3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[legend21]

Hello All not been on for ages as all has gone so well with my girl. Anyway someone has asked if we would like a young cockerel as it is going for the chop, hubby would love a cockerel but im not sure if he will bully the girls, ( I have a few that are almost 5years old) plus 4 younger girls, can someone give me the pros and cons to keeping a cockerel.

 

thank you

 

Jackie

[Mum]

I tried to keep a cockerel; I only have one direct neighbour, but several indirect neighbours. Bottom line? It was too noisy and *I* felt guilty about the noise so took the cockerel back to point of origin (I am fortunate that way).

 

From witnessing my dfriends experience, yes, some cockerels can appear brutally demanding of their girls - but that is the human perception perhaps the hens are not as "sensitive"? Obviously, much depends on the character of the cockerel - and hens! - so, to put a fine point on it: very much depends!!!

 

If you have neighbours to consider, be aware that a cockerel will crow, morning/noon/night - no just mornings! They perform a fabulous job of keeping the girls safe, in order and give them the choicest morsels (at their own detriment!) but could also attack *you* if you appear (to a cockerel) too intimidating/threatening However, by that same token, they can be very affectionate.

 

Hope someone can give you a definitive answer: but, I doubt there is one

[coco]

I have a bantam cockerel and he is lovely, not sure if he will be staying though when the lighter mornings come as he is very shrill. He is about nine mnths old and has shown no signs of cockerelish behaviour, he is very friendly and always comes to have a chat.

[clucker1]

I have a friend who had 2 cockerels and they attacked their children, so ended up in the pot.

[Egluntyne]

Another thing to remember is that a mature cockerel can be a very dangerous creature, who will attack anyone who he sees as a threat to his harem. If you have children, it might be worth bearing this in mind.

[majuka]

We've never had a cockerel. My granddad kept many hens and a cockerel when my mum was a child. Some were very friendly but he kept some that wouldn't even let my mum in the garden!

[legend21]

thanks all the cockerel is young, children long grown up, i have a massive bog for them to free range in so plenty space, do cockerel all crow at 4am old neighbour had a cockerel that would crow about 10am was it just very considerate

[TAJ]

I have 2 silkie ones and they are both lovely and look after the girls together and never fight - neighboughs like the noise! I have had others in the past that have been very noisey that we got rid of. One thinks I am one of his girls, neither are aggressive and they are cuddly. They will make noise at different times of the day every day everyday.

 

Tracy

[craftyhunnypie]

I absolutely love all my boys! Although I do have ' the Mighty Spongebob' who is a feisty one. He is one of the most littlest squirts ever - a frizzle pekin, but flippin' heck he will attack anyone! Then there is Sid Vicious. He is a gold laced Wyandotte & can be a bit threatening with just me. I think I show my fear with him - he is big & he knows it!

 

However, the most lovely cockerel I have ever is 'Scooter the Hooter'. He is my silkie cockerel. I love him to bits, he is the perfect gentleman & sooooo soppy, never ever ever been naughty with anyone. I also have some lovely plain feathered pekin cockerels who are darlings too.

 

My recommendation is a silkie cockerel - just from my experience.

Apart from crowing . They are no more bother than a hen. I love my cockerels as they protect my girls & round them up at bedtime. That is mainly why I have them, oh & for hatching of course.

 

Emma.x

[lindafw]

I have a huge buff orp boy who is politeness itself and a little Poland boy...the pair socialise nicely and never fight or bother each other...the girls a somehow split into big, buff girl, hybrids and buff sussex who belong to the buff boy and little..aracanas and poland who get served by the Poland

[hilda-and-evadne]

Hello All not been on for ages as all has gone so well with my girl. Anyway someone has asked if we would like a young cockerel as it is going for the chop, hubby would love a cockerel but im not sure if he will bully the girls, ( I have a few that are almost 5years old) plus 4 younger girls, can someone give me the pros and cons to keeping a cockerel.

 

thank you

 

Jackie

 

My RIR cockerel was hatched from an egg last August, and I will have to get rid of him one way or the other by the end of February. It has been instructive, watching him interact with the older hens as well as with the two that hatched at the same time as he did, but when I hatch out the next batch I will dispose of the cockerel sooner.

 

I have to keep him separate from the older hens (aged just over three years) because he seems to think the Leghorn is a cockerel (similarly large comb) and has tried to attack her through the weldmesh side of his cordoned off bit of the run. I didn't at first know why there was blood over absolutely everything, as if it had been thrown around on a paintbrush, until I examined the Leghorn and found that the tips of her comb all had dried blood on them. I am sure that he would kill her.

