Anyone here do Capons?

Heritagefarm · #21 08/03/10, 01:44 PM

Never heard of such a thing. What would you do with a neutered rooster? Either it's a rooster or a crockpot chicken.

Navotifarm · #22 08/03/10, 01:52 PM

The animal welfare site does make a point about anesthetising. I tried hanging a turkey upside down in the kill cone, believing he would lose consciousness. That did NOT work! Another option was I read a man would soak bread in vodka and deed it to his ducks. They would get drunk and fall over paralyzed so he thought he was killing them painlessly. He said that the ones he didn't kill would all recover after half an hour with no apparent ill effects. Has anyone on here anesthetised and successfully caponized a rooster or tom turkey?
McMurray has a blog thing. We could ask them.

Navotifarm · #23 08/03/10, 01:57 PM

Ooops I meant Feed the vodka impregnated bread to his ducks.

springvalley · #24 08/03/10, 02:01 PM

I eat the vodka impregnated bread, and it doesn`t bother me. He He. (Just kidding)>Marc

Otter · #25 08/03/10, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritagefarm

What would you do with a neutered rooster?

Because back in the day, they didn't have Perdue Oven Stuffer Roasters.
Or cornishx.

Capons get HUGE and the meat stays tender. I'm going to practice on pre-killed cockerels this year and maybe one year after enough practice I'll actually do it on some live ones.

They sell for $$$
Is it on line anywhere, the fellow who did 2 BB turkeys and they got up to about a hundred pounds?

Patt · #26 08/03/10, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritagefarm

Never heard of such a thing. What would you do with a neutered rooster? Either it's a rooster or a crockpot chicken.

It's makes them bigger, fatter and tenderer.

Plus they don't beat the daylights out of each other. Just makes them better to eat all around from what I understand.

Patt · #27 08/03/10, 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otter

Because back in the day, they didn't have Perdue Oven Stuffer Roasters.
Or cornishx.

Capons get HUGE and the meat stays tender. I'm going to practice on pre-killed cockerels this year and maybe one year after enough practice I'll actually do it on some live ones.

They sell for $$$
Is it on line anywhere, the fellow who did 2 BB turkeys and they got up to about a hundred pounds?

How in this wide world do you cook a hundred pound turkey?

We let one go once until it was 50lbs BB bronze one and I had a really hard time stuffing him in the oven.

watcher · #28 08/03/10, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by springvalley

I eat the vodka impregnated bread, and it doesn`t bother me. He He. (Just kidding)>Marc

I don't know if the vodka breed would bother me but I'm sure being caponed (if that is a word) would.

Man and I just responded to the 'what isn't allowed here' thread. I hope that wasn't over the line. Those moderator slaps not only hurt they leave marks!

watcher · #29 08/03/10, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Otter

Because back in the day, they didn't have Perdue Oven Stuffer Roasters.
Or cornishx.

Capons get HUGE and the meat stays tender. I'm going to practice on pre-killed cockerels this year and maybe one year after enough practice I'll actually do it on some live ones.

They sell for $$$
Is it on line anywhere, the fellow who did 2 BB turkeys and they got up to about a hundred pounds?

I didn't even know you could buy them.

danielsumner · #30 08/03/10, 04:52 PM

Years ago they began to caponize roosters by means of estrogen pellets injected under the skin of the neck. Problems started to happen when men would eat the necks. Seems that when a MAN would eat the necks, he would ingest the estrogen pellet and start "the change" for lack of a better explanation. The practice was soon banned.

Heritagefarm · #31 08/03/10, 04:57 PM

Now, it's done in feedlot cattle. So, you're getting that estrogen when you eat feedlot cattle, too.

Pony · #32 08/03/10, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritagefarm

Never heard of such a thing. What would you do with a neutered rooster? Either it's a rooster or a crockpot chicken.

When I was a kid, that's how you got big chickens for roasting.

One of my veterinarian friends went out to help a farmer caponize some of his birds. Only killed two out of 25...

It was his first time...

I am now intrigued by the idea of caponizing a turkey... Hm...

Otter · #33 08/03/10, 05:15 PM

You can buy them, you just usually have to special order them. But sometimes you'll see them in high end supermarkets around the holidays.
http://www.dartagnan.com/51438/56562...nge-Capon.html

Did you see the price?

I can't find anything online about the turkeys except that the biggest one ever cooked was 89 pounds (I believe that was the dressed weight) But I remember it being in the paper. It was done for publicity and I think they were sold to a famous hotel in NY.

I don't know how you'd cook one either. All that comes to my mind is a bunch of drooling people around a roasting spit.

Patt · #34 08/03/10, 05:30 PM

Wow can't believe that price! Maybe we should raise them.....

QoTL · #35 08/03/10, 08:01 PM

I've read a number of articles on it, and would love to try at some point.

But to be honest.. I have a hard enough time finding the testicles when I'm cleaning out a full grown roo. Can't imagine looking for one on a chick, let alone a live one where time is of the essence

I'd actually heard if you hold a chicken down for long enough they will sort of.. really relax. Someone had done surgery on her chicken's crop and said the bird didn't really struggle at all. And I know when we are getting ready to cull, as long as we stay calm and hold the bird down firmly, there really isn't much struggling. Then again, I have a few birds who freak if I pick them up LOL

Ed Norman · #36 08/03/10, 09:27 PM

We did about 25 or 30 rooster chicks 8-9 years ago. Do it in bright sunlight so the light shines inside them because it is dark in there. The testes aren't all in the same place, some are over here, others are up there, you have to hunt them down once you are inside. Also, even though they were all at the prescribed correct age, some had bigger easier to find testes and others had tiny ones. I don't remember exact death loss but it was maybe 10-15% from the initial surgery.

After that, the accidents began. Those capons were the clumsiest, most unlucky birds I ever saw. If UPS pulled into the yard, one would manage to get run over. If a neighbor dog grabbed a chicken, it would be a capon. If someone got stuck behind an scrap board in the old barn, it would be a capon. We butchered some before they got huge just so we could try the meat. It was great. The last we kept to get big was a Rhode Island capon who was beautiful, the feathers really grow long and are sought by fly-tyers. He had long hackles and tail and was shiny and he hopped in the horse tank and drowned.

I still have my old 1920s caponizing kit with tools and instructions somewhere, but have no desire to try again. Cornish cross are fast and meaty.

Patt · #37 08/03/10, 10:05 PM

Hmm I am so tempted to say something about........nah I will be good!

foxtrapper · #38 08/04/10, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heritagefarm

Never heard of such a thing. What would you do with a neutered rooster? Either it's a rooster or a crockpot chicken.

Same as having a neutered bovine, aka a steer. They get big, flabby and tasty. While you're raising them up to size they are much more peaceful.

If you've got the market for them, capons can bring a good price.

watcher · #39 08/04/10, 02:17 PM

GOOD GRAVY!!!!!!!!!! If you can get any where $70 for one bird I might start doing it. I wonder if there are any restaurants locally who would buy them. . . .