Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Treekeeper]

Does having a cockerel help chooks lay any better? At the mo 4 out of 5 are on strike!!!!! The reason I ask is there is a 9 month old one at animal care and he is gorgeous he got sacked from his last home for being too noisy! Just how noisy is a cockerel anyway????

[Snowy]

I'm afraid they don't lay any better with a cockerel than without. They are probably going into their winter break now so don't expect anything until spring. If you've got space for a cockerel, you've probably got space for a couple of POL pullets who would give you eggs through winter this year.

And cockerels are very noisy - I don't have one but can hear several in the village that are nowhere near me!

[Redwing]

I wouldnt be without my cockerels but they arent for everyone! the noise is significant, they dont encourage laying in the girls and in fact a nuisance cockerel will put them off altogether

 

I agree with Snowy, go down the POL route!

[Treekeeper]

I've got space! Based on the way they all pile on top of each other in the nest box I have space for about 250 more chooks in the cube!!!!!

[Snowy]

Step away from the cockerel!

[Chicken shack]

Oh Treekeeper get the cockerel they may not lay eggs but are great fun to watch. I went to collect three ex battery girls and returned with a cockerel as well. OH was not impressed. He crows about 7am then on and off for about half and thats it. I shut the cube door to muffle the sound and have spoken to all my neighbours telling them to let me know if he becomes a nuisance. They have all said that they like to hear him. So fingers crossed he will be able to stay. You can see Harvey on my flickr link.

[Chortle Chook]

Treekeeper I'm in the 'get the cockerel' camp too. I agree that they don't encourage egg laying, but they are super to look at and can be such fun as well as making any intros easier. I wouldn't be without mine.

As for noise, not all cockerels sound the same. Banty ones *tend* to be more shrill than big ones, not, as you might expect, quieter. The real thing is, what are your neighbours like? Quite a lot of people actually like the sound of a cockerel. On the other hand some people hate it (though they probably also hate any noise that is not made by them and would really like to live in a library ). Also some cockerels can sound more like a strangled cat so it might be an idea to go round to where the cockerel is living and keep his current owner talking till you hear him crow (the cockerel that is) before you take him on. (By the way, they don't just crow in the morning either.)

[Chicken shack]

Treekeeper I'm in the 'get the cockerel' camp too. I agree that they don't encourage egg laying, but they are super to look at and can be such fun as well as making any intros easier. I wouldn't be without mine.

As for noise, not all cockerels sound the same. Banty ones *tend* to be more shrill than big ones, not, as you might expect, quieter. The real thing is, what are your neighbours like? Quite a lot of people actually like the sound of a cockerel. On the other hand some people hate it (though they probably also hate any noise that is not made by them and would really like to live in a library ). Also some cockerels can sound more like a strangled cat so it might be an idea to go round to where the cockerel is living and keep his current owner talking till you hear him crow (the cockerel that is) before you take him on. (By the way, they don't just crow in the morning either.)

Hi Cheaky Chook. Harvey only crows in the morning and he is a bantam I was told. I know other cockerels who crow through out the day but so far so good. If he loses sight of the girls he goes into panic mode and may crow then and that's about it. The resue place said that if there was any problem they would take him back or alternatively he can have an inplant that will make him a bit girlie. I like him just the way he is.

[craftyhunnypie]

A cockerel will not make your girls lay! A cockerel will round your girls up & keep them in check. Mine all do.

Emma.x

[meezers]

How noisy varies with each cockerel. My Faverolles cockerel had a very short, very noisy life- he crowed early, often and loudly.He became dinner after a few weeks. My silkie cockerel on the other hand has been crowing for 18 months, isn't too loud and rarely crows more than 6 times in a row. Trouble is there's no way of knowing what you'll get until it's too late, what would you do with the cockerel if you had complaints about the noise ?

[PeckyBeak]

Gilbert was a beautiful boy (blue laced Barnevelder), with a lovely temperament.

He crowed most of the day and started at first light. The neighbours loved to hear him, so no probs. there.

But, he was rampant if you know what I mean, and although he had 30 girls to choose from (and not many escaped), he had his favourites. 6 months on, they still have bare backs, feathers only just starting to come through. He would pull a chunk out every time he chased them. Personally, it has put me off having a cockerel as I can't see the point of having what were beautiful laced or pencilled patterned girls with no feathers on their back, or have them covered up with poultry saddles.

Don't know if all cockerels do this, and would be interested to know from others. I unfortunately have hatched some pure breed boys in my last two batches and they will need to go, based on my previous experience.

[Treekeeper]

Too late now anyway someone else has reserved him!!!!

[PeckyBeak]

Perhaps a lucky escape!

[Chortle Chook]

Treekeeper I'm sorry you did not get your fellow

PeckyBeak My cockerel was making one of my little frizzle girls quite oven ready over the summer, but I started separating him from his girls at night, putting him in a different little house. That way he could not get his wicked way with his girls while they were all shut up together and could not escape his attentions. They FR all day so once let out they could easily get out of his way. Interestingly this also had the effect of making his first crow of the morning a good half hour or more later.

 

He is back in with all his girls now as I thought he would get too cold in a house all on his own over the winter, but come spring next year he'll be back to nights on his todd.

[Chicken shack]

Cheaky chook I was thinking about seperating them in the summer. Harvey hasn't made them bald yet but I thought I would put him in the shed in a dark area to keep him quiet untill I got up.