16 week noises?????

[Nicos]

Advice please!!!!!

My first batch of babies are now 16 and 14 weeks
The 'first born' has never got on with any of the others and sleeps at the other end of the perch.
( Tis the psycho one with purple feet if you recall????)
It even tries to nick food out of the cockerels mouth!!!

weellllll..... it's been making sort of honking noises- a bit like a goose ( think pingu)- and I'm getting even more sure it's a boy.
It's fleshy bits are bigger than the 2 younger ones- but it is 2 weeks older- also it's legs are more chunky.....

....it's a boy isn't it?????

[bluemoon]

All I have to go on is Lynda's descriptions of her chicks and how they behaved and looked and yep it sounds like a boy.

[lynda66]

yeah hun sounds like a goose being strangled, legs huge in comparison to others .... sorry, sounds like dinner to me xx

[Nicos]

Good job the youngster doesn't have a name- other than psycho chick!!

The other 2 adult males just started to do wobbly crows- none of this honking- which is why I was thrown a bit.

Urmm..at what age do they go in the pot??- when it starts fighting with the other cockerels or what???????
As it's a bantam- it'll hardly make a snack for 2!!!

[FionaH]

Small sandwich then?

[bluemoon]

Or a Chicken Nugget?

[Nicos]

Or a Chicken Nugget?

...now that's more like it!!!!

[Hilary B]

Best time for him to become dinner (or a snack) is when he is a problem alive. If he crows enough to really get on your nerves, or starts fighting the other lads, or something of that sort.

[Nicos]

The crowing is no problem- we live in the countryside and I already have 2 grown up brothers who get on fine.
What I don't want to do is cause a problem between the adult males- are they likely to keep the adolescent in his place- or could it create a friction between the brothers?
The other concern is inbreeding later on in the year if 'he' starts mating with his mum ( no idea which one it was cos the eggs got all mixed up!!!)

He clearly needs feeding up a bit- muscle rather than fat..I suppose I'll have to chase him round a bit and get him flying!!!

what age have others 'done the deed???

[bluemoon]

He clearly needs feeding up a bit- muscle rather than fat..I suppose I'll have to chase him round a bit and get him flying!!!

Reminds me of that Rocky film! Nicos, next champion of the world!

[matthew2riches]

I usually have them on the table around the time they start to crow. This is when the meat begins to mature and goes tough!

[Nicos]

I usually have them on the table around the time they start to crow. This is when the meat begins to mature and goes tough!

but about how many weeks is that??...some breeds seem to crow earlier than others don't they????

[RichmondHens]

Nicos - We eat our bantam cocks same as the large boys. Fatten them up for the same amount of time, 5 or 6 months. They make about the same weight as a pheasant, so worth doing. We don't always pluck them though as it's a pain. OH usually skins them and then they go in a casserole.

Our bantams do crow a bit earlier than the big boys, but I guess if you can stand the noise for a bit longer then feed him up to gain those extra few ounces ................ :-)

[lynda66]

coco started crowing about 8 weeks ... buttercup around 12, elvis did one about 14 weeks if i remember correctly and no way were they ready to eat, buttercup was dinner about 16/17 weeks not full grown but enough for 4 ...... a really good meal for 4 deffo needs more time .... feel around the breast bone you can feel the amount of meat then ... presumably bantams take the same time to do stuff only smaller?

[Nicos]

Just been to let them all out- and psycho chick jumped onto a post, stood on his tip toes, looked up to the clouds...and honked for some strepsils

Bless him!...oh well- now we know his fate...just need to keep an eye on the twins now- 2 weeks younger.