LaurenRitz
Crowing
I know some won't think this is funny, but I thought it was hilarious.
My current rooster was probably 20 weeks (?) old when this happened.
I let him out of confinement when the old roo died. He started cozying up to the ladies, wing dancing, tit-bitting, and no forced matings. The young pullets were his groupies, but the older hens didn't like him.
This was primarily due to the lead hen, who wasn't about to give over her position to a teenage punk.
Then one of HER hens squatted for him, and the war was on! She knocked him off, lit into the hen, then went after him.
He fought her off, she attacked him again. At one point he wrestled her down and started pecking at her head. The other hens piled in to stop him, he backed off...and she went after him again!
She just would not give in. I won't use the word submit, because it was obviously her attacking.
I guess he finally got tired of it, because he began to chase her. Not seriously, but he had longer legs and was much younger. She ran, stopped, attacked him again, and this time he chased her all the way around the house. They came around the corner and she was panting, staggering and close to collapse. He was jogging easily behind her, obviously just enjoying the run.
She got back to the other hens and collapsed, which he of course took as an invitation to mount.
She fought him off, but this time didn't attack him. And he let it go.
The next morning they were besties and she was his beta. First and only time I heard her crow.
My current rooster was probably 20 weeks (?) old when this happened.
I let him out of confinement when the old roo died. He started cozying up to the ladies, wing dancing, tit-bitting, and no forced matings. The young pullets were his groupies, but the older hens didn't like him.
This was primarily due to the lead hen, who wasn't about to give over her position to a teenage punk.
Then one of HER hens squatted for him, and the war was on! She knocked him off, lit into the hen, then went after him.
He fought her off, she attacked him again. At one point he wrestled her down and started pecking at her head. The other hens piled in to stop him, he backed off...and she went after him again!
She just would not give in. I won't use the word submit, because it was obviously her attacking.
I guess he finally got tired of it, because he began to chase her. Not seriously, but he had longer legs and was much younger. She ran, stopped, attacked him again, and this time he chased her all the way around the house. They came around the corner and she was panting, staggering and close to collapse. He was jogging easily behind her, obviously just enjoying the run.
She got back to the other hens and collapsed, which he of course took as an invitation to mount.
She fought him off, but this time didn't attack him. And he let it go.
The next morning they were besties and she was his beta. First and only time I heard her crow.
