POUSSINS
These consist of male or
female chicks but usually
they are male by products or hatcheries. Raising
these males is the alternative to killing them after sexing day old chicks;
that is if the makes are of fast growing strain, they are raised separately
from females and given broiler diets while the females are given pullet-rearing
diets.
Occasionally, both males
and female may raise as poussins. A popular system for rearing these birds is
the tier or battery brooder. These brooders must be designed to have enough
head-room or else the chicks should be transferred to the floor for the
remaining two weeks of brooding. They are fed on starter diet throughout the
period.
CAPONS
The capon is a fowl which
has been surgically or chemically treated
so as to remove the action of male
hormones or increase the action of female hormones. The testes of the males may
be surgically removed while both males and females may be given hormone
preparations, usually oestrogenic. Usually only males are caponised either to
tenderise their meat or to improve their growth rate. Spend layers can also be
caponised to tenderise their meat whereas roosters are caponised to tenderise
their meat whereas roosters are caponised to improve growth rate and meat
qualities.
A CAPON |