The scientific explanation of the phenomenon of rooster singing is based on a territorial basis. The alpha male crows, notifying possible rivals that he is the master in this area and should not be disturbed. Other available conclusions are based on the observations and experience of the owners of chicken farms and are tentative in nature, since they are suitable for a number of special cases, but do not fully explain the behavior of the bird.
When do they sing?
It has been proven that a rooster crows in the following cases:
- in case of "unauthorized" intrusion into the territory of an open walk or into the premises of a chicken coop of strangers (strangers, wild or domestic animals and birds);
- on the eve of upcoming weather changes;
- at dawn.
The male has in his "vocabulary" many other sounds that he uses to:
- warn chickens and offspring about the danger;
- invite them to share a meal;
- to pull back the "insolent", from his point of view, fellow tribesmen.
But these messages remain unnoticed by people, since they are significantly inferior in pressure and volume to crowing.
Constant screams
Some especially zealous individuals can crow around the clock with short breaks for food and sleep. This behavior can only be explained by some deviations in the genetic code. Experienced poultry farmers believe that these manifestations may be the result of breed costs.
It was noticed that on the territory of our country, most often unrestrained screamers are found among breeds derived from the Yurlovskaya vociferous (the second part of the name explains everything), such as:
- Zagorsk salmon;
- Moscow black;
- adler silver;
- May Day.
A comparative analysis of the propensity to chickens in meat and egg-bearing breeds showed that the "leadership" belongs to the latter.
How to reduce the voice activity of a rooster
There are several effective methods for making your bird quieter:
- 1. If the rooster is constantly crowing at night or wakes up the owners too early in the morning, you can try to place him at this time of day in a dark room with limited, but sufficient space for air access. This will moderate the feathered ardor, without affecting the behavior in general. It is important to remember that subsequently releasing it into bright light is required gradually, a sharp transition can cause stress in the bird.
- 2. There is a strict hierarchy in the chicken coop. If there are several males, seniority belongs to only one. The alpha male takes advantage of mating and beeping. During the morning roll call, the rest of the roosters have the right to vote only after the leader. Any encroachment on the authority of the alpha male is strictly suppressed. If you put an older and physically more powerful rooster in a chicken coop with a frantic cry, the problem will be solved very quickly.
- 3. Another way to make the male quieter is to make a collar from a piece of cloth tape with Velcro. For these purposes, an element with a double-sided work surface is suitable. A piece is cut that exceeds the diameter of the bird's neck. The plumage rises at the withers. The collar is loosely wrapped around the neck and fastens with Velcro. The effect is that the rooster will not be able to draw in enough air to call loudly. He crows, but quietly, in a whisper.
Novice poultry houses should keep in mind that roosters from the same brood behave much calmer. The feeling of rivalry is almost not manifested in them. They fight and scream much less than multi-tribal individuals.
The rooster is one of the most popular home-raised animals. A novice farmer will find useful information about his habitat, nutritional habits, reproduction. Few people know that there are a huge number of rooster species, and with regards to some there are heated discussions. Well, scientists do not know whether to consider this particular bird as a rooster or to rank it among other species. The article will consider which bird can be considered a rooster, the lifestyle of this animal: habits, nutrition.
Who is a rooster
The rooster is a solid bird. Everyone knows this. There would be no chicken, no chickens would breed, and people would not be able to enjoy steaks or legs cooked on the grill. Some people wonder if the rooster is an animal or a bird. In general, this statement is fundamentally wrong. Any living organism that has the following characteristics can be called an animal:
- They feed on plants and other animals. Of course, there are some types of plants that feed on insects, but these are only rare exceptions.
- Lack of fiber.
- Growth up to a certain limit.
Who is a rooster
Well, and the most important difference between animals and other organisms is the ability to move around the planet. The rooster falls under all these signs, like any other bird.
What does a rooster look like? The appearance may differ: have a different number of fingers, color, beak appearance, scallop size. The habits of different types also differ. Some are herbivores, others eat worms and meat.
