Any Reason to Keep a Cockerel?

[MROO]

This is exactly true.

You also need to montior the "lieutenant" closely. Just because he isn't being torn up in a fight, doesn't mean that he isn't being neglected. Sometimes the alpha won't let the beta eat.

We recently had a transition of power here and it was really kind of sad. We had an alpha rooster, whose name is honey for years, and a very awesome new hatch one year old, clearly has taken the helm. He was, and still attempts to food starve Honey.

Adding an extra feeder can help with that. Mine is behind a large log across the run from the main feeder. It's not a big one, just enough to let the more timid birds, like low-order hens and acclimating youngsters, eat in relative peace.

 

[MROO]

This is a must.

Last week honey jumped into the goat pasture and has decided to live there, which is okay i suppose. Two older hens who don't lay much anymore have joined him. I think he officially retired

Trying to feed them with the goats present is more of a challenge than with the other rooster though. But I think I got it.

Unrelated, but this triggered something I saw yesterday that I can't stop chuckling over. It was a short video congratulating keepers for warning newbies about "Chicken Math," while lamenting the fact that they forgot to explain "Goat-iplicity!"