Yesterday, I vasectomized a peacock. The procedure itself was straightforward, but it was all of the discussion that followed that prompted me to write. In fact, a lot of the comments and questions were ones that I had heard before. So I thought I would take advantage of the time to discuss bird castration and vasectomy.
Dr Echols and vasectomized peacock
Vasectomy is simply cutting the ductus deferens which is a long tube leading from the testicle (deep within the abdomen or ‘coelom’) to the cloaca. This is the conduit for sperm to travel from the testes to the outside world. The ductus deferens is cut and a section removed preventing future inseminations. This can be done via endoscopy (mildly invasive), open coelomic surgery (most invasive) or in small songbirds (like finches) at the protrusion of the cloaca (minimally invasive). In order for vasectomy to be effective, both vas deferens must be completely transected. Depending on the species, some birds can still effectively inseminate females for up to 6 months after vasectomy. This occurs because sperm may still remain in the vas deferens segment that was not removed.
Vasectomy does not affect a bird’s behavior or plumage, just the ability to inseminate (after the tube has been completely emptied). So, this procedure is used mainly as a means of population control. Potential side effects are mostly related to surgery such as anesthetic complications (including death), cutting the wrong structure (such as the ureter and major blood vessels which lie close to the ductus deferens) and incompletely severing the ductus deferens (which may heal and still be functional).
Castration is a whole different subject. As a general statement, I do not recommend castration for anything other than testicular disease (mostly cancer). In other words, I do not recommend castration as a means of behavior modification.
A bird’s testicles are located deep within the coelom making access difficult and requiring either invasive open body or multiport endoscopic surgery. The technical difficulty of castration in large part depends on the size of the testes (which varies dramatically with breeding season and any disease present). Additionally, seemingly any remnant testicular tissue can regrow. So if a spec of testicle is left (which because of its intimate attachment to surrounding tissues is possible), it can regrow into an active, healthy and very determined organ! Caponization is castration done at a very young age before the testicle has fully developed and enlarged.
While I have castrated many birds, some regrettably for behavioral reasons, I now only consider the procedure for medical problems. My experience has been that castration for behavioral modification does not work. This includes attempting to curb aggression in parrots, ducks and poultry and crowing in poultry (chickens and peacocks). The birds temporarily stop their behaviors (probably because the surgery is invasive and they feel rotten) but have all resumed at some point later (some were even checked to make sure there was no remnant regrown testicular tissue). There are actually quite a few studies in various bird species that show the same results- once the behavior is established, castration tends to not make it stop. Some of the studies have even shown increased aggression with castrated birds. Castration would probably be most effective in preventing some behaviors (and normal adult male plumage) when done on young birds. However, I cannot justify the procedure at this time.
Part of the problem is that we are asking a bird to not perform a normal behavior such as crowing in roosters and aggressively protecting a mate (which may be a human). So I focus on understanding the behavior and look for other means of modification.
Dr Scott Echols
For German translated article, see: http://www.vogelecke.de/kastration.html
Well said, perfectly understandable layman’s language and extremely valuable to know, especially in regard to castration in regard to behavior modification. Thank you for your post!
Good explanation, Scott. I agree, mostly, and when I am consulted about castration it will usually result in behavioral guidance (in parrots) or rehoming (for crowing roosters/peacocks in neighborhoods where that is not acceptable). I would point out that not all castrations are done the same. In the rare cases where I have castrated peafowl and chickens, it proved very important to apply cryotherapy to the sites afterwards to prevent tissue regrowth. Also, as you mention, the age at which it’s done is critical though even in the one full adult chicken I did, it did make a dramatic difference (he was my own bird so I was able to follow him for a long time). In the peacocks I’ve done (6 months of age, part of a rescue flock to prevent sparring as well as repro), their plumage was only slightly affected. In adult peacocks, it made no difference. Seems very likely that much of a male’s sexual behavior is learned and/or alternate sites of testosterone production come into play. I have never performed castration in parrots or ducks except for purely medical reasons. I see the procedure’s use in behavioral treatment rising and it scares me a bit…
Hi. Im looking into having vasectomies on 2 young male roosters. ..they are only 2 weeks old now and with their mom. Will it help with future mounting behaviour? Also when woukd you recommend surgury? They are rescues and I would like to keep the family together. Many thanks for this post. Very helpful and informative.
