Author Topic: Hello and Bon Soir (Read 6102 times)

Dr Dolittle · « **on:** May 13, 2008, 08:24:04 pm »

Hi everyone,

Another new recruit to the site. Looking forward to hearing all your stories and to gaining tips/advice and picking people's brains!

I moved from Pembrokeshire, S.W. Wales to The Limousin with hubby, horses, dogs and cat and now we also have 3 Vietnamese Pot Bellied pigs, 3 Rhode Island Red Hens, a Naked Neck hen and a Naked Neck cockerel.
Many thanks to Farmer Giles for the Naked Necks and the address of this website/forum.

We have 12 acres and a renovation project (which is on a back burner while we sort out the land and fencing. Good job we have become used to living in a caravan!).
We're new to this 'hobby farm' way of life but loving every minute.

Already questions forming re. hens... One R.I.R. hen (at least we were assured she is a hen) acts more like a cockerel. She is very dominant in the group and always 'squaring up' to Monty, our Naked Neck cockerel, spoiling for a fight. Her comb and wattles are a lot bigger than the other R.I.R. hens but a lot smaller than Monty's.
Monty is 15 wks old and Andie (R.I.R.) is 17 wks old. Neither are shouting out the cock-a-doodle-doos yet.
How do you tell a hen from a cockerel for certain?

Karen
www.freewebs.com/valhallafarm

Fluffywelshsheep · « **Reply #1 on:** May 13, 2008, 08:29:53 pm »

hiya from fws central sunny scotland

Linz

carole · « **Reply #2 on:** May 13, 2008, 09:01:25 pm »

Hi and welcome from another in France, started off here with rhode islands and yes sorting them out was a problem- I Just waited until the crowing started!!!!!

Looking forward to hearing your progress and tales, cos I am always asking questions- LOL

Carole

Rosemary · « **Reply #3 on:** May 13, 2008, 09:38:11 pm »

Hi and welcome.

Sometimes you can tell by the size, cockerels are generally bigger with thicker legs and bigger feet, but that's most successful if they are all one breed, of course. I'd just wait for the crowing.

Dr Dolittle · « **Reply #4 on:** May 13, 2008, 10:22:39 pm »

Thanks / Merci

Great to 'meet' you all and thanks for your comments.

One last question from a complete novice, cheeky and demanding newby:

At what age (roughly) do cockerels start crowing?

Looking forward to keeping in touch with everyone via the forum,

Karen

Farmer Giles · « **Reply #5 on:** May 14, 2008, 07:20:48 am »

Aha, Congrats on joining Accidental Smallholder. Welcome mes amis

I wondered if someday you would appear, pleased you have and looking forward to your tales, questions and experiences.

All the best
FG
p.s. glad the Naked Necks

are en forme.

Rosemary · « **Reply #6 on:** May 14, 2008, 07:32:25 am »

I can't rememebr when all the cockerels started crowing, but we killed our Hubbards at 12 weeks and one was crowing then (not literally at the point of dispatch). It was a really weird noise - like a party hooter, but crowing nevertheless.

stephen · « **Reply #7 on:** May 14, 2008, 08:40:34 am »

hey welcome to the forums!

Townie · « **Reply #8 on:** May 14, 2008, 01:04:05 pm »

Hi there and welcome

With regards to sexing your chookies... I hope this might just help you...

I'm going back to my days of when I used to tie my own flies for trout fishing... I used to buy cock and hen capes from the fishing tackle shop and the way to tell is...

Cock feathers around the neck (cape) are long and thin and come to a point at the end.

Hen feathers around the neck (cape) are shorter and more rounded out towards the end.

Hope this helps

pigsatlesrues · « **Reply #9 on:** May 14, 2008, 08:09:40 pm »

Welcome from us here in Normandy - I wish I could say sunny Normandy but alas no, thunder, lightening and hale stones so far and we are muddy again - horrible.

We love the naked neck chooks - here they are called canoos here - spelt wrong but it is pronounced like that.

The French in our area tend to buy the black canoos for laying - and the white normal looking chooks for eating. Easy to tell them apart I suppose!

Looking forward to hearing all of your tales.

Kate

pigsatlesrues · « **Reply #10 on:** May 15, 2008, 09:19:02 pm »

Karen - I have just been looking at your website and just wanted to say well done - it is really nice. My particular interest is obviously your pigs.

I am ever hopeful that we can tempt the locals here to try pot belly meat which is just wonderful to eat. People are so put off because they consider them to be pets and don't like the idea of eating them.

We don't have an intact boar, so have only had the pure experience with one litter, when Miss Piggy arrived with some of her original piglets which were pure. She arrived pregnant to a Saddleback boar and that combination lessoned the flavour somewhat and wasn't nearly so nice as the pure meat. We have since bred her with a Mangalitza boar, but since they have been quite popular and there is only one little castrated male left, and NO, I have given him a name - Billy - fatal! I am not sure I can bare to eat him. She will however be going back in with Onlso (Mangalitza) soon so we shall try that combination next year. Carole, on this site has eaten one of her Mangalitzas and says it is a real eating experience, so I hope the combination can achieve something close to that wonderful potbelly taste.

What a shame you are not nearer, we could send Miss Piggy on her hols and visit Tan Tan - he does look a handsome chapy!

Kate