Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: ruth.hornby on March 15, 2017, 21:04
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We are contemplating getting some chicks so our children can help look after them and get tamer chickens but I'm worrying about what to do if a fair few are cockerels?
What do other people do with their cockerels? We have neighbours so don't wish to annoy them with too many early wake up calls but I can't bear the thought of having to end a chickens life!
We live in Oxfordshire area so am hoping for a lovely cockerel home. Anyone interested?
They will be bantams.
Advice welcome.
Also we have a ten year old bantam hen, how is it best to introduce her to the chicks? I'm guessing wait till they are alot bigger?
Thank you!
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Hello & welcome 😄
A lot of people cull the cockerels as they are difficult to rehome. If you're hatching I believe the ratio of cockerels to hens hatching can be quite high. An alternative is to buy day old autosex breeds so you only get hens (example cream legbar). I would probably introduce chicks to hens when they are roughly the same size. Hope that helps
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unless you are happy to cull then as has been suggested buy colour or feather sexed young - they dont have to be day olds, off heat will be fine.
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When hatching the rate of cockerels is reputed to be 50% and some say slightly higher you are right to be concerned. In reality rehoming cockerels is nigh on impossible. Quite apart from all the crowing, unless you have a LOT of space AND a lot of hens keeping them is not an option. You would end up with stressed hens and eventually one cockerel as they will fight to the death for supremacy. There are always exceptions but absolutely no guarantees!
I chose to have a dual purpose breed give the resulting cockerels a good life and cull to eat.
You have to do what you are comfortable with. :)
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When hatching the rate of cockerels is reputed to be 50% and some say slightly higher you are right to be concerned. In reality rehoming cockerels is nigh on impossible. Quite apart from all the crowing, unless you have a LOT of space AND a lot of hens keeping them is not an option. You would end up with stressed hens and eventually one cockerel as they will fight to the death for supremacy. There are always exceptions but absolutely no guarantees!
I chose to have a dual purpose breed give the resulting cockerels a good life and cull to eat.
You have to do what you are comfortable with. :)
Hi sassy which breed did you find best for this? Thanks
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I kept Light Sussex. They are a dual purpose breed and one of the best, if not the best, egg layers. We ate cockerels that we bred. I no longer keep poultry following an unprecedented flood where I lost chooks, ducks and quail. It came overnight when they were all shut up! I would definitely keep Light Sussex again. They should be readily available for sale if that is what you decide. :)