Cindy,
Vasectomy will not stop any behaviors. If performed properly, it will stop the vasectomized male from inseminating a hen. I usually wait until the birds are more mature as it makes the procedure easier to perform.
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
Very helpful …many thanks.
I am a vet nursing student and found this very useful! I have a rescued rooster called Carlos who has become very agressive towards humans. As I am used to rescuing dogs and cats in the main, I asked a college lecturer about neutering him. She said that even if I could find a vet to do it, it probably wouldn’t solve the issue.
I have started to try behaviour modification and it seems to have already improved things after just a couple of days. They hens and Carlos have a secure run but I do let them free-range when I am home to keep an eye on them. Now I hand feed carlos treats through the fence so he cannot attack me. He tries to at first, but once he realises I have treats he soon stops. He only attcked me once yesterday, and it wasn’t even a truly enraged attack, if that makes sense. I just picked him up and stroked him and spoke to him, telling him what an idiot he was being.
Hi attacks REALLY hurt and do quite a bit of damage. I took him as he was going to be euthanised as he was attacking the small children in his previous home. I am determined to make him understand that I am no threat to him or his wives. worst case scenario is that he never gets to free-range again, and I really don’t want that. He is a year old Bluebell rooster. I am taking some more rescued ex-battery hens soon, and am hoping the arrival of more wives won’t make him even more agressive!
Catherine,
By stationing Carlos (meaning you set him in a particular location and feed him treats or regular food) you can often significantly reduce the aggressive episodes. You are essentially beginning this process by giving him treats through the fence. Now train him (targeting) to accept those treats away from the areas where he is aggressive. You can even get him to sit up on a log, fence post, etc where he knows that if he stays there Carlos will get a treat. It sounds like he is food motivated which makes this process much easier!
Great job!
M. Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice)
I have 1 male, 1 unrelated female, 1 offspring of the male and 5 pea eggs. I would like to stop after these eggs hatch. Sounds as if vestectomy on the 1 male and however many males out of the 5 eggs is a good idea.
Does any one know of a vet in the St Augustine or Jacksonville, Florida area that could do the procedure?
Gary,
Contact the Association of Avian Veterinarians (www.aav.org) for a list of bird specialists close to you.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice)
I have a pair of 2.5 year old peas (male and female), and three one year old peas (one male, two females). All raised from eggs I incubated. The oldest male is aggressive to the point that we have to carry a stick outside to protect ourselves from being attacked. He will attack anyone who comes onto our property. He will follow us around and get behind us and if we aren’t careful, he will attack. I have been kicked down and bloodied a couple of times. He doesn’t seem to pick males more than females. We did not interact much with him as a chick. Didn’t try to tame him; we certainly fed them and cared for them but as soon as they were feathered, they went out to the coop and they are currently free range. We do feed them worms and blueberries from our hands and they will take food from us but they aren’t particularly tame. They are very curious about us and spend a good part of the day watching us through windows and doors. They wander around our 20 acre wooded property and roost about 100 feet up a fir tree that I have placed sheet metal about 4 feet up around the base of to protect from climbing predators. What can we do with this guy? We love him but we can’t live like this. Would caponizing him help this? I have never caponized a male bird before but I can certainly learn and have the appropriate anesthetic, analgesics and instruments to do so. Help!
Dr Eisenstein,
At this point, caponizing will likely not help. In fact, caponizing adult birds may make them more aggressive (once they recover from the surgery). This is more a behavior management problem. Peacocks usually respond to positive reinforcement training this includes stationing, food directed behaviors, etc. I would recommend working with an animal behaviorist. We have done similar techniques with ‘obnoxious’ turkeys and chickens.
M. Scott Echols, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice)
Thank you for the information. ….Long story short, I have a maybe 7-month-old cockerel who, we thought was our 3-year-old hen that we’d put on a farm for 18 months while we were out of the country. I’m guessing he’s her son (appearance and behavior), and maybe she is dead. While I try to find my hen, if she is still alive, I have the problem of a newly crowing young rooster inside the town limits where roosters are illegal.
