MJ's little flock

[BY Bob]

That's Bella/Billy. This is Giselle who crowed this morning.

View attachment 3375835

Oh no! 2!!!! Poor Snowy.

 

[BY Bob]

That's Bella/Billy. This is Giselle who crowed this morning.

View attachment 3375835

He does seem to have saddle feathers.

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks

 

[LozzyR]

Oh no! 2!!!! Poor Snowy.

Neither of them have tried to take Snowy on, or mate with her. They’re still scared of her! Giselle was crowing again this morning (after 7am) and it sounds like one of those rubber chickens, but I’m guessing it will eventually turn into a cocka-doodle doo.

 

[Shadrach]

He has chickens of his own, so maybe it was sheer incompetence?

It is an easy fix though especially if you've got a gutter.

 

[Shadrach]

I reconciled myself to euthanasia of cockerels last year when thinking about hatches. For some reason, no crow collars seem unkind to me (maybe I'm wrong in holding that view, please convince me otherwise if you can). Also, I'm not confident in my abilities to maintain a rooster, especially if he hasn't got an older, wiser rooster to learn from.

I talked it over with Mark, who reminded me of three things.

First, any cockerel who hatched and grew up at my house would have a far more joyful life than almost every other cockerel (he's thinking of the egg and meat industries). Second, no chicken knows the end is coming. They live joyfully and get the best from every moment, without fretting or worrying about looming death. Third, he can put a cockerel to sleep humanely without scaring the cockerel.

I immediately saw the logic in these points and got over my fear of euthanasia for healthy cockerels.

But if I can be convinced that no crow collars are harmless, I'd think again.

I'm against no crow collars on principle. Roosters are meant to crow. Preventing them carrying out such natural behaviour is I think cruel. Nothing I've read about no crow collars has convinced me otherwise.

 

[Shadrach]

@LozzyR I'm sorry to hear about Giselle. I hope you can find a solution that you will not feel too unhappy about.

I love the roosters crowing, but I can understand people not wanting to be woken up. Lack of sleep from city noises used to really get on my nerves.
It's an interesting aspect of our setting with the coop in a cellar that it really hushes down the crowing : now that we have switched to low cost double glazing windows, the crows don't even wake us up.
I wonder if there is any possibility in the future of phonic isolation for coops, without sacrificing ventilation.

I'm also having to come to terms with culling cockerels if we have another hatch this summer. The only other option would be to create a bachelor pad, and I have very mixed feeling about this. But I also feel bad to think the cockerels must die just because they are males.

Yes one probably has to kill some cockerels if one lets hens sit and hatch. They don't know when they will die and meanwhile they live, in some circumstances, a wonderfull but short life. Most in Catalonia that got eaten lived for six months to a year. Predation can help out and that is what should happen in any species.

 

[Grammy60]

Good evening MJ and everyone

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks

 

[rjohns39]

Good evening folks