Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(UK Und.) a cock, a capon.

c.1566		Harman Caveat for Common Cursetours in Viles & Furnivall (1907) 83: a cakling chete, a cocke or capon.
1592		Groundworke of Conny-catching A3: She hath a Cackling Chete, a gruntinge chete, ruffe peck, cassan, and popelars of yarum.
1608		Dekker Lanthorne and Candle-Light [as cit. c.1566].
1611		Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girle V i: I’ll [...] drink ben bouse, and eat a fat gruntling cheat, a cackling cheat, and a quacking cheat.
1622		Beaumont & Fletcher Beggar’s Bush V i: fer.: Or surprising a boor’s ken, for grunting-cheats? / prig.: Or cackling-cheats? / hig.: Or Margery-Praters, Rogers, / And Tibs o’ th’ buttery.
1639		J. Taylor Crabtree Lectures 191: Mort. Ile tell thee queere Cove, thou must maund at the Gigger for Pannum and Casum, or a cheat of queere bowse, or Kacklen Cheate, and whid rumpsie.
1665		Head Eng. Rogue I 48: Cackling cheat, A Chicken.
1674		Head Canting Academy (2nd edn) 4: Some are sent [...] to filch Tybs of the Buttery, Cackling cheats, Margery Praters, Red-shanks, and Grunting cheats.
1684		W. Nevison in Newgate Calendar I (1926) 291: ‘Now,’ saith he, ‘that thou art entered into our fraternity, thou must not scruple to act any villainies which thou shalt be able to perform, whether it be to nip a bung, bite the Peter Cloy, the lurries crash, either a bleating cheat, cackling cheat, grunting cheat, quacking cheat, Tib-oth-buttery, Margery Prater.’.
c.1698		B.E. Dict. Canting Crew n.p.: Cackling-cheats, c. Chickens, Cocks or Hens.
1707		‘Maunder’s Praise of His Strowling Mort’ in Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 34: When the lightman up does call, / Margery prater from her nest, / And her Cackling cheats withal, / In a boozing ken we’ll feast.
1725		New Canting Dict.
1734		C. Johnson Hist. of Highwaymen &c. 105: [as cit. 1684].
1737, 1759, 1760, 1776		Bailey Universal Etym. Eng. Dict.
1741		Canting Academy, or the Pedlar’s-French Dict. 116: Chickens Cackling Cheats.
1754		Scoundrel’s Dict. 16: Chickens – Cackling-cheats.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.