I agree with everything everyone has said about castration being a horrible idea, but the other option seems to be killing him. I’m going to try a deslorelin implant if I can talk my husband into the expense and the city into letting me keep him long enough to try it. That’s not a long term solution though, even if it works, because we can’t afford to do it repeatedly. So far I can’t find anyone who is willing or able to rehome him.
Does anyone have any other ideas? How risky is castration if a knowledgeable, experienced avian vet does it? I read it used to be done without anesthetic, which I WOULD NOT do (that’s horrific). Is euthanasia really better?? Anyway, I loved his mother, and he’s her spitting image (except his new saddle and tail feathers that are growing in now!)… I’m not sure how I could bear killing him. What can I do?
Please help.
Marley,
The issue is not the danger involved with castrating birds. In fact we perform these procedures with some regularity as a treatment for medically non-responsive testicular tumors. The issue is that castration rarely (never in my experience) resolves the crowing behavior in roosters. That is unless the bird is caponized (castrated when very young prior to development of these behaviors). For adult roosters that are already crowing, castration does temporarily stop the crowing behavior (usually for a few weeks). I believe they temporarily stop crowing because they are recovering from surgery and are either in pain or uncomfortable (we are still learning how best to manage pain in birds). However once fully recovered from surgery, the crowing behavior usually returns.
The challenge is that you are going against a programmed behavior and once it starts it is difficult to stop. You can try ‘light neutering’ your rooster. This works best with drakes (ducks) displaying obnoxious male behaviors. You are essentially shortening and shifting the visible day length by placing the rooster in a dark room over night and letting him outside later in the morning (rather than the crack of dawn). In this example, you put the rooster ‘to bed’ in a dark room at night and then let him out later in the morning (9 AM for example). This does not always work, however it is a better alternative to euthanasia.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice)
Dear Dr. Echols,
Wlould you consider surgical castration in a male hypersexual cockatoo with recurrent cloacal prolapse? I have such a case. Long story short:. After looking for other causes of prolapse and coming to this diagnosis, I performed ventoplasty, open surgery cloacopexy (horisontal incision, tacking to ribs and serosal scarification and suturing), instituted behavioural modification and activities at home, changed to pellets, some regulation of daylight exposure, all of which to a degree still being instituted by owners (but might be room for improvement). Also put in a deslorelin implant,4,7mg, but only once. Everything then seemed perfect for a year and a half, but now prolapsing again. Part two of my question I guess is in your experience will hormonal therapy help at all (deslorelin or other). Part three: how likely do you think I/we are to succeed in never seeing the prolapse again, if surgery repeated and all other necessary steps taken? Not extensive experience with such here in Norway. Sorry for difficult question and possibly overstepping bounderies of discussion here. If there is better forum for this would much appreciate info by email (?).
Kind regards,
Laurence Barton
Veterinary surgeon
Oslo, Norway
Dr Barton,
Thanks for your question!
These are a challenge! Here are my responses to your questions:
1. Yes, I have considered castration for these problems. In the past we used to castrate birds for a variety of behavioral (non-cancer) reasons. However, castration never seemed to resolve the problem. Short term the birds seemed fine and then they later returned to the same behaviors. As a result, I don’t recommend castration for the types of problems you describe. Research also supports that many behaviors are retained or, in some cases, amplified post-castration (especially aggression). These studies have not been conducted in parrots. It may be that the behaviors are somewhat ‘set’ by the time they are a problem. Or, there is another hormone producing organ (the adrenals) that take over the function of the missing testes.
2. Hormonal therapy, in my experience, only works when other aspects of behavior management are in play. It sounds like you have been doing this. However, I would add in foraging (as the only source of food) and physical exercise (to dissipate some of this energy common with male cockatoos).
3. So far, we have had good luck resolving cloacal prolapses in male birds (most of which have been cockatoos). This has been achieved through a combination of behavioral, dietary and environmental modification and often surgery (many that I see have been prolapsed for at least several months and require surgery). After nearly 25 years of practice, I have had two cloacal prolapse failures. Both were cockatoos, both had previous cloacal and/or vent surgeries and one had been prolapsed for more than 10 years and the other for 6-7 years prior to corrective surgery by me. At the time of both surgeries, I could see there was no cloacal muscular tone. I suspect that lack of muscle tone contributed to the failure. In both cases, the prolapse recurred.
