Jungle Fowl

That was the call exactly. It sounds like the hen has been caught or trapped. Certain to attract the predator to her.

I have had roosters that would help the hen look for a nest. He would call the hen to his chosen site. One would then sit on the egg after it was layed, but only for a short while. Never incubated. He was a bantam cross and not a wildie.
I imagine wild roosters might help the hen find a nest site, but only when she is searching before the first egg is layed. The roosters I have seen do this do not do it every time the hen goes back to an established nest.
I am sure the reason hens cackle after they lay is to signal to their rooster and flock that they want to rejoin the flock or the rooster. A locator call. The rooster will answer her cackle.
I had a Silky rooster which adopted some partly grown chicks. He was a young male and not allowed much by the old male. This one started to hang around with a hen and her brood (all Silkies). I thought he was waiting until the hen started to lay again, but when that happened she abandoned the chicks and went to the dominant male. The young rooster continued to care for the chicks and even brooded them at night. He was an excellent parent and later was an active breeder.

JimArcher said:

...I imagine wild roosters might help the hen find a nest site, but only when she is searching before the first egg is layed. The roosters I have seen do this do not do it every time the hen goes back to an established nest....

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You are not imagining. I've seen a video that the wild males do do what you've specifically said.

Here are some photos of a pair if RJF I had in Vientiane, Laos in about 2000. Not pure.
With regards to eclipse plumage - I have seen pure males in captivity in Laos that were in eclipse plumage. I was wrong to say "henlike" as that is not correct. You can still see the male plumage, but it is not as contrasty and is much subdued. Generally darker and with some brown thrown in. I recently read an article that proposes that eclipse plumage is no longer present in wild chickens in SE Asia as there has been too much interbreeding with domestics.

A great photo. Thanks.

Ntsees said:

You are not imagining.  I've seen a video that the wild males do do what you've specificallysaid.

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The rooster helping locate nest site I think norm for RJF's and domesticated jungle fowl. It is easy to setup so hen coming into lay stimulates a series of rooster to give the display. Hen by using her voice and body posture stimulates the males to produce the behavior. i agree her ability to stimulate the behavior is transient and ends with placement of a given breeding cycle's first egg.

JimArcher said:

I have had roosters that would help the hen look for a nest. He would call the hen to his chosen site. One would then sit on the egg after it was layed, but only for a short while. Never incubated. He was a bantam cross and not a wildie.
I imagine wild roosters might help the hen find a nest site, but only when she is searching before the first egg is layed. The roosters I have seen do this do not do it every time the hen goes back to an established nest.
I am sure the reason hens cackle after they lay is to signal to their rooster and flock that they want to rejoin the flock or the rooster. A locator call. The rooster will answer her cackle.
I had a Silky rooster which adopted some partly grown chicks. He was a young male and not allowed much by the old male. This one started to hang around with a hen and her brood (all Silkies). I thought he was waiting until the hen started to lay again, but when that happened she abandoned the chicks and went to the dominant male. The young rooster continued to care for the chicks and even brooded them at night. He was an excellent parent and later was an active breeder.

Click to expand...

The cackle produced by my domestic hens does appear to promote rejoining of hen with flock following egg deposition. The cackle is not a generic cackle, at least not to my ears, rather it is specific to situation. With my birds hen is immediately covered (mated) upon rejoining flock.

Paternal behavior I see comes with two levels of investment. Most typical is where father takes over parental duty once hen begins incubation of subsequent clutch which occurs usually when first brood is six to eight weeks post-hatch. Father provides leader ship during foraging, loafing, provides some measure of protection from predators, and defends interest of offspring against other non-flock members. More extreme version occurs with single hen harems where father also literally broods offspring even at night in ground nest, essentially stops defecating and crowing at night and even appears to produce a range of sounds and postures not unlike clucking. Both types of paternal care involve imprinting by both offspring and father and they end when a given brood is roughly 10 to 12 weeks old.

