Bearded Cockerel

Here's our cockerel sporting a beard.

It is actually feathers from the Welsummer hen stuck in his beak - he gets a little aggressive when 'showing his affection'.

It's all perfectly normal although we are keeping a close eye on her. Ideally he should have more than one hen to lavish his attentions on and it had been our intention to supply him with a harem. However, there are plans afoot this year that mean we can't really set off down the road of incubating eggs. If someone goes broody then we may set some of the fertile Welsummer eggs under 'mum' because she will look after any chicks that hatch but we won't be able to raise any ourselves this year.

Meanwhile, we need to keep an eye on the Welsummer because if he lavishes too much attention on her, she may suffer. At present she is perfectly healthy and quite adept at skipping out of his way most of the time. She is also proving to be extremely camera shy!

The cockerel spends a lot of time at the fence that separates him from the Warrens, all puffed up and stamping his feet. By and large they ignore him, even though he is a handsome devil.



He has come a long way since the day he was hatched in May last year.








Bearded breeds of poultry do exist although I have not found a site I like well enough to send you to. There are Bearded Silkies and several bearded breeds of Belgian Bantams, all with muffs and beards of feathers. Perhaps one of our readers keeps them? If you do, please let me know and I will add a link to you in this post.