2009 Omlet cube and run for sale

[Old Speckled Hen]

To my existing two and a half year old quartet I added three eighteen week old birds; a cockerel and two hens.

He was completely bullied by the older birds bar one who happily joined the younger harem.

This bullying has gone on for two months but.....HA ..... HA the worm has turned and from nowhere he has become a HE and is attending to even the top chook. I love chickens and a cockerel does make the family, doesn't he?

[Patricia W]

I agree! They have so much personality too! Shame not everyone can have them

[Daphne]

Yes they are wonderful! Its lovely to hear somebody else who sounds potty about her cockeral I feel its only now that I really understand the point of a flock and flock behaviour; I love watching the dynamics between my boy and his ladies and to top it all, he's the only one who lets me have a cuddle! If/when we move the ability to continue to have a cockeral is going to be right at the top of my list of 'must haves'

[craftyhunnypie]

Ha ha - love cockerels! Respect for the chooky men!

 

Emma.x

[Redwing]

I love my lads to the point that they all have names (if they are going to be kept) they are fab

 

Not all of my girls have names they are just Tarzan's girls, Quigley's girls etc..

[Old Speckled Hen]

Daphne, I love him to bits. He has grown into such a handsome chap and he really looks after the hens. It's a joy to watch.

I have found a new dimension to chook keeping

[Chortle Chook]

I love my little Silkie cockerel too. He is a little funny looking, not as glam as some, with a yellow punky hair do (see signature), but he takes such good care of his harem, pointing out little treats and making sure that the top hen is not too bossy and that the bottom hen gets her share. He even pecked my greyhound on the nose once. Such a brave little chap.

 

I'd be very sad if for some reason I couldn't have a cockerel and am nervous that my neighbours on both sides are due to move after Christmas. They have been really tolerant, even saying they like him. One neighbour from a few doors down who complained in the early days said they had to forgive him when they came round and saw how cute he is.

[chuckmum6]

I love my boy too, 'Onion', he is a young cockerel and is beginning to assert himself, although none of the girls seem at all impressed. He has some urges, but he doesn't know what to do about it, he dances around certain hens all puffed up until they peck him and he stands there blinking. He is quite protective of his sister 'Sage' and gets agitated if she wanders off without him, she however isn't the slightest bit bothered about him - poor boy!

 

He has got the hang of crowing though , just hope the neighbors who might move in next door are ok with it (house up for sale) .

[Margalot]

Yes my accidental cockerel purchase (Florence) has turned out to be a blessing, well that and my deaf neighbour!

 

He is so gorgeous and i tell him at least once a day how handsome he is! My DH days he gets more praise than he does!

 

He too is the tamest of them all and loves his feathers under his beak stroked. He will run at an alarming thundering trot when he see me so I know the feeling is mutual

[LJ's Chooks]

oh our accidental cockerel is wonderful too... infact yesterday he had 20 pre-school children mezmarised (err spelling) for an hour as he sat on my lap at my son's school! err dont mention the poo incident though..... well if they will stand behind a chicken

he's a fantastic gl orp and HUGE!!!

[beach chick]

I love them too, and still miss ours - Apricot, a silkie, was meant to be a girl... he was such a gent - very 'active' iykwim - but he always looked out for them, was the last in the cube every night etc. I also think he helped keep the fox away.

had to rehome him because although small he was LOUD. he is now a daddy several times over!

[Chortle Chook]

I think many cockerels (admittedly not mine - sorry Dill ) are really glamorous; just as gorgeous looking as peacocks. Their crow is also not half as deafening as a peacock's scream. Years ago I used to live near a huge stately home (not in it alas) and they had peacocks who used to scream every day at dusk. It used to go right through me and was both depressing and eerie. Give me a chirpy cockerel any day.

[Tweety]

I agree - my little frizzle Pekin cockerel Alex has added another dimension to keeping chooks. Every morning when I open the Eglu door, he leaps out and starts doing his little dance. All my bantam girls are very nonplussed and try to ignore him as much as possible. He makes a wonderful crowing sound, which seems to stop half way as if his voice is breaking. Strangely, my dear hubby seems to be much more interested in the chooks since Alex arrived!.

[Old Speckled Hen]

Strangely, my dear hubby seems to be much more interested in the chooks since Alex arrived!.

Very strange............. mine is the same. It must be all that strutting about.

I love the way he (the cockerel....not my OH ) runs around with one wing dropped after he has caroused with one of his ladies.

[Mrs Kettle]

Having seen a cockerel in action bossing around his flock I'd love to get one in the future (not where we live now though). I'm curious though: those of you who have cockerels did you primarily get them so you could hatch your own chickens?

[Chortle Chook]

Looks like quite a few people got cockerels by mistake thinking they were hens till they began to crow and generally strut their stuff.

 

When I got mine I had been determined that a cockerel was the last thing I needed and was dead certain it would be hens only. Then when I went to collect my first hens I fell for the 'he can't be separated from his wives' line, hook line and sinker. But I am glad I did. I really like the little fellow. He has added so much to garden life. Also if I am honest in the back of my dreams there has always been a wish to have a glamorous cockerel in my garden, something I really wanted even more than hens, ever since I had a doctor when I was a tiny child who had a cockerel pottering around in his waiting room.

[meezers]

Having seen a cockerel in action bossing around his flock I'd love to get one in the future (not where we live now though). I'm curious though: those of you who have cockerels did you primarily get them so you could hatch your own chickens?

 

 

I have a silkie cockerel who hatched from eggs I bought to put under my broody silkie bantam. I bought Faverolles eggs, thinking if I ended up with boys they'd be for the pot, but they only had 5 fav eggs, so asked if I wanted a silkie egg to make 6. It wasn't until they'd been under Muppet a couple of days that I suddenly thought ' what if it hatches and it's a cockerel?, I mean, no one wants to eat silkie do they?'

I had 2 cockerels hatch - my Faverolles boy, Dilbert was lovely, very protective of the girls, but also very loud , very often - when he started crowing at 5.30am his days were numbered, so I carried through with my promise and he turned into sunday dinner

That leaves me with Dandelion, my silkie cockerel, who , touch wood, is very quiet. Crows maybe twice a week at the most and loves his hatchmate, the faverolle pullet. They cuddle up together like an old married couple, and when I pick her up to do the weekly once over, Dandelion rushes over all of a dither because I am manhandling his lady she hasn't come into lay yet, but I'm hoping I can keep Dandelion and hatch some little home grown chicks next spring.

[Jules.]

Looks like quite a few people got cockerels by mistake thinking they were hens till they began to crow and generally strut their stuff.

 

When I got mine I had been determined that a cockerel was the last thing I needed and was dead certain it would be hens only. Then when I went to collect my first hens I fell for the 'he can't be separated from his wives' line, hook line and sinker. But I am glad I did. I really like the little fellow. He has added so much to garden life. Also if I am honest in the back of my dreams there has always been a wish to have a glamorous cockerel in my garden, something I really wanted even more than hens, ever since I had a doctor when I was a tiny child who had a cockerel pottering around in his waiting room.

[Old Speckled Hen]

I looked around for ages for my Vorwerk boy.