The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: lord flynn on September 19, 2014, 07:35:11 pm
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and could keep them-how do you stand it?! My older girls usually have my Scots Grey cock bird out with them-however, he's on solitary until he gets over his moult enough to go back out. They are driving me nuts with no boss to look out for them-late to bed, squabbling (they are free range and 7 of them in a house big enough for 9/10), a minorca mounting everything else-be glad when Gollum goes back out with them ;D I know you get the odd one who needs sorting out but I really like having them around (just as well, as I have 5).
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We have 6 .... I pretend not to know how many but daughter counted them today so can't deny it!
I have a soft spot for cheeky little pekin cockerels. :chook: ;D ::)
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I have 5 girls and no cockerel. my girls free range over a couple of acres and are no problem at all. They go to bed when they should too :thumbsup:
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My girls are fine, they respect the top hen and just get on with life. The trouble occurs at times of change in the flock such as a top hen becomes unwell, new arrivals or when the cockerel young are dispatched from the hatched group. Then a new prospective leader must prove herself against another wannabe leader.
Perhaps yours are just very unsettled trying to establish a top hen now they don't have the cockerel. He will probably be back with them before they have sorted the dispute ;D
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Out of interest, why are you keeping him isolated?
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Ours were disorganised before we had a cockerel. We've been blessed that the 6 cockerels we've had in the past 2 years have all been proper gents, no nasty ankle jumpers. We've (touch wood) had no fox attacks either since these boys have been here. All it takes is a plane to fly over and the 3 boys we have now screech and everyone scuttles to safety. Gianfranco Zola is head cockerel and he breaks up food for the girls, covers the moulting ones with his wing at night to keep them warm and puts everyone to bed :love:
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Out of interest, why are you keeping him isolated?
Last year, when he moulted, one of them pecked /groomed his pin feathers and made him bleed as well as wrecking some of the new flight feathers. This year he was just looking a bit flat early on so I decided to separate them before that happened again, him and his sister have quite dramatic moults. He is surrounded by pens of growers and seems happy enough-hoping he can go back out soon as he is looking better and nearly through his moult.
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well from none when we moved here we are going into the winter with 3 that we are keeping and one question mark left from this years hatch...
the boys are all polite gentlemen, it helps they can't see each other in their pens i guess...
but yes they seem to take good care of their ladies...
the funniest part is when i let them out in the morning the cockerels are always the last ones out of their respective houses...
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Totally fine both with and without cocks. They are without at the moment and no problem at all. Range all over the place and go to bed fine.
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I have gone back up to 3 as hatched two this year after fox wiped the big boys out. The poor legbar baby is an outcast and I feel really sorry for him. He has no girlfriends and no-one wants him in their house at night. My son wants ride of the older one as he protects the hens which means he can't handle them :roflanim: Serves him right for going out in Shorts.
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We have two hens prone to pecking cock feathers and combs Lord Flynn. Both have been fitted with Bumpa beak bits. Length is important though. The standard is 25mm (can be bought individually from Omlet) but we have one hen whose beak is as long as that so the bits are ineffective. I've had to buy 100 x 30mm bits just for her from Gamekeepa, who supply them for pheasant rearing.
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I think the girl in question chrismahon, is a little Marsh Daisy with a twisted beak so not sure if the bit will do?. she was very much top hen when Gollum was about but then got mauled when I took him out. She's a very good broody (and a very poor example of a MD lol) and I am quite fond of the feisty wee thing. I might see how she does with different cock as have decided to pen them all in different groups over the winter.
this was a light hearted post btw, by no means a criticism on not having a male-I was motivated to post after having to herd them in while they squawked their heads off working out who was roosting where-when usually, they are all in at start of dusk. I do love the boys but I have 5 crowing in the back garden now-really need to get those pens up out front lol.