Mansfield mirror. (Mansfield, Wright County, Mo.) 1908-1957, 1913-10-02
ARE PROFITABLE.
4. E. Quisenberry, Director Mis-.
Douri Poultry Experiment Station.
article No. b

they nave eaten, to say nothing or
the care and trouble required to
raise them.
ii Why hold your rlales until they
gbecome shaggy, develop small
Rspurs, weigh from four to six
pounds, and sell on the market
for only 15c to 40c each, depend
ing on the size, quality and mar
ket conditions? These same cock
i crels as capons would weigh eight
sto twelve pounds each and bring
from eighteen to twenty-five cents
per pound, live weight. If you
don't expect to caponize them,
then sell your surplus cockerels as
Sbroilers or friers.
In view of these facts, the ques-
/ ton naturally arises, why are
/ there not more capons?" There
I are several reasons. A great many
Ipeople do not know that there is
such a thing as a capon. Still
consider the operation of
caponizing either difficult or cruel
and refuse to attempt it. Prob
ably the most common reason,
xbowever, is that very few people
realize how much more profitable
the, capon is than the cOckerel.
II A capon is a desexed cockerel,
. and bears the same relation to the
\ rooster that the steer does to the
l bull. The capon loses practically
all its male instinct and much re-
sembles the hen in general appear
ance, shape and disposition. The
capon is quiet, never fights, crows
or bothers the hens. It's time and
energy seem to be entirely spent
il eating, growing end getting fat.
The operation Of caponizing is
so simple and easy that a ten year
old child of ordinary intelligence
can easily learn to perform it.
With a little practice one becomes
very skillful, and can caponize
from twenty to forty cockerels per
hour,
The cOckerels should be capon-
lied when they are quite small,
not. much larger than quails. This
is usually when they ire from six
to ten weeks old. At this time
the 'testicles are about the size of a
plump grain of wheat or perhaps
as large as a bean. The loss of
blood and shock of the operation
is such that it is not advisable to
caponize cOckerels after they be-
gin3to crow and worry the hens,
When performed on young two
months-old cockerels there. is
very little loss of blood and prac.
tically no pain connected with the
operation.
1t is important to get good ca
ponizing Instruments. They will
last a lifetime and save trouble
Two of the leading manufacturers
of caponizing instruments are The
Capon Tool Company, Cedar Vale
Kansas, and the G. p. Pilling &
Son Co., Philadelphia, Pa. W.
can recommend others if desired
All capon tool manufacturers sent
complete instructions for capOn
oizing with their tools, so that i
is Unnecessary to give detailed i'll
structions here, because the oper
alton varies with each set of tools
Capons bring the highest price
from January to May each year
The larger the capons the highe
the price per pound. For this rea
son it rarely pays to market ca
pons before they are nine It
twelve months old, Naturally tn
larger breeds, such as the Brah
mas, Orpingtons, Plymouth Rock
and similar varieties, make tn
best capons.
If you get your cockerels in tn
right condition before you at
tempt to caponize them, the oper
alton is half performed. keel
them confined to a coop whic|
should be placed in a dark, coo