 

He is enormous. The younger hens dislike his attentions because he is more than twice their size and weight. I know now really why hens in lay crouch when you bend down to them: it isn't to be "receptive", it is bracing their legs and backs as the cockerel takes a running jump at them, ie so as not to be injured by being slammed into the ground by the weight of the cockerel. The three youngest - the cockerel and the two hens - still sleep together in a separate eglu but, even though there isn't enough space in the eglu to enable the cockerel to jump on them there, the hens have made it very clear that they would rather sleep with the two older hens.

 

He would like to dominate me, too - if I turn my back on him, he will sometimes lunge at me, his neck feathers raised. Apart from that, he likes being picked up and stroked and talked to. I will be sorry to see him go but I can't keep him anyway, living as I do in a residential area. (Two of my neighbours have said that they like hearing him, that his crowing makes them feel as if they are "living in the country", but someone has complained anonymously to the Council. But I was going to let him go, anyway, as the mornings got lighter.)

[Chicken shack]

Go for it my boy is lovely and I have 3 grandchildren 2, 4 and 5 and neighbours close by. I told them to let me know if he was to noisy, so far so good. Each cockerel has a different personality just like hens try and rehome from someone who knows the cockerels nature.. Good luck and let us all know how you get on.

[Mr Rhode Island Red]

A mature cockerel can be a vicious creature, attacking anything seen as a threat to his authority. And with old hens he might not be a great house mate.

 

Also due to the lack of demand for cockerels, they can be extremely hard to sell if he becomes a problem. He could even be a problem to give away.

 

I personally wouldn't take on a cockerel but it is totally up to you

[not enough chickens]

i have three mature silkie cockerals, and they are no trouble at all, only crow frm half 8 onwards , and always let my girls eat first, never fight , and they love cuddles, id go as far as t say i probs prefer them to my girls, and have never attacked me or any vistors , lol depends on the temprement of the bird its self i think rather then the stereotype

[Redwing]

If the cockerel is young bear in mind that it will be like introducing a lone hen so there could be bullying problems, it's not till they are mature that they will walk in and take charge

[Old Speckled Hen]

I wouldn't be without mine.

Bearing in mind that some cockerels can be downright vicious and domineering I researched breeds in some depth.

I settled for a Vorwerk as they are gentle and get on with each other if you have more than one.

I have three grandchildren and they can't wait to get out to feed him whenever they come to visit. He is gentle with his 9 girls,three of which are his daughters The way he looks after them and clucks when he finds a tender morsel is wonderful

He starts crowing fairly early and I have had complaints so he comes in before we go to bed and sleeps in a dog kennel in the undercroft. He goes out at 7am and once he's out his crows only a few times during the day.

I look forward to when we move and he can sleep in the cube all night though

[bottledcherryangel]

We always had roosters when I was growing up, and some of them were really mean. I remember my grandpa wringing the neck of a particularly vicious roo which attacked my younger brother. I guess it all depends on your circumstances, but I would say that they are pretty calm in their first year, perhaps giving a false sense of security, and much more aggressive when they are fully adult.

[gotyu]

I have a Modern Game cockerel and am surrounded by neighbours, at weekends I keep him in till 9am and I always make sure my neighbours are happy with the noise. They keep telling me it's fine but I do worry that it'll end up annoying them, especially in the summer. I know this isn't a worry for you but anyone else considering it - be wary. It's a lot of hassle making sure they're shut up at the right times.

I think it annoys me more than anyone else but I don't want to get rid of him, I'll see how he goes this year and go from there.

 

He is very docile and not shown any dominant behaviour, they are bred from show stock though so I'd wonder if that made a difference? We had a Wyandotte cockerel for a while but he was bullying the hens and chasing the all over the place. We also had three speckled bantam boys which we bred, they weren't very friendly and literally ran around like headless chickens, they now live on a farm and are quite happy.

[Gloss-Hen]

i have a maran cock and he is friendly BUT very noisy so may have to consider another home

[Melbourne12]

Maybe we've been lucky, but the cock in our quartet of Ixworths is extremely well behaved. He does crow first thing in the morning, but is quiet during the day. He's never been aggressive with us, although he's a big chap. Indeed, I think he's a bit of a softie, really.

