No, it’s not some old saying—it’s the sound I heard coming from the garage around 8am today, as Mulder our four-winged 22-week-old French Blue Wheaten Marans decided to let rip for a few minutes from under his cover inside the cat-carrier he sleeps in at night to avoid any noise disturbing the neighbours. Although he crows at reasonable hours every now and again, this is the first time Mulder has cock-a-doodled indoors with all the restraint measures in place.
I think he crowed because he could hear the hens kicking off royally outside, demanding their morning feed. It’s upsetting because if it becomes a regular thing and develops into something much louder and more persistent we will have to very reluctantly do all we can to find him a new home. As things stand he is perfectly happy to come indoors at dusk and get taken outside at a reasonable hour every morning, and despite this daily routine being a bit of a chore for us it has so far worked out very well for him, for us and for the neighbours (even though they know nothing of our efforts to avoid them complaining).
The problem is, of course, that in the spring and summer a cockerel crows much earlier and this can mean disturbance for us at 3am if (and only if) we can’t muffle the sound effectively. Every day. The neighbours still wouldn’t hear a thing, or if they did the crowing would sound very remote and muffled, likely to be presumed to come from the nearby allotments until they heard him during the day as well and put two and two together.
Everything hinges on whether Mulder’s behaviour this morning turns out to be occasional or persistent, and gets any louder, but it is likely to end up a regular thing because it’s natural. The volume may or may not increase. If it stays at the level it’s at, we’re fine. Whether we can secure less risk of noise by using a proper blackout curtain over his bed, and maybe some insulating sound-proofing material, remains to be seen. In no way is Mulder harmed or even mildly upset by his special treatment; in fact, he seems to love the attention.
Mulder is a great little character, well-trained and happy although he is prone to the occasional strop that, while amusing, also reminds us that he is a powerful little bird with his own independent mind not at all similar to the female of the species. You have to make sure a cockerel does not ‘own’ you and knows his place in the pecking order is below yours, or you’re asking for trouble because nature dictates these boys rule if they see an opportunity to do.
An undisciplined cockerel can quickly become a dangerous menace, and stories abound of them being killed on the spot immediately after inflicting terrible wounds on the unsuspecting. Mulder is not that kind of bird and never will be but his strength, like that of a bird of prey, must be respected and understood.
I would never let a small child handle a cockerel, even if the cockerel knew the child well. Cockerels have great big claws and while Mulder has never so much as suggested he has a propensity for intentional violence, he nevertheless can accidentally cause significant damage. A few weeks ago he decided he wanted to perch on my shoulder, something he’s done ever since he was a tiny baby, but he’s much bigger now and inadvertently scratched the back of my neck with one of his claws. I was left with an L-shaped deep scar that took several days to fade although no blood was drawn, and now I don’t let Mulder perch that high up on me if I can avoid it. But there is always a risk and I won’t pick him up anymore unless my neck is covered and I’m wearing a coat, or I have a firm grip on him to prevent him using my arm or shoulder as perches.
The experience of raising Mulder, more than Captain Buttercup last year, has taught me that cockerels and hens are very different creatures not only on the basis of sex alone but the gender characteristics that come with being a boy or a girl. All cockerels are much harder work than hens, and equally more rewarding to have around as garden or farm companions, providing you can avoid noise abatement laws being brought to bear against you.
The reason we go to the trouble we do is because Mulder cannot be bred from owing to his incredibly rare mutation, so no farmer looking to increase his flock by raising chicks would be interested in him. Others might want him on the basis of his being a curiosity potentially worth a ridiculous sum of money, and those people must never have a chance to get their greedy unscrupulous mitts on him.
Even another poultry keeper as soft and accommodating as me would have difficulty when it came to integrating Mulder with a flock containing other cockerels because they would attack him. This is entirely normal when introducing new birds, especially boys to boys, but Mulder’s vulnerability would put him at risk of his life. He could, however, be the only cockerel with a bunch of hens if, and only if, none of the fertilised eggs were ever incubated under a broody hen or in an incubator. It would be irresponsible to allow Mulder to become a daddy, so finding a perfect new home for him would be an incredibly tall order. Hence we do our best for him right here.
Of course it would upset me if we had to find Mulder a new home but it would absolutely break my heart if one could not be found as and when and if it became necessary. I was sad to see our other four cockerels hatched this year go, and they went to a wonderful and loving new home with @mumsmuddyveg who cares for them exceptionally well and I take delight in receiving updates from her on their welfare and development.
I hatched eggs this year for the experience of it and won’t be hatching any again until and unless we live somewhere else with land where the fate of any cockerels won’t be determined by people living around us. But we have four beautiful pullets (young hens not yet in lay) as a consequence of this year’s hatchings, and one very special cockerel. I have no regrets. It’s been a fascinating and educational experience.
Of course we will continue with our best efforts with regards to Mulder’s crowing in the hope that the situation remains manageable. For now, even with this morning’s noise from inside the garage, my beloved wasn’t disturbed in bed, and I wouldn’t have been if I hadn’t gone into the living room and heard the muffled noise through the door into the garage. Nobody in the immediate vicinity would have noticed anything either.
So we’ll see. That’s all we can do for now. We’ve got friends sleeping over tonight on the living room floor and I don’t for one minute think they’ll be disturbed, and our hens are louder when laying eggs, so why am I worrying? Because, simply put, I love our special pet and am psyching myself up for the possibility of a reluctant parting I hope never needs to happen. If we can get through a full year with the measures we have in place, Mulder’s future is assured. If we can’t, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
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