Magnificent Joe Cockerel has “bitten the dust” and has now joined the others who are lying in the pet cemetery in the vineyard.  We treated the birds for red mite last week and the week before I cleaned out all the old straw from the poultry houses and dusted them against insects. It wasn’t the mites.  Was it old age?  But he wasn’t yet two.  Was it too much calcium, which is present in the layers food and not too good for cockerels? We won’t ever know but he had a good life, free ranging, plenty of food (including strawberries and plenty of greens!) and more than enough female company.  Cheerio Joe.