island Red capon at 19 weeks.
Initially I really liked this breed because it grew so quickly, feathered quickly and was very rigorous, but at a certain age (maybe around 16 weeks?), growth started to slow down, and instead of getting fatter, RIRs seem to get leaner and have more of a square shape to them. They are also a bit more aggressive to everyone else. If they continually grew larger this would be a great breed, but unfortunately they seem to become leaner rather than rounder. This is a hatchery stock so i think from years of breeding RIR to focus on the egg production, the meat aspect of this dual purpose breed has suffered. At 19 weeks, My RIR capon is still pretty scrawny looking, and still needs a lot more time to plump up.

This is just a comment and I am certainly no expert on capons. However, I recently acquired an old poultry book that talks about capons and I got a USDA bulletin entitled Capons and Caponizing. The bulletin is from 1932 and the book, Practical Poultry Management, was printed in 1933. The bulletin talks about marketing capons at eight to ten months of age. There are pictures of plucked capons ready for market. By today's standards, these chickens are scrawny. They are not plump and well muscled like the modern Cornish X. One thing I found interesting was that the capons, like most chickens of the time, went to market with the entrails intact and with at least some of their feathers. Feathers of capons were left on the last joint of the wings, on the tail, and about one fourth of the distance up the thighs and the neck. The heads and feet were not removed either. The bulletin did mention that clean plucking was becoming more popular. I am old enough to remember my mother buying chickens at the store and cleaning (drawing) them when she brought them home. This was in the late 1940's and early 1950's. My old cookbook, printed in the 1940's, has an illustrated section on how to draw (clean) chickens.

 

[Mimi13]

This is just a comment and I am certainly no expert on capons. However, I recently acquired an old poultry book that talks about capons and I got a USDA bulletin entitled Capons and Caponizing. The bulletin is from 1932 and the book, Practical Poultry Management, was printed in 1933. The bulletin talks about marketing capons at eight to ten months of age. There are pictures of plucked capons ready for market. By today's standards, these chickens are scrawny. They are not plump and well muscled like the modern Cornish X. One thing I found interesting was that the capons, like most chickens of the time, went to market with the entrails intact and with at least some of their feathers. Feathers of capons were left on the last joint of the wings, on the tail, and about one fourth of the distance up the thighs and the neck. The heads and feet were not removed either. The bulletin did mention that clean plucking was becoming more popular. I am old enough to remember my mother buying chickens at the store and cleaning (drawing) them when she brought them home. This was in the late 1940's and early 1950's. My old cookbook, printed in the 1940's, has an illustrated section on how to draw (clean) chickens.

Very interesting. I love reading about the ways things were done “way back when.”

 

[bngowe]

I’m just curious and wonder, once a cockerel is caponized, which does away with his hormones, will he still continue to look like a rooster with the beautiful tail, saddle and hackle feathering? Or will his appearance change to more of a hen’s appearance?

Yes they do keep most of their rooster appearance. Their saddle and hackle feathers grow longer. Capons seem to groom themselves very well and their feathers are pretty shiny. They have smaller spurs. The only thing henlike is the smaller head with lack of comb and waddle.

 

[Mimi13]

Yes they do keep most of their rooster appearance. Their saddle and hackle feathers grow longer. Capons seem to groom themselves very well and their feathers are pretty shiny. They have smaller spurs. The only thing henlike is the smaller head with lack of comb and waddle.

I can’t help myself, but sounds somewhat like a feminine man. They are usually very well groomed and looking fine. No dirt under those nails!

Really though, thank you for your answer. Since I obviously cannot correctly raise a decent cockerel, sounds like my kind of male chicken, NO aggression but still looking good. Out of my 5 cockerels, 2 were and one is human aggressive, 1 is a serial rapist but scared to death of humans, and one was aggressive to what was then my favorite cockerel...yep, my fave is now in the pen next to the kill cone.

 

[aart]

Yes they do keep most of their rooster appearance. Their saddle and hackle feathers grow longer. Capons seem to groom themselves very well and their feathers are pretty shiny. They have smaller spurs. The only thing henlike is the smaller head with lack of comb and waddle.

@bngowe ..... Do you caponize your own birds...and at what age?
Are you in the US?