What is a cock-feeder?

A quick search brings up "The Sporting Dictionary and Rural Repository of General Information Upon Every Subject Appertaining To The Sports Of The Field, Volume 1" (1803), which contains a relevant definition:

COCK-FEEDER -- signifies a person whose occupation it is to collect, handle and feed a pen of cocks, to fight such main or match as may be made or agreed on, by those who deposit the battle money, and are called the MASTERS of the MATCH. These find or procure the cocks, of which the feeder takes charge; and to his judgment is submitted the entire management of selecting, rejecting, feeding, physicing, sweating, sparring, weighing, cutting out, (alias trimming,) and bringing his bag and cock to the pit; where, upon delivering it to the setter-to, his function ceases in respect to that particular cock, till death has sealed his disgrace, or success proclaimed his victory.

" A cock feeder is a person whose occupation it is to collect, handle, and feed a pen of cocks, and to fight such main or match as may be made or agreed on by those who deposit the battle money."

http://archive.org/stream/s10notesqueries10londuoft/s10notesqueries10londuoft_djvu.txt

Also see usages here:

"A man with the familar name of Tom Jones was cockfeeder or cocker to the Herberts, lords of Montgomery Castle, and great estates in the neighbour- hood. They " delighted much n in cocking, and a great main was on with John Lloyd, who tried to get some of Herbert's cocks off Tom Jones, but could not M prevaile on him"

http://archive.org/stream/pilgrimagestool00mossgoog/pilgrimagestool00mossgoog_djvu.txt

"Thomond--Like Lord Thomond's cocks, all on one side. Lord Thomond's cock-feeder, an Irishman, being entrusted with some cocks which were matched for a considerable sum, the night before the battle shut them all together in one room, concluding that as they were all on the same side, they would not disagree: the consequence was, they were most of them either killed or lamed before the morning."

http://www.regencyassemblypress.com/Regency_Lexicon.html

"literal support of the above definition"... My great-grandfather John Ray of Finchley was a breeder and trainer of fighting cocks, but my aunt has no recollection of his being known as a "cock-foster." One of my earliest recollections is that of playing with some of the silver or steel spurs that my great-grandfather used to fasten on the legs of the cocks. WM. H

http://scans.library.utoronto.ca/pdf/3/12/s10notesqueries10londuoft/s10notesqueries10londuoft_bw.pdf