As our chicks grow older we wait with bated breath to see how many are cockerels. We usually hatch out four or five clutches of up to 16 eggs between spring and autumn, but this year we had a late start to the breeding season when we decided to keep our cockerel Rambo and bring in some new hens to mate with him. Mine and my wife Emma’s plans were then disrupted further when I broke my leg (Country Smallholding, October 2019), severely restricting what we could manage to do on the smallholding. As a result, this year’s hatchings have been limited to some Indian Runner ducks and one clutch of five chicks. Worst of all, we’ve been forced to buy chicken for dinner from the supermarket. Free range and organic, but it still doesn’t taste as good as our own.
Our cockerel is a Cream Legbar White Leghorn cross and we bred him with a selection of hens, some layers and some larger table bird breeds, such as the Light Sussex, a particular favourite of mine. One problem with these cross breeds is that we can’t sex the chicks when they hatch. With some crosses it becomes obvious which are boys after six weeks, but with many we can’t be certain until they start to crow. This can be a bit noisy and is guaranteed to upset the neighbours. The dulcet tones of one cockerel is an acceptable, or at least excusable, part of rural life, but when accompanied by a full chorus of adolescent crowing from a bevy of boisterous boys, the noise beggars belief, as we discovered in our first breeding season.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Country Smallholding.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy
Tip the light fantastic
The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers
The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs
Buying on a tight budget
As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities
Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century
