The Art of Caponizing
A state college demonstration in North Bend showcases the rising interest in caponizing as an efficient way to manage poultry and brooding chicks.
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Although caponizing is not generally practiced by poultrymen of western Washington, the practice is gaining in favor, as shown by the turnout at a recent demonstration at North Bend, King County. About 35 people attended, according to L. C. Boggs, instructor of poultry husbandry at the state college. While Leghorns were used, out of 130 cockerels there was only one killed. The visitors were given a chance to try their hand, and one boy 10 years old made a successful operation. In order to show the value of capons for brooding chicks, Mr. Boggs secured a Black Minorca capon that was brooding 23 young chicks. One lady in the community told of having a Barred Rock capon weighing 12 1/2 pounds that brooded 50 chicks when he was less than a year old. She rents her capons out each spring to neighbors for brooding purposes.
“The capon took as good care of the chicks as though it was their own mother.”
Poultry farming remains a staple of Washington's agricultural sector, though animal husbandry practices have evolved significantly since the 1920s. This story highlights the local, community-based sharing of farming knowledge that was once mediated through extension services, a precursor to modern digital knowledge-sharing platforms.
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