Look Out Cock?

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

Getting some Goldtop bantam hens, to use as brooders. Have the notion they may be a bit of a laid back 'breed'. Thus, I'm thinking a cock bird might be an idea, as a look out, to get hysterical if a pred' appears.

Now, without researching which breeds are more reactive? I like OEG. I'd love a little one of Those fukkers, dashing around the place. Figure, with their stance, they'd look out too?

Trouble is, of course; A cock bird among them? I'd have chicks all over the place. And what earthly good would GT  x OEG be to anyone?!

Suggestions, please?

[forest of dean redneck 11,538]

I’d go for it , 

Any males could be grown on and processed into dog food , or even food for yourself pot roast chickens, stirfrys etc 

trouble is people got to used to big chickens from supermarkets and then either use left overs up , sling it to dogs or cats or bin it, this way you could have meal or 2 and not be fed up of chicken afterwards

I done lot of reading on utility bantams , sadly never got round to breeding my own when I had the allotment .

[TAXI DRIVER 549]

You could tether the OEG cock and give him a nice high perch and also move him around.They settle very quickly to being on a tether.

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

Cheers, lads. (Sorry. I got a bit distracted there, for a bit) Nearly had my hens, start of this week! Was rough though, so next week now

Dunno about tying the cock bird up. Sounds a bit Jim Corbett! I was hoping more for one to take a more patronly attitude of the hens. Keep a beady eye out for them as they do their more air headed things.

Sort of; 'Look out, hens! Fox! Everyone for themselves! Get out of here!' Rather than; 'Oh, shit! A fox! And I'm fukking tied up!!! Aaaagh!! AAAaaarrrrghh!!!!! .....'

Also, I'm guessing a full sized OEG would shag little bantams too? Wouldn't do anyone much good, would it? Stag on the shag.

I wonder if there's a breed out there where a Hen would be stroppy around pred's? One that wouldn't take it out on the little bantams. And wouldn't look bad? Jungle Fowl ....?

Iron is? I'm doing all this to get Guinea Fowls! Most predator hated fukkers out there.

 

[comanche 2,942]

On 14/07/2022 at 15:40, Ken's Deputy said:

Cheers, lads. (Sorry. I got a bit distracted there, for a bit) Nearly had my hens, start of this week! Was rough though, so next week now

Dunno about tying the cock bird up. Sounds a bit Jim Corbett! I was hoping more for one to take a more patronly attitude of the hens. Keep a beady eye out for them as they do their more air headed things.

Sort of; 'Look out, hens! Fox! Everyone for themselves! Get out of here!' Rather than; 'Oh, shit! A fox! And I'm fukking tied up!!! Aaaagh!! AAAaaarrrrghh!!!!! .....'

Also, I'm guessing a full sized OEG would shag little bantams too? Wouldn't do anyone much good, would it? Stag on the shag.

I wonder if there's a breed out there where a Hen would be stroppy around pred's? One that wouldn't take it out on the little bantams. And wouldn't look bad? Jungle Fowl ....?

Iron is? I'm doing all this to get Guinea Fowls! Most predator hated fukkers out there.

 

In my experience it'll be the hens that start clucking out a warning if a fox is about.  Not impossible or unheard of for a cockerel to have bash at a fox but    hardly a reliable method of defence. Fox'll be back when it's  ready.....

Am l right that Gold Tops are sex linked hybrids ?

So basically only exist in hen form( the baby boys probably being bopped off and sold as pet food). 

As such each GT hen is a final product .  Mating it with any cock  will just  produce  mongrel chicks. Perfectly fine chickens but possibly without the defined qualities of selectively produced commercial hybrids. 

On the other hand ; mongrel barnyard hens like street curs ,and for the same reasons, are more likely to carry the Ray Mears gene than cossetted pure bred stock and  hatchery hybrid poults.

Then you did mention that you wanted the Gold Tops as broodies.

Presumably for brooding  eggs from selected sources.

So really as long as you keep collecting  the eggs as they are laid none of the GT x Game Bantam eggs will get a chance to be hatched anyway  . Job done ; breakfast, dog food,  little stall at the gate , all sorted.

Just leave a few eggs in the nest to test the reliability and encourage  the sitting tenacity of any GTs that look like they are going broody.

 

[Ken's Deputy 4,459]

Month later ....! But, I'm actively working on their chicken house, now Got the two sides done.  Can't, for the life of me, remember why I stopped working on the back, today!

This is my 'new' reality. Can't think my way out of a paper bag any more. Oh, yeah! Think it's to do with the window I'm putting in the back. A 'complex' stage I always sort of told myself I'd muddle through with, when the time comes.

  Of course, the time came, today. It all proved too much and I just walked away from it. Let shit percolate. I'll get there.

Take the eggs away. FFS! Have you Any Idea how fukking frustrating it is to realise ye couldn't even workl That out?!? Jesus fukking wept! Any seven year old kid would automatically point that out. Me? Insurmountable problem. What to do with all the inevitable chicks?

Christ all fukking mighty! Is This what early onset dementia feels like?!

But, yeah; I want the broodies to hatch me some, bought in, guinea fowl eggs. Bucket list thing of mine. You'll have come up reading Ian Niall 'n all that? Old keepers and so on always had the things in the trees around the cottage? I'm getting there