The appearance of males is very well described in comparison to chickens. The former are characterized by a significantly bright color, more beautiful plumage, and a long, bushy tail. Also, the rooster can be recognized by the pointed feathers on the neck and back. And they are often compared to cowboys due to boots with spurs. Adults have a comb and a kind of "beard".
The first birds were domesticated for cockfighting in Asia, Europe and Africa. They began to be used as a food product in India. They were tamed long ago, 5000 years ago. Then they were not yet roosters in the form in which they are used to seeing them. It was an Indian wild chicken. Only nobles could own this animal. Cockfighting was a popular game in various ancient countries: India, China, Persia, Babylon, Greece.
Especially against the general background, English breeds of chickens and, accordingly, roosters stand out. This is primarily a fighting breed due to its aggressiveness.
English rooster
Life span
In the wild, chickens can live on average 13 years. But with proper home care, birds can live up to 30 years. In practice, this rarely happens, since everyone makes mistakes in grooming, and the bird itself may be genetically weak or reared in conditions conducive to the occurrence of diseases.
It also depends on the purpose of raising the roosters. As a rule, this is the continuation of the genus of chickens. Therefore, roosters live as long as the period of active fertilization lasts. On average, this is 4 years. As soon as the rooster becomes a weak male, it is sent to the slaughter together with the chickens. Well, after all, there is nowhere to put it, so useless, and so it will be useful. Normally, 1 male should fertilize 10 females.
Note! How old the roosters live depends on the quality of nutrition, the temperature in the hen house and many other factors (a skilled poultry farmer must prevent fights between roosters, since they negatively affect the psyche of the animals).
Why do roosters crow in the morning
Many are interested in how the rooster crows. In fact, this is the familiar "crow". And in different countries they hear completely different things. This is probably why birds do not understand people when they try to portray the voice of a rooster.
The reason why the rooster crows in the morning lies in the hierarchy of animals. First, early in the morning, a proud alpha male makes a sound, and then low-ranking individuals. Thus, the places in the hierarchy are distributed among the males. In addition, crowing is a way to mark territory and warn enemies that they will be in trouble if they decide to be intruders.
Why do roosters crow in the morning
What time do the roosters start crowing? The time when they make the first sounds is determined by the biological clock of the birds. The first roosters start singing at 1.00, the second at 2.00, and the third at 4.00. But depending on the conditions and biological characteristics of a particular rooster, the time may differ. The researchers also noticed that the time of the crowing of the rooster is associated with the location of the stars in the sky. So, the first roosters begin to sing when the star Canopus appears above the horizon, and when it disappears, they stop. Third roosters often coincide with dawn.
The question is, why should people know what time the roosters are singing? And the explanation is very simple. In the village, when there was still no clock, it was one of the landmarks when going on the road (it was considered a good omen to wait for the first roosters), the second was often a signal to go to milk the cows. Well, the third is a sign that you need to get up and get ready for your daily work. In general, like a rustic alarm clock. As a bird crows, it is immediately clear how long it is.
For your information! Few people know that a rooster can also cluck like a chicken and they do this to invite their “friend” to eat.
Rooster structure
By the way, few people know that cockerels are ways to fly. Well, at least their skeleton resembles in many ways other birds endowed with this ability. Only 10% of the mass is bones, which are hollow inside. There is no medullary bone in the skeleton of males, which is involved in the formation of the shell around the egg. They just do it rarely and clumsily.
The skeleton of a rooster is divided into 3 parts: head, torso and limbs. The head is very small, and therefore looks very funny against the background of the rest of the body. The skull consists of 10 bones. The cervical spine consists of 13-14 vertebrae.
Rooster structure
The wings are the front limbs of the bird, the lower ones are the paws. Normally, a male should have 4 toes on each leg. There is also something like the fifth finger - a spur. In fact, this is the cornea, which is not always based on bones. If the rooster has more toes, it could be a sign of a genetic disorder (for example, caused by a closely related relationship). In this case, there may be 6 fingers. Moreover, on different legs there may be a different number of them.
