understanding cockerels

[chrismahon]

I think they would fight Chickenfan. Our little monster is with another cockerel to keep each other company and they fight every morning, as if to re-establish the hierarchy. They were hatched together and live without hens, although they can see hens. If anything happens to Boris, their father, one will later move in with the hens and the other will be despatched. We will first immediately hatch from the rolling 7 day egg stock and those from the next 7 days, so we have two batches going in the incubator. Problem here is replacing Brown English Leghorn Bantam stock is impossible -it was difficult enough in the UK as they are from pullet breeding lines.

In my previous experience of cockerels together only the dominant one crows, the other(s) is (are) not allowed to. But with our two they both do.

 

[animartco]

I was a bit surprised by all these comments. Not about the cock protecting the hens. I too had a cock that fought a fox off his hen and chicks. he succeeded too but died of his injuries. It is also true that most cockerels will stand their ground or even chase a predator while their hens escape. Another common trait is that a cockerel will go to the food first and hover over it 'inviting' his hens to eat with encouraging clucking. Also if two hens start quarreling a properly brought up rooster will separate them, and if one persists in attacking the other he will chastise her.
BUT and this is what surprised me, no natural hens submit easily to being covered. In fact the cockerel usually has to chase them round the garden, the hen making as much noise as if a fox was after her. I think in the case of hens that 'present', either the cockerel is a wimp and probably not fertile, or there are too many hens to the cock. Or perhaps much of the natural behaviour has been bred out of modern laying hybrids.

 

[chrismahon]

Another cock trait that has surface recently amongst our flocks is the encouragement to lay in the nest box. Both the TNN youngster and mature Leghorn will make cooing noises and either pretend to be nesting in the coop or actually go into the nest box and call the hen. Our hens are coming back into lay and seem to need reassurance that the best and safest place to lay is the nest box (because they have forgotten). It works. In minutes the hen is happy with the box and sits to lay after running around pointlessly for a while exploring every corner available everywhere else.

To some extent I agree with Animartco about submitting hens. They do put up a fight -well most do anyway particularly if they are not laying anyway (the cockerel should know better and so it usually happens with our youngsters). But our TNN's are completely different. They submit readily, even to me!