The King ain't dead...

I love Elvis and maybe it is a little blasphemous naming my Cockerel after him but he is just such a cool dude it had to be done! He hasn't quite got the voice though, he is only 7 months and he sounds like a teenager whose voice is breaking; his cock-a-doodle-doo is a little croaky!!

Our hen Greta kept popping next door (to the people who bought her for us!) as she took a shine to their bantam cockerel (half her size). We re homed our other two hens and they have always been together and Greta always seemed on the outside, so we thought a bigger flock might be the answer and purchased these two beautiful Dutch bantams. On collection we were asked if we fancied re homing a cockerel and so we gained Elvis. :)

Here are Toodle and Pip. These are the smallest chickens you can get and are about the size of small pigeons. They have been hand reared and love a cuddle. They make the cutest little noises.

So one big happy family...

hmm we are getting there.

I have spent a lot of time reading up on hens but not cockerels and began my research as Elvis was arriving. I was alarmed to find out that cockerels can be very aggressive with hens, putting them off laying and in worse cases even killing them - Uh oh!

So Elvis arrived and was giving the girls merry hell. The cockerels jump on the hens, pin their wings and bite their heads, and yes it is more of a bite than a peck.

Turns out he is a very good boy. He gives them the best food, keeps them close, alerts them to and guards them from danger.

Even our two dogs are wary of him.

I still don't like it when he lays into my hens, but he has to show he's boss and he does it to keep them safe. Even Greta our naughty hen is behaving... for now!!

Toodle Pip xoxo