 

He certainly polices the behaviour of the hens, so we don't get any serious quarrelling within our little flock.

[Forestchook]

I think it depends on the cockerel and your neighbours. I took my original boy on the understanding that if he was too noisy, aggressive or annoyed the neighbours he would have to go (one way or another!) He is a booted batum and approaching 2 years old now and so far remains an absolute sweetie (although a bit of a brute with his grils but they down seem to mind). The only complaint I had was about him waking one neighbour up before 6am. So I started putting him in the shed each night and they were quite happy.

Thanks to my Aunt, I have now ended up with another 3 boys, 2 light sussex and a mongrel. They were hatched last year and have been sleeping in shed each night since they started to crow. So far they have been reasonably friendly and are actually tamer than my original trio. However the two light sussex are just begining to get a bit bolshy with me and have started to fight each other so I had to seperate them. Much as I would love to keep them it is not (and never has been) a realistic prospect. Having to put one boy in and out of the shed each night and morning is not too bad (for me anyway). Doing so with four is just too much hassel.

I am very lucky with my neighbours here; No was has complained even when all four boy start crowing in unision. I am however very much aware this may change as next door has been trying to sell his house.

I am also lucky that I have somewhere to put the boys at night. The shed more sturdy than your typical garden shed but it is certainly not sound proof so if the neighbours were any closer I doubt it would would muffle the noise enough!

 

Having a cockerel with your chooks is lovely but be sure you can keep him quiet or well somewhere insulated until a reasonable hour if necessary. Remember, even if you manage this if someone nearby complains the authorities will side with them not you. If you become attached to him and then he has to go, finding a home that dosen't involve a cooking pot is very difficult - trust me on this!

N

[chickenanne2]

My Pekin bantam cockerel is lovely. Handsome, and far too tiny to be intimidating, or to cause any discomfort on the occasions when he feels the need to defend his harem from us. He does make attempts at aggression, but it is like being attacked by a cotton wool ball. Different for small children, perhaps, but not a problem for adults. His crow is very high pitched but not that loud nor is it that frequent. We don't have any neighbours.

 

However. Why is it that you want a cockeral? Is it jsut that this one is looking for a new home? Am not convinced that it's worth the risk with a cockeral unless you have strong reasons for wanting one. This partcular one could be looking for a home due to being overly aggressive, overly loud, or whatever.

[TAJ]

It looks like three of us are saying silkie boys are no trouble - my two live together with the girls and are lovely cuddly fluffy things. I have had other young boys from hatching that had to go as either fighting between themselves or vey noisy.

 

Silkies recommended here, also being smaller they find it harder with some of my bigger girls (if you get my drift!) so keep order without the destruction to the girls feathers.

 

Tracy

[Chortle Chook]

Another thumbs up for a Silkie boy.

 

My Dill is a sweetheart. He is a real gent to his girls and a friendly, gentle chap to me. Any tit bits I drop he pushes forward for his girls so I end up giving him bits just for him and he takes so nicely. He has also made intros of new hens very easy, sitting on the perch between any new girl and his current flock till they are well integrated. The only time I've seen him get in the least agressive was when a neighbour brought round her 6yr old son who was intent on throwing stones at the hens . Then he rushed the child with wings out but did not peck him. Personally I was on Dill's side 100%.

 

He does crow at first light and I thought it was noisy till I heard the noise my hens can make all summer if they feel there is not enough room in the hen house for laying eggs. They are a lot noisier. He also crows if he feels there are strangers around. So far (touch wood) none of my neighbours have complained but in the summer I did put him in his own house out of the way as he was over-favouring one particular girly and I did not want her not to be able to escape his favours should she want to.

 

I always wanted a cockerel for their glamour and now I'd certainly get another for their character should anything happen to Dill. They can be such charmers and can make super pets. They also have a magical way of enhancing male OH interest in your flock ( ).

 

My advice, if you really want a cockerel, would be to check out the one you are getting carefully. Make sure you go in the pen with him and his girls, (wearing thick wellies for your protection) because the entry of a stranger would surely show him up if he is the unfriendly sort. Also make sure you like his plummage because if it comes to rescuing a cockerel, there are loads out there in need of homes so you might as well get one you really like.

 

Good luck and do let us know what you decide.

[Groovychook]

My Silkie boy, Norris is a sweetie too- protective of his girls but not in the least bit aggressive to us.

 

We live out in the countryside, so no noise issues for us- good job, because he enjoys a good crow at all times of the day!