These are important and fairly common problems in pet birds- especially male cockatoos. For those reading this post, I would recommend the following for your pet birds and maybe even more so with male cockatoos (and prior to developing prolapse problems):
1. Teach your bird self-sufficient skills such as foraging, play, exercise and other activities that don’t require the caretaker. You want your bird to be able to do productive activities on his own.
2. Provide opportunities for as much physical exercise as possible. Remember, that many parrot species are designed to fly, explore, etc many miles every day. In the wild, you know there are cockatoos nearby when you see tree branches falling. That is because they are busy dismantling trees! Research shows that destructive toys are preferred over non-destructible toys. Non-treated wood is a great example of a destructible toy. If a toy is made of synthetic materials (metal, plastic, rubber etc) and your bird can destroy it, don’t use it. Assume your bird will ingest that synthetic material and it will cause problems. Also, create a space where your bird can move around, climb and even fly. Make sure that ‘space’ is safe for the bird.
3. Provide a balanced diet appropriate for your bird species. There is no ‘ideal’ diet and research on the long term effects of various diets for pet parrots is lacking. Work with your avian veterinarian or nutritionist familiar with bird dietary needs. Poor diets lead to a large number of medical and sometimes behavioral problems.
4. Provide access to natural unfiltered sunlight. This may be limited based on your geographic location. However, research supports benefits of natural sunlight. The same affects are not always achieved with UV lights and/or vitamin D supplements- there is still much needed research in this field!
5. Have your birds regularly examined by an avian veterinarian.
M. Scott Echols, DVM, Dipl ABVP (Avian Practice)
We have two 2 yr old peacocks that we rescued, they were a few hours old and previous owner thought one had been struck in the head by a snake as his head was about twice the size and he was completely blind… long story short after a couple of weeks of caring for them, the swelling in the head went down and his eyesight gradually came back, we also had his brother who has a genetic leg deformity so these peacocks were kept in our home for several months in a large playpen while their outdoor pen was being built…Jonah, the one who had been blind and is completely healthy now has developed extreme aggression to the point like another gentleman said in his comments we have to take a stick everywhere with us he is especially aggressive towards me and I am a female we did handle them quite a bit when they were young because they were so sick… we are highly concerned about our mailman and UPS and FedEx drivers delivering packages… he will literally chase a UPS van down our long driveway to the front of the road… I have read about Berserk syndrome and peacocks and I am truly hoping this is not what he has… as I have also read the only cure is euthanasia… we have put a lot of energy time and money into raising these two peacocks Jonas brother the one with the leg deformity is not aggressive at all so I’m not sure what’s going on with Jonah, do you have any advice for us? It is mating season, would getting a female peacock help solve this or make matters worse?
Penny,
Behavioral problems can be complex and not something I can resolve over the internet. Behaviors are generally arranged via Antecedent-Behavior-Consequence (ABC). In other words, there is something (antecedent: situation, location, person, food, whatever) that triggers the behavior (aggression in this case) that is either reinforced or reduced (consequence). The key is to understanding the antecedent and then making the consequence such that it does not reinforce the unwanted behavior. I recommend consulting with an avian veterinarian and/or behaviorist who can first check for any health related issues and second evaluate the situation in effort to reduce the unwanted behaviors and encourage positive behavior.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian)
Hi
I heard you can chemically canonize a rooster. What are your thoughts on this ? And do you offer it at your facility ?
Shaina,
You are probably referring to the drugs Lupron (Leurpolide acetate) and/or Suprelorin (Deslorelin acetate) which do truly ‘caponize’ or castrate a bird however decrease reproductive activity in birds. The biggest problem is that these drugs are illegal to give to poultry for any reason. At this time, we have do not have a safe or legal means to chemically castrate roosters.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
I have a rooster who no matter what won’t stop attacking me and other people when we go in his cage. I was thinking about caponizing him but after reading this I see that it is no use. Do you guys have anything I could try that would work better? He is 1 1/2ish.