For your information! Normally, the male should have 78 chromosomes: the rooster has an XX set, and the females have XY. In humans, the opposite is true.
- There is a completely black breed of rooster called Ayam Chemani. They have a gene in their genome that causes too much pigmentation. Moreover, it is dominant, that is, it is constantly transmitted with 100% probability. Interestingly, these birds are black not only on the outside. Their bones, internal organs are also the color of the night. Even the blood is significantly darker than that of other breeds.
- They have their own language. However, like chickens. It seems to people that these are meaningless clicks or clucking, but in fact, scientists have already been able to identify 30 sounds with different meanings. For example, a chicken can report that it will lay an egg or signal its relatives that there are a lot of worms.
- Able to empathize with other birds. Birds have also been shown to experience sadness away from the group.
- They are very smart, as they are able to remember up to 100 faces and how this character relates to them. The birds make decisions based on their experience. They can also be taught arithmetic.
- Together with chickens, they are direct descendants of the Tyrannosaurus. Surprising considering that it was one of the largest predators ever to exist on our planet.
- Dream books describe the meaning of a dream in which a person has lost a rooster. This suggests that he avoided a possible meeting with an unpleasant type, a competitor. This is if a man. If a woman had a dream where the feathered one disappeared, then she may have lost her admirer. There are also recommendations in case you had a dream about a rooster. For example, if you hear his cry, you need to take a decisive step in order not to miss the opportunity that now exists.
Bonus fact: the largest rooster in the world was bred by breeders. Height is 91 cm and weight is 11 kg. This is an ideal breed as it produces a lot of tasty meat.
FAQ
The questions described above about the lifespan and the cry of a bird are not the only ones that are of interest to Internet users. If there are others as well:
What to do to prevent the bird from screaming
There are several proven ways to silence a bird, or at least be quieter:
- For the time when the person is sleeping, place the male in a dark, confined space, but into which air can freely enter. This will not cause disturbances in the psyche of the animal. It should be remembered that it is impossible to abruptly release the rooster into the light, since in this case stress cannot be avoided. If the breeder has several roosters, then it is enough to place an alpha male in a dark room.
- The second method is much more complicated and less effective. It is necessary to make a collar thicker than the diameter of the bird's neck from a cloth tape with Velcro. They should be wrapped around the neck and secured with Velcro. The bird will still crow, but quieter. She won't be able to breathe in enough air to scream.
Why the rooster does not crow and trample chickens
If this bird stops singing, this indicates serious problems. The reasons for the silence of the animal are as follows:
- respiratory diseases;
- molting;
- changes in the hormonal background;
- aging.
Important! Molting is the only reason that should not cause anxiety in the owner.
Often the reason why a rooster does not crow is infectious bronchitis. This is a disease that is caused by a virus that can easily spread from one chicken coop to another. The mortality rate is 65%, and there are no cures. The meat of an infected bird does not pose a danger to humans, but if at least one rooster has symptoms of the disease (cough, difficulty breathing, nasal discharge, loss of appetite and diarrhea), then the chicken coop is quarantined to avoid the extinction of other birds.
Other respiratory diseases are also possible. For example, with infectious laryngotracheitis, the cock will wheeze.
But what if the rooster does not trample chickens? If the bird is young, then you just need to wait. Normally, the male begins to show interest in females at 24-26 weeks of age. But the first attempts of the young will be unsuccessful, you should not be afraid of this. Learn more. If the male is an adult, then there may be other reasons:
- The females do not allow the male to come close to them. This happens especially often if the male was bought recently and has not yet had time to gain authority among his relatives. In this case, he needs to be put in a cage, and then separately one of the chickens should be planted with him. After a while, they will get used to it, and the problem will be solved.
- It also often happens that a person does not notice how a rooster tramples chickens. You should wait a few weeks and then check the eggs with an ovoscope. If they are fertilized, then the rooster copes with its duties.
