Peckford the gentleman

[Sandrine]

Just a short video of Peckford being a proper gentleman...

I saw the same behaviour from Charley my CPQ when i give mealworms, he will offer them to Martha before he eats them. But I'd not realised roosters would behave in the same manner. He actually does one better than Charley as he doesn't eat any of the sweetcorn we gave him. He gave it all to the girls.

https://youtu.be/bn6oCvLSmlU

 

[MrsBiscuit]

Lovely! You did brilliantly, giving the food to him so he could give it to the girls. Its one of the best things about having a cockeral with the flock, you see how a flock is meant to behave. He does look handsome. My big old orpington boys were very considerate in all aspects of life, except jumping on the females!

 

[Hen-Gen]

I’ve literally just come in from dispatching one of my cockerels. Having plenty of eggs in the incubators it was time to merge the breeding groups and so one cockerel had to go. So for no other reason than that I’m not keen on the breed it was a Lavender Araucana.
Sorry but such are the realities of chicken breeding. They’d been squaring up to each other through the wire fencing and it was obvious that if they’d ever met a bloodbath would ensue.
So Dominiques, Araucana x Dominiques and Exchequer Leghorns due to hatch in ten days. The Leghorns are from posted eggs so not unrealistically hopeful.
And yes, cockerels are usually very gentlemanly to their hens if not always to their owners. It’s a while now since I’ve had an aggressive one so touch wood!

 

[Hen-Gen]

PS
And hopefully a few Dominique x Blue Jersey Giant but this hen seems to frustrate me at every opportunity. You’d think she’d want to breed but she fixes me with a steely gaze and a sort of ‘Come’on, if you think you’re hard enough’ expression. Perhaps she knows that once I have a daughter or two she has a date with some chicken stock, some lentils and some onion.

 

[Marigold]

PS
And hopefully a few Dominique x Blue Jersey Giant but this hen seems to frustrate me at every opportunity. You’d think she’d want to breed but she fixes me with a steely gaze and a sort of ‘Come’on, if you think you’re hard enough’ expression. Perhaps she knows that once I have a daughter or two she has a date with some chicken stock, some lentils and some onion.

And if she doesn't oblige, no doubt the same playdate will be arranged....

 

[Tweetypie]

Oh what a truly handsome and respectful gentleman. Great video, loved watching it. I'd like a cockerel like that, if only for a garden ornament, but alas I don't want to breed chickens. ?

 

[rick]

You don't have to breed from a cockerel you take in or hatch. Though it means that the eggs are very likely to be fertile (if he is big enough to manage that with the hens), it is very easy to avoid incubation. Fertile eggs that haven't been incubated are indistinguishable from regular for cooking but just the knowledge that thy are may put some folks off eating them. I think it's more about a suitable time to introduce one and it being a suitable environment regarding neighbours and crowing.
Oh - and Peckford is so handsome!

 

[Tweetypie]

Hi Rick, yes it would probably put me off eating fertilised eggs. ?

 

[Sandrine]

It doesn't put us off eating them... Even though we have seen Peckford in action plenty of times ? and so there is a big chance that at least some of the eggs were fertile. We have got 7 eggs in the incubator at the moment (due to hatch on Sunday). I think only 3 will hatch but as I am not 100%, i thought I'd leave the others in there just in case. Booboo our smallest hen Pekin frizzle (Peckford's favourite by the way) is broody and sat on 6 eggs. Only thing is we didn't quite catch when she started so not entirely sure when d-day is. We do have a feeling that it'll be about the same time though.