 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tiger |
Tiger was one of three cockerels that we hatched in our first ever attempt at incubating eggs in May 2006. The other two cockerels didn't’t tolerate each other at all, and had to be euthanized following a vicious fight with each other.
 Tiger inherited his father, Rocky’s, very laid back personality. He is very charismatic and carries the role of "lead chicken" with aplomb and great dignity. He seems very caring towards the hens and does not dominate or bully them, but they do know who is Boss!
When we feed the chickens bread, the hens and even the chicks, always scamper in quickly and steal the piece that Tiger is about to have. He just shrugs his shoulders and looks very philosophical about it. With a look about him as though he is thinking, "this is beneath me to bicker over bread, if they want it that bad they can have it"
He may not have it all his own way for much longer though, as one of our young chicks is looking very much like Tiger did as a chick, and displaying cockerel like behaviour. So it will be interesting to see how he copes with a little mini-me version of himself, as is looking increasingly likely.
|
|
 |
|
|
| |
 Born: May 2007 (hatched by ourselves)
Gender: Male (Cockerel or Rooster)
Breed: Mixed, mainly Partridge Cochin
Appearance: Tiger is a grand looking cockerel. He has a large red comb (the red bit on top of his head, which apparently is what impresses the hens) and beautiful multi-coloured feathers, which on his legs look like a pair of puffy trousers. He has massive claws and beautiful tail feathers, which have been posted missing once or twice, after close encounters with a dog. He does look much less grand without them.
Personality: He is very friendly and wanders all over the garden and keeps a watchful eye over his hens. If they fight and argue he steps in to break them up. He is very generous and lets the girls get more than their fair share of the bread, even though he is much bigger than them. He frequently crows (the cock-a-doodle-do sound) for which cockerels are best known and to us this sound sums up country living better than any other.
Favourite Food: He loves bread especially the plain white variety without any grains or crusts. Not too choosy then, or anything!
 Habits: Although the hen house is a very good size for all of our chickens, with long perches to roost at night. Tiger has recently taken to sleeping with our four Bovan Neras, on top of one of the nesting boxes, in an area about two foot square, maximum. He used to roost on a perch, like a proper cockerel, but they must be keeping him cozy. We don’t know how any of them get to sleep, or if they do! Or how they don’t push each other off in the middle of the night.
|
|
|
| |
Naughtiest Moments: Tiger jumped over our fence into some woods on a slope down to a railway line, where we lost Rocky his father. We were therefore, understandably, very concerned about this. As the place would just not be the same without a cockerel. We had to chase and catch him through a forest of prickly bushes, even although the fence was only 3 feet high and he could easily have jumped back over. We were scratched almost to death with thorns and barbed wire in our rescue attempt, but at least we got him back.
 He hasn't learned his lesson, however, and has repeated this trick on many more occasions since. We worry less about it now, though, as when dusk approaches, Tiger miraculously manages to find his way back to the hen house every time.
Back to Chickens page
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Sign up to receive your FREE copy of our Animal Lovers Web Monthly Newsletter
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