Once that behavior has starting, castrating a rooster is unlikely to change things long term. I recommend talking with an avian behaviorist to train your rooster to do things like station for behavioral rewards rather than attacking you. It can be a very effective technique for ‘aggressive’ roosters.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
We have one male and three female adult Muscovy ducks that we introduced to our backyard large freshwater lake cove environment in central South Carolina about six months ago (August 2021) They have done great socializing with the native geese and ducks swimming close-by in the cove and walking around and sleeping in our backyard near the shoreline. They are very friendly and get along great with our 3 outside cats and grandkids. We feed them whole corn, cracked corn, and duck pellets. We would really like to keep these 4 ducks, but wish to avoid future offspring. What are our medical or other options?
Thank you very much for any advise / suggestions.
Gordonc12345@gmail.com
Gordonc12345@gmail.com,
With outdoor ducks (essentially wild) ducks, it will be very difficult to control breeding. While we have options for pet ducks, they are not easy for wild birds. In this situation, your best option is to addle the eggs as they are laid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goose_egg_addling). Done properly, this prevents eggs from hatching.
Happy Holidays,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
Is there any way to reverse the negative effects from anesthesia complications or the cutting of the vessel’s during the vasectomy for peafowl. Is there any long term affects on peafowl or Turkeys near the area wear the surgery was performed.
Jodi,
While I am not sure I completely understand your question, I will say that there are always risks associated with anesthesia, surgery and giving any medications. While no one can guarantee ‘risk free’ anesthesia, there are many steps that can be taken to reduce risk of a procedure. Regarding cutting vessels during a vesectomy, if done properly there is very little bleeding associated with the procedure. Small vessels may be cut during the operation and cause minor bleeding. However, it is rare that significant bleeding occurs as a result of a vasectomy. Because the testicle is left intact, there is no change in hormonal production. Once healed, the birds return to normal behavior. I hope these responses answer your questions.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
Hi,
What age should you vasectomize a peafowl? if the peafowl is not with any other poultry or peafowl for the 6-7 months will it get lonely and will it damage any relationship I have with my peacock, dose it work on turkeys?
Thank you.
Jodi,
Usually, I recommend vasectomy when the birds are young adults. This gives the tissues time to develop making surgery a little easier and the birds typically heal quickly. This can be done with turkeys as well. However, vasectomy is rarely performed in turkeys compared to peacocks.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
Hello, I am a veterinary doctor located in the city of Bogota, Colombia. I am currently working with a project for the confiscation and protection of fighting cocks, but handling them in the clinic is difficult due to their aggressive behavior, which makes the adoption process of these individuals even more difficult. Within the proposed management, the orchecomy of these animals was contemplated, however we see that the procedure is complex, for which I wish to ask about recommendations (surgical or non-surgical) to reduce-eliminate highly aggressive behaviors in these animals in the long term. Thank you very much.
Dr Ochoa,
Unfortunately, castration in adult cocks does not seem to reduce aggression long term. Short term, they calm down. However, I suspect that is due to the pain of the procedure and post-surgical discomfort. Many of these birds are bred for their aggression- which makes behavior modification somewhat challenging. However, behavior management can be successful with some of the birds. First, we keep them away from other males/cocks. Second, we work on stationing behaviors where the birds are rewarded (usually with food) by stationing in place (positive reward type system). Third, ight neutering is another non-surgical/non-pharmaceutical method to reduce some testosterone based behaviors. Simply put the birds in a dark room over night. Put the bird(s) in the dark room 1 hour before sunset and leave them in until one hour after sunrise.
I hope this offers some ideas and help!
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian Practice)
I find it interesting when you said that vasectomy would be keeping the sperm from traveling from the testes to the outside. I think that is what I need for my pet to keep it from escaping from my house. It will be for its own safety, so I hope that the cost of pet desexing would be within my budget at the moment.
Mia,
Vasectomy does not change behaviors. Rather it prevents the males from fertilizing the females and producing viable young. I don’t believe vasectomy will alter escape behaviors.
Sincerely,
M. Scott Echols, DVM, DABVP (Avian)