And one more reason - the male is a hermaphrodite. This is unlikely, but it happens sometimes. To verify this, it is worth observing the behavior of the bird. If, after crowing, it tries to climb into the nest, then all that remains to be done is to send it to the soup. This is the only benefit such a creature can bring.
The rooster tramples the chicken
How to trim a rooster's claws
It is not always necessary to trim the claws. Usually they sharpen themselves, but if this does not happen, then a person will have to perform this procedure. This must be done carefully, having previously fixed the bird with a rag or towel. Cutting off nails is recommended with a cat or dog guillotine pliers. In this case, it is worth watching so as not to damage the vessels that are visible through the lumen.
The rooster (cockerel) is a useful bird in the household. The article analyzed the questions of interest to the average poultry farmer related to male hens, such as structure, life expectancy, some of the problems that may arise in animals, and whether they are animals at all. After reading the information, farmers will no longer have questions and problems in caring for this important bird.
Previously, cock-crowing served to determine the time for many peoples and was taken for granted. And only in the last century, scientists became interested in why the rooster crows and began to study this issue.
The answer to the question why roosters crow in the morning goes back to the wild ancestors of today's chickens, when each bird family occupied its own territory for life and foraging. There is a hierarchy among the roosters. Leaders of the chicken family are allowed to vote first, males of "second rank" sing next. A young cock who gives voice may begin to peck for insolence.
Why the rooster cries can be explained by the following reasons:
- informing others that the territory is occupied and the livestock has a strong and brave leader;
- checking the flock for quantity (whether everything is in place);
- the news that morning has come.
During the day, the roosters repeatedly crow, for each case there is a specific sound: the call of the chickens to the feeder or dissatisfaction with their behavior. But in everyday noise, crowing is less noticeable to people. At night, sounds are carried over long distances, and the human ear perceives a cock's call within a radius of two kilometers. Each singer has a unique tonality, which differs from the voices of congeners by only half a tone.
A rooster can scream loudly during the day, it happens for certain reasons:
- there was a threat to the laying hens, an alien invaded the territory;
- challenge to fight for the primacy of other males;
- a sharp change in the weather.
A stressed bird often cries for no apparent reason. With the disappearance of the annoying factor, the unusual behavior of the male disappears. But there are individuals who are too loud in character. In this case, the replacement of the head of the chicken coop can help.
When the voice appears
At 2.5–3 months, young males try their volume. Their first singing is funny and sounds like a squeak. By 4–5 months, the roosters master the crowing technique and at first they can bawl constantly. Previously, well-groomed males are accustomed to giving a voice by the clock, their weak and unkempt brethren noticeably lag behind.
Experienced farmers are closely monitoring the attempts of young roosters to learn to crow, culling individuals that have not learned to voice.
How does the rooster determine the time for singing?
At night, the rooster cries three times: at one, two and four hours. In any weather and season of the year, these terms are unchanged; in winter, the time of cock singing may slightly shift towards morning.
Experiments have shown that a stay deep underground, a long stay in a room closed from sunlight, and hearing loss do not affect the bird's ability to sing strictly according to the clock. Crowing is determined by their internal biorhythms, which are not subject to changes in external conditions.
An unexpected discovery was brought by an attempt by researchers to compare the crowing of a rooster and the location of the stars. It turned out that the leader of the chicken family gives the first voice with the appearance of the star Canopus from the constellation Carina in the sky. When the star hides behind the horizon, it is the turn to crow a second time. How the birds navigate by the stars, why the rooster crows for the third time at sunrise, has not yet been established.
How to stop a rooster from crowing at night
The townspeople who have come to the village to rest do not need to get up early, but the rooster crows in the morning and interferes with sleep. Unfortunately, there are no ways to wean a feathered crow by the clock. Thickening the walls of the hen house cannot solve the problem. On the contrary, when the bird does not give voice for a long time, this indicates health problems.
If you don't hear crowing
Why the leader is silent, you need to find out without delay.
- The reason for the loss of voice in a bird can be respiratory tract diseases, in some cases leading to death. When silence is accompanied by blanching of the scallop and rapid breathing, you should immediately contact your veterinarian.
