Chickens add so much value to a smallholding. Their eggs are delicious in so many different ways. If they must be sacrificed for food, the extra males from a clutch of hatchlings will suffice, as long as the breeding cockerel is maintained in a healthy state.
Of course, cockerels are renowned for their early morning wake-up call, heralding the imminent dawn, as soon as twilight encroaches on the darkness of the night. While they’ll eat almost anything, they’re partial, like goats, to grain. But give them space to scratch, and they’ll tidy the ground and find every possible insect or invertebrate they can.
A farmer with chickens must keep them safe from predators, which can come in large and small forms by land, or by air. A good cockerel will always have an eye out for birds of prey, and he will utter a warning cry to his harem when he spots one.
Good animal husbandry will repay the investment in time, and help to keep a struggling family alive through the dark winter months. Besides which, chickens are rather sociable animals, with amusing habits that can entrance their keepers.
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