Chickens and cockerels

If you have 2 Cockerel how many chickens should I be looking at ?
mum always said one Cockerell is ok but to have 2 you need extra chickens so they don't fight

 

They don't fight when they're part of a six piece combo....but obviously that's not the answer you're looking for!
I always thought it should be just the one, unless you're keeping a score of layers ratio 10-1

 

A cockerel lived happily for years among his hens on a farm. Life was perfect. Until one day the farmer brought home a new young cockerel.

The old cockerel was worried. He'd lived a long life. He knew how the system worked. He knew the arrival of the young cockerel signalled his demise. What was he to do? He knew he couldn't fight the much younger, fitter, stronger dude. He knew he couldn't beat him at any kind of display of physical prowess. One time, certainly, but not now with his aching joints and fading muscles. But he did have one advantage. He'd lived long enough and had to find new ways to do things that he once found easy that now he had a new level of cunning.

So, he approached the young cockerel and challenged him to a race. He knew he couldn't win. He challenged the youngster to a race down the side of the farm house, round the back, and back past the living room window. Because the youngster was so full of himself, the old guy had no trouble negotiating a head start. The youngster wouldn't set off until the old guy disappeared round the first corner. The race started. Old guy legs it, young dude waits for a bit, then goes off full sprint. The old guy ran past the living room window, just as the young dude comes hurtling round the last corner, rapidly gaining on him, before taking the lead just before the finish line.

Out of breath, the old guy challenges the youngster to a rematch the next morning. If course the young dude agreed. Next morning, same race, same result. This repeated for a week.

Then one day, the young dude was not there. The farmer and his wife had chicken stew that day. As they enjoyed their meal, the farmer's wife asked what happened to the new cockerel. The farmer explained he was no good so they were having him for dinner. The wife, slightly shocked, asked how come. The farmer explained the young cockerel had no interest at all in the hens. He had more interest in boys. Every morning before feeding up he'd seen the young dude chasing the old guy past the window.

 

Luv it ..........sounds a good solution all way round,but not much meat on these cock erels


Think they need separating.........and two chicks each , ......and then

 

No but they make good soup.

 

Probably sell them as pets , granddaughter carries them round like puppies !!

She wants some chicks so think we need to keep one cockerel at least

 

Why not just buy the chicks ? even then chicks are very hard to sex when tiny...you could end up with more Cocks than you bargained for....If you have plenty of land and you really want a cock bird I'd just have one...I always had POL hens..I still miss them..never had so many blooming weeds since they've been gone.

 

Cockerels dont bother me, but when there was a couple on the allotment site nearly everyone was moaning, so I think you need to have no neighbours.

 

I understood each cockerel needs at least 2 chickens to keep them happy and to stop the cockerels from fighting. Usually there will always be a dominant cockerel, it will have a favourite hen which it will serve constantly until she collapses if it doesn't have other ladies to distract it.

 

I think the operative words are ‘at least two’. When I had a smallholding with up to 60 chickens we only ever had one cockerel … a Maran called Everest. When we wanted fertile Maran eggs we would confine him with about three Maran ‘wives’ for a few days to make sure the job was done. I would never have a cockerel with fewer than three hens.
I would also never have more than one adult cockerel in a flock. In my experience it’s asking for trouble.
Hope that helps.

 

I would agree. I am not sure that chicks as a child's pet is not a particularly good idea. The chicks grow to adulthood very quickly and become humanised as well, they then try to get in the house. It is as well to remember when rearing chickens from eggs, only about 3 in every 10/12 eggs will be chickens as opposed to cockerels. You can only keep males together for 6 months before they begin fighting, often to death. Cockerels are notoriously difficult to rehome and can sometimes be really aggressive.
I took on 2 unwanted cockerels from a friend on the understanding they would go in the pot at 6 months. I just made it, the dominant one would not allow the subservient one to crow in the morning and began attacking him. He also tried to stop him from feeding.
I love Marans, my 2 were Cuckoo Marans. I named them Dinner1 and Dinner2. Both were delicious on the table. Dinner1 weighed in at 6lbs plus, plucked and drawn, Dinner2 was 4lbs plucked and drawn.