Effects of Caponization on Growth Performance,

Phenotypic Characteristic, and Carcass Composition

in Sonali Chicken

Abu Sayeed Sumon

ID. No.: 20210925
Reg. No.: 42072, Session: 2013-14
MS in Surgery

Professor Dr. Md. Rafiqul Alam Professor Dr. Rukhsana Amin Runa
Supervisor Co- supervisor

Department of Surgery and Obstetrics

Bangladesh Agricultural University
Mymensingh-2202
 Presentation outlines
• Introduction
• Objectives
• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
 Introduction
❖ Male chickens that have had their testicles surgically
removed are known as capons (Jacob and Mather, 2000).
❖ Compared to conventional beef, capon meat is more soft,
juicy, and tasty (Jacob and Mather, 2000).
❖ Sonali chicken is a crossbred of a Rhode Island Red (RIR)
male and a Fayoumi female with a phenotypic appearance
similar to a local chicken that is well adapted to tropical
climates and requires less care and attention to rear
(Saleque and Saha, 2013).
❖ Consumers prefer Sonali chicken meat over regular broiler
meat, and it looks like indigenous chicken meat.
 Introduction
❖ The recent rise in customer demand for higher-quality and
more varied poultry meat products has prompted a re-
evaluation of age-old techniques like caponization (Tor et
al., 2002).
❖ Nowadays, there are increased numbers of Sonali chicken
farms in Bangladesh. Hence, caponization can be done on
Sonali cockerels to examine how it affects their ability to
grow and the quality of their meat production.
❖ Literatures pertaining to the effects of caponization on
growth performance, phenotypic characteristic, and carcass
composition in Sonali chicken is very scanty in our country.
That’s why this research work was undertaken.
 Objectives
1. To evaluate the effects of caponization on daily feed
intake, subsequent body weight gain, overall body
weight, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) in the Sonali
cockerels.
2. To determine the effects of caponization on carcass
yield and weights of certain muscular and visceral
organs.
3. To study the effects of caponization on a secondary
phenotypic trait (comb height) of the birds.
4. To highlight the effects of caponization on the meat
composition of the birds.
Materials and Methods
 Materials and Methods
Experimental site:
▪ Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH), BAU, Mymensingh
▪ Animal Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Animal
Nutrition, BAU, Mymensingh
Period of research:
▪ November to March 2023
Study population:
▪ A total of 15 apparently healthy Sonali chicken
cockerels
 Experimental layout
Sonali cockerels (8-weeks-old)

Experimental birds (n=15)

Group I (Control, n=5) Group II (Sham, n=5) Group III (Caponized, n=5)

Surgical operation Sham operation Assesment of

parameter during
8-13 weeks of age
Postmortem
following slaughter Daily feed intake
at 13 weeks Subsequent body
weight gain
Overall body weight
Weights of muscular (leg Proximate analysis FCR
and breast) and visceral of meat (dry matter, Comb height
organs (liver, heart, and ash, crude protein,
spleen) fat, and NFE)
 Housing, immunization, and diet of
experimental birds

Figure 1: Experimental
birds having feed and water

Figure 2: Vaccination
 Measuring initial body weight and
phenotypic trait

Figure 3: Measuring initial body weight by digital

weight balance and comb height by measuring scale
 Caponization procedure

Figure 4: Incision site Figure 5: Injecting local anesthetic

agent (2% lidocaine hydrochloride)

Figure 6: Incision in the last Figure 7: Use of rib spreader to

intercostal space visualize the testis
 Caponization procedure

Figure 8: Removal of testicle Figure 9: Testes of Sonali

using caponizing forceps (arrow) cockerel

Figure 10: Suturing of muscle Figure 11: Skin closure

 Final assessment of comb height

Figure 12: Comb height measurement (I= Control,

II= Sham, III= Capon)
Gross view of muscular organs after postmortem

Figure 13: Leg (I= Control, II= Sham, III= Capon)

Figure 14: Breast (I= Control, II= Sham, III= Capon)

Gross view of visceral organs after postmortem

Figure 15: Liver (I= Control, II= Sham, III= Capon)

Figure 16: Heart (I= Control, II= Sham, III= Capon)

Figure 17: Spleen (I= Control, II= Sham, III= Capon)

 Measuring the weights of muscular and
visceral organs

Figure 18: Measuring the weights of muscular and visceral

organs [A= Dressed carcass, B=Leg (thigh+ drumstick), C=
Breast, D= Liver, E= Heart, F= Spleen]
 Proximate analysis of meat

Figure 19: Meat samples (I= Control, II= Sham, III= Capon)

Figure 20: NFE estimation by Soxhlet apparatus

 Proximate analysis of meat

Figure 21: Crude protein estimation by Kjeldahl's method (A=

Distillation chamber, B= Titration, C= Kjeldahl equipment)
 Statistical analysis

➢ Statistical analysis was performed by one-way repeated

measure ANOVA followed by Tukey’s multiple comparisons
test using GraphPad Prism (Version 9.3.1) to compare the
differences among the groups.

