Caponizing tools are here

They arrived in today's mail, and hubby went to town to get it and a package he had been expecting (we use a PO box).  I bought these second-hand from a gal on BYC who had been trying to caponize her pet roosters, but decided she could not handle the losses that are inevitable in the learning curve.  Caponizing is usually done on meat birds, not pets.

Caponizing must truly be an almost-lost art/skill, as spellcheck hates it.  Also, it does not care for the word capon or capons or caponize ... (*sigh*), as my son would say.  My neighbor who raises grass-fed beef cattle up the road did not know what caponizing is, nor could he recall ever eating a capon.  In truth, the last time I remember seeing a capon in a grocery freezer was when I was still a kid.  Since hubby spent part of his youth in Germany while his dad was stationed over there, he has eaten capon and remembers it with great fondness and enthusiasm.

caponizing tools

the complete set of caponizing tools
and accessories

Mitzi from BYC hooked me up properly here!  The only two things I can think that weren't included are the headlamp and the antiseptic stuff to clean the incision site.  In her PM, she mentions that she almost sent her headlamp also.

I even have my first "volunteer" for the process.  One of the whitish cockerels pulled out another cockerel's flight feather yesterday afternoon - YEOUCH!  It's difficult enough to pluck a flight feather on a deceased and scalded chicken, but to yank one out of a live and squawking one?  Funny part is, I could hear one of my old drill sergeant's voice as I said, "Congratulations, sh*tbird - You just volunteered!" while pulling the guilty party out of the triangle tractor.  Since he will be the very first, I will slaughter him before I start.  He volunteered for the stock pot, not vivisection.  The drill sergeants always told us that sh*tbird was a term of endearment, and meant in an affectionate way.