- Provokes the absence of a rooster's cry at the proper moulting hours. When it ends, the feathered one returns to its "duties".
- The situation is worse with the rooster, which does not want to trample the chickens after an illness, which has ceased to feel like a leader and crow. In this case, the treatment is useless, and another male will have to be populated in the chicken coop.
A person is not always able to change natural laws, as is the case with the cock crow. It remains to reconcile and enjoy their sonorous singing.
I know that chickens and roosters are spread literally all over the world. That these birds are native to India. That in ancient times the rooster was considered a totem animal: they composed fairy tales, riddles, nursery rhymes about him. For example, "Cockerel, cockerel, golden comb, why do you get up early, Don't you let Petya sleep?" Or such a riddle: twice born, never baptized, and the devil is afraid of him. Again, I have a question - why?
I came to the conclusion that my knowledge is not enough to answer the questions posed. Therefore, I used the following research methods:
1. read scientific and educational literature, entered the Internet;
2. monitored the behavior of the rooster in the hen house;
3. conducted an experiment;
4. asked adults: parents, teachers, librarian.
From scientific and educational literature, I learned that roosters sing not just for beauty. By singing, they predict the weather:
1. Roosters start singing immediately after sunset - the weather will change.
2. If kochet sings after 10 o'clock in the evening, the night will be quiet and good.
3. When the rooster sings before 9 pm - this is a sign that the weather will change and it will soon be raining.
But I saw the rooster singing repeatedly earlier than 9 o'clock in February, that is, in winter. I asked the teacher what does his singing mean? He suggested that in winter, the crowing of a rooster at this time indicates the onset of an imminent thaw.
So I concluded that rooster crowing does not always start the first hour of the day.
From the Internet, I learned the following information that primitive people saw in the rooster a mysterious messenger of supernatural forces, the deity of the sun. That the rooster recognizes representatives of evil spirits without much difficulty. If he sang before midnight, then he saw an unclean man and wants to drive him away. So he protects the dwelling from evil spirits.
I could not answer the question whether the rooster is associated with evil spirits. I haven't seen her. My parents, teacher, librarian, with whom I talked, did not see her either.
Most likely, this chant is weather forecasting. In the encyclopedia, I read that the rooster's song at night is interpreted in different ways. Georgians believe that it serves as a harbinger of a change in the weather for the worse. In the Arkhangelsk province, such singing portends good weather. If night singing is heard in winter, during severe frosts, the cold will decrease.
Since the rooster is considered the deity of the sun, perhaps it gives the command to sing? To answer this question, I made an observation: I watched a rooster crowing in cloudy weather. Then I conducted an experiment: I closed the window in the chicken coop with a dark curtain.
Conclusion: my rooster always crowed in the same way and at the same time - at 4 o'clock in the morning.
The question remains: why is the first crow of a rooster heard at dawn at about the same time? I also found the answer to it on the Internet: it turns out that a person hears the crowing of a rooster at a distance of two kilometers. Crowing is a challenge to other roosters, which they call back. It is quite natural that, upon waking up, the owner of the chicken coop is in a hurry to inform the world of his rights. The awakening of chickens, like other animals, at a certain time is associated with the so-called biological clock. We are talking about complex circadian rhythms based on the active central nervous system - from the brain stem to the cerebral hemispheres.
CONCLUSION
After researching the literature, conducting an experiment, finding information on the Internet, I come to the conclusion that my hypothesis is not true. The rooster's singing command is given by its biological clock - complex circadian rhythms based on the active central nervous system: from the brain stem to the cerebral hemispheres.
THE VALUE OF WORK
I learned a lot about such a familiar animal; that his singing has a very soothing effect on layers. It would be nice to use the crowing of a rooster in alarm clocks instead of any sharp ringing. Or, at school, you could use a cock crow as a bell or dinner invitation. You can check, make observations.
This knowledge will be useful to me in the lessons of the world around me, I will share it with the guys.
Loading...