➢ P<0.05 was considered statistically significant for all the

tests.
Results
 Effects of caponization on daily feed intake (g)
Daily feed intake (g) (Mean ± SEM)
Groups
8 weeks 9 weeks 10 weeks 11 weeks 12 weeks 13 weeks

Group I
(Control, 35.8±0.37a 46±0.70a 51.6±0.50a 60±1.04a 63.8±0.66a 63±0.83a
n=5)

Group II
30.4±0.74b 34.6±0.67b 55.6±0.50b 59.6±0.92a 64.8±0.66a 64.6±0.92a
(Sham, n=5)

Group III
(Caponized, 30±0.70b 34.6±0.6b 55.4±0.50b 64.8±0.73b 69.6±0.50b 69.8±0.86b
n=5)

SEM= Standard error of mean; a, b: Values with different superscript letters in the
same column differ significantly (P<0.05).
 Effects of caponization on subsequent body weight
gain (g)
Body weight gain (g) (Mean ± SEM)
Groups
9 weeks 10 weeks 11 weeks 12 weeks 13 weeks 13 weeks

Group I
(Control, 80.8±1.72a 60.8±1.72a 54.8±1.77a 78.4±2.6a 93.4±4.63a 63±0.83a
n=5)

Group II
(Sham, 50.8±1.43b 71.6±1.72b 69.8±1.77b 74.4±3.53a 103±6.44a 64.6±0.92a
n=5)

Group III
(Caponize 46±0.93b 62.6±1.85a 125±3.53ab 174±19.45b 180.2±2.28b 69.8±0.86b
d, n=5)

SEM= Standard error of mean; a, b, & ab: Values with different superscript letters
in the same column differ significantly (P<0.05).
 Effects of caponization on weekly body weight (g) of the
cockerels
1400
b
1200 Control Sham Coponized
b
a a
1000 a a
Body weight (g)

b
a a
a b ab
800 a b b

600

400

200

0
8 weeks 9 weeks 10 weeks 11 weeks 12 weeks 13 weeks
Time (weeks)

a, b, ab= Bar columns marked with different letters for the same week in the
graph show significant variation (P<0.05).
 Effects of caponization on feed conversion ratio (FCR)

FCR (Mean ± SEM)

Groups
9 weeks 10 weeks 11 weeks 12 weeks 13 weeks

Group I
3.11±0.08a 5.3±0.09a 6.6±0.06a 5.36±0.05a 4.79±0.08a
(Control, n=5)

Group II
4.22±0.26b 3.38±0.06b 5.58±0.05b 5.58±0.05a 4.41±0.09a
(Sham, n=5)

Group III
(Caponized, 4.64±0.35b 3.87±0.05b 3.11±0.01ab 2.69±0.23b 2.82±0.3b
n=5)
SEM= Standard error of mean; a, b, ab: Values with different superscript letters in
the same column differ significantly (P<0.05).
 Effects of caponization on comb height (mm) of
Sonali cockerels

30 Control Sham Coponized

a a
a a
25 a
a a
a a
a
20
Comb height (mm)

b
b b
15 b
b

10

0
8 weeks 9 weeks 10 weeks 11 weeks 12 weeks 13 weeks
Time (weeks)
a, b= Bar columns marked with different letters for the same week in the
graph show significant variation (P<0.05).
Effects of caponization on the dressed weight and the weights (g)
of certain muscular organs of the cockerels

900
b
800
700 Control
a a Sham
600
500 Coponized
Weight (g)

400
300
200 b
b a a
a a
100
0
Dressed carcass Leg Breast
Muscular organs
a, b= Bar columns marked with different letters for the same week in the
graph show significant variation (P<0.05).
 Effects of caponization on the weights (g) of certain visceral
organs of the cockerels

40

35 b

30
a a Control
25 Sham
Weights (g)

20 Coponized
15

10 b
a a
5

0
Liver Heart Spleen
Visceral organs
a, b= Bar columns marked with different letters for the same week in the
graph show significant variation (P<0.05).
Effects of caponization on the chemical composition
of chicken meats
Parameters (%)
Groups Crude
Dry matter Ash Fat NFE
protein

Group I
26.58±0.20 1.18±0.01a 21.96±0.32 1.23±0.01a 1.25±0.02a
(Control, n=5)

Group II
25.87±0.34 1.16±0.01a 21.8±0.28 1.22±0.01a 1.13±0.01a
(Sham, n=5)

Group III
26.95±0.03 1.33±0.01b 22.32±0.38 1.38±0.01b 2.5±0.07b
(Caponized, n=5)

SEM= Standard error of mean; a, b: Values with different superscript letters in the
same column differ significantly (P<0.05).
 Conclusions
❖ Caponization in Sonali cockerels at the age of 8 weeks
notably increased the daily feed intake, subsequent weight
gain, overall body weight, and FCR. The highest weight gain
of the capons was found during 11 to 13 weeks of age.
❖ At the age of 13 weeks, the postmortem following slaughter
revealed that the caponized cockerels had considerably
higher dressed carcass weight. The muscular organs, i.e.,
the leg and breast, and the visceral organs, i.e., the liver
and spleen of the capons were found to be markedly
heavier in terms of weight than those of the others (i.e.,
sham and intact/control).
 Conclusions
❖ The comb height of the caponized birds gradually and
noticeably got decreased with age than those of the others.
❖ The proximate chemical analysis of meats indicated slight
and negligible variations in the percentages of protein and
dry matter contents among the groups. However, the
percentages of fat, ash, and NFE contents were found
remarkably higher in the capons.
 Acknowledgements
❖ Honorable Supervisor and Co-supervisor
❖ Head and all other respected teachers of the
Department of Surgery and Obstetrics, BAU
❖ Director and all the members of Veterinary Teaching
Hospital, BAU
❖ Dr. Mohammad Raguib Munif, Assistant professor, Dept.
of Surgery and Obstetrics, BAU for his useful
suggestions and kind co-operation during the period of
research work as well as in writing the manuscript.
❖ Animal Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Animal
Nutrition, BAU
❖ All my friends and well wishers
THANK YOU ALL