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Been thinking about this for a while as I have friends who had 2 which had to be separated and they were desperate to get rid of one of them.... so Freddy has come to live with us! He's a bit of an old codger (4 1/2) but he has a proven track record and he already gave my old bat Lady a good seeing too right in front of me, the dirty old bugger but I'm rather hoping for some fertilised eggs from Snowy who is the one who goes broody regularly. Plus it's just fun (and jolly noisy!!!) having a male, he doesn't half strut his funky stuff and is a right laugh to watch .

I was worried that my girls might beat him up but no, he asserted his authority straight away, that sorted out the pecking order and they seem to be quite happy and not taking too much notice of him, and he hopped up onto the perch last night, no squabbling or pecking and it is sooooooo much easier than introducing new hens to older hens!


Oh oh oh and my friends also gave us a mini coop/broody coop that they didn't need and was going to be thrown out, so I have somewhere for my broody to go when/if she ever gets to sit on eggs, separate from the rest in the other run.

Sounds good fun MMM, I would love one but our hens are noisy enough for the neighbours.

Does he have a name?

Doh! Sorry, re-read your post and it clearly says he is called Freddy. Must read harder next time!

Oh dear, I can see some of your other "work" going down the tubes ... like your perennial watering.
Having a cockerel .. fertile eggs .. broody hen .. day old chicks .. young pullets is a very time wasting occupation.
You will find yourself visiting the hen house a lot more often and even in the night, just to watch or see how everything is going.
It is fun though and very satisfying.

As an aside, I'm impressed that cockerels can "sex" humans. Every cockerel that I had would always try to beat me up at every opportunity when I was in the run with his ladies, but any female person could walk about in the run unmolested.
It's also amazing just how much they can hurt too, spurs through your wellies are PAINFUL.

Don't worry Tony I have found the time to watch baby moorhens growing up for 3 weeks!

Now just to see if my hen who goes broody will (1) get bonked and (2) go broody.

But in between what am I supposed to do with her eggs? Leave them out of the fridge where I usually put them and then shove some back under her when she goes broody? I don't know how it works cos obviously I collect the eggs every day and bring them in (only one hen laying at the moment).

Millymollymandy wrote: Now just to see if my hen who goes broody will (1) get bonked and (2) go broody.

But in between what am I supposed to do with her eggs? Leave them out of the fridge where I usually put them and then shove some back under her when she goes broody? I don't know how it works cos obviously I collect the eggs every day and bring them in (only one hen laying at the moment).

Congratulations, Mandy. Hope he doesn't keep you awake too much.

A broody hen will brood anybody's eggs. If she goes broody, just shove any old eggs, hen or duck under her. She won't mind, the more the merrier.

If she shows signs of going broody, shove her off the nest for a day or so until you have a batch of eggs. Alternatively, can you get some fertilised eggs from a friend or neighbour? That way you'll have unrelated chicks for future breeding.

I've never had a hen go broody by the way, this is just the advice from next door who breed several broods a year.

Zoe

to store eggs you believe to be fertile, put the pointy end down in an egg box in a cool room. not a bad idea to 'turn them a couple of times a day.

we usually settle a broody on a couple of fake eggs until we are sure she is sitting, then slip the eggs under her at dusk, taking the fake eggs away. though these days we tend to hatch chicks in the incubator and slip the day old chicks under a broody.

My duck eggs aren't fertile Zoe as they are all girls although they do bonk each other. I certainly don't want more ducks!

Thanks Red that was exactly what I wanted to know, because obviously I won't know when she is going to go broody and the eggs I collect come in every day....shall put hers aside and do as you say - here's hoping!

Here he is, he's had wing and tail feather clipped by previous owners in an attempt to stop him and the other cockerel getting at each other. By the way I DO know the pitfalls of having chicks, as he was fighting his son.