Our Black Australorp rooster who lives in the aviary at the new barn is such a gentleman! Here in the video you will see him strut about as the ducks and the hens have their fill of the morning meal. He pecks the ground just a bit but for the most part he yields to the hens.
You might wonder if this behavior of letting the ladies eat first is a gentlemanly trait of our rooster, or if that’s a natural behavior. Well, as much as we would like to attribute this chivalry to our bird, it’s a natural fact.
Roosters let the females eat first because they want to ensure their progeny are healthy. Of course this is not a conscious decision but rather built-in to their DNA.
In fact Roosters will call attention to food they have found and often pick up the food and drop it whilst flicking their wattles to get the hens’ collective attention. We have observed this behavior and you can see Ricky doing this in the video. Note how he is not running around gobbling up whatever he can. Instead, he saunters about watching over the hens carefully and pecking the ground a few times.
Do you have any Rooster Stories to share? Please comment here!
