22 



live with his hens without the offence or 

 company of other cocks " 



The cock master always fed his birds on soft 

 ground, that their beaks might not be blunted 

 by contact with stones 



The cock that began to crow before he was 

 six months old, or crowed at unseasonable 

 times, was not esteemed : premature or irregular 

 crowing being held a symptom of cowardice. 

 " For the true cock is very long before he gets 

 his voice and when he hath it he observes his 

 hour with the best judgement " 



Three hens were considered enough to run 



o 



with one cock 



Special attention was devoted to the perches 

 in the roost : it was to be thick as a man's arm 

 and level, a thin, crooked, or ill-placed perch 

 tending to make the bird " uneven heeled " 

 when he would never be a good striker. " The 

 perches should be near the ground and short so 

 that your cock may with care go up to them, and 

 being set, must of force (perforce) have his legs 

 stand near together, for it is a rule that he 

 which is a close sitter is ever a narrow (accurate) 

 striker.'' The ground below the perches should 

 be soft that the birds might not hurt their feet 

 in jumping clown 