Such behavior is far from a fluke and is easily induced in any of my fully adult males.

Following link shows most recent bout of the paternal behavior I have been observing. First brood has been weaned even by father but he still tolerates rates offspring when he finds quality forage patches and calls them to such. Mother will be hatching brood two in about 4 days so their will be an abrupt change in relationship between between father and first brood at that time.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/882368/what-to-look-for-in-a-broody-rooster

centrarchid said:

The cackle produced by my domestic hens does appear to promote rejoining of hen with flock following egg deposition. The cackle is not a generic cackle, at least not to my ears, rather it is specific to situation. With my birds hen is immediately covered (mated) upon rejoining flock.

Paternal behavior I see comes with two levels of investment. Most typical is where father takes over parental duty once hen begins incubation of subsequent clutch which occurs usually when first brood is six to eight weeks post-hatch. Father provides leader ship during foraging, loafing, provides some measure of protection from predators, and defends interest of offspring against other non-flock members. More extreme version occurs with single hen harems where father also literally broods offspring even at night in ground nest, essentially stops defecating and crowing at night and even appears to produce a range of sounds and postures not unlike clucking. Both types of paternal care involve imprinting by both offspring and father and they end when a given brood is roughly 10 to 12 weeks old.

Such behavior is far from a fluke and is easily induced in any of my fully adult males.

Following link shows most recent bout of the paternal behavior I have been observing. First brood has been weaned even by father but he still tolerates rates offspring when he finds quality forage patches and calls them to such. Mother will be hatching brood two in about 4 days so their will be an abrupt change in relationship between between father and first brood at that time.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/882368/what-to-look-for-in-a-broody-rooster

Click to expand...

Interesting documentation. Your domestic male appear to display a higher degree of paternal care.

I dislike putting in information until there is a large-enough "sample size" so don't take the below as consistent with all wild males, but I thought I'd still share.

Similarities with a wild: a suppression or complete stop of crowing, probably to avoid attracting would-be predators on the chicks; your video, but if there was a hen without chicks, the male wouldn't discriminate against the hen who would also eat unless chased off by the hen with chicks.

somewhat similar with a wild: after some time after the chicks hatch and the wild male has gotten accustomed to them, he doesn't call them but would not mind if they went under him to keep warm during the night;

differences with the wild: male does not go in the nest with hen and chicks; there is no nest box for the chicks at night, it's either a depression on the ground in a random protected spot when the chicks can't fly yet, or in the trees ( > ~7 days).

here is some of our Green Jungle Fowl (Gallus Varius) Starter Chicks,....

Interesting documentation.  Your domestic male appear to display a higher degree of paternal care.

I dislike putting in information until there is a large-enough "sample size" so don't take the below as consistent with all wild males, but I thought I'd still share.

Similarities with a wild: a suppression or complete stop of crowing, probably to avoid attracting would-be predators on the chicks; your video, but if there was a hen without chicks, the male wouldn't discriminate against the hen who would also eat unless chased off by the hen with chicks.

These males will discriminate between hens. In most instances when a hen not belonging to the father's harem approaches will be attacked and driven off by flogging. Sometimes such hens will be covered (raped) but are consistently booted from territory. Exception to aggression is when hen is nearing point of lay and give the "sex" look and calls then rooster cuts wings and courts rather than going into a full blown attack. Hens in poor condition, broody or in molt seem to be most consistently attacked.


somewhat similar with a wild: after some time after the chicks hatch and the wild male has gotten accustomed to them, he doesn't call them but would not mind if they went under him to keep warm during the night;

I think harem masters do call balance of group into a given location in trees. When not harem master such as with groups of all juveniles / subadults then dominant bird provides same function. Somehow with harems the master can cause entire group to pick a new location. This is particularly evident when great-horned owls pressure birds at night. A low volume "roost" call produced as flock goes to roost may be involved.



differences with the wild: male does not go in the nest with hen and chicks; there is no nest box for the chicks at night, it's either a depression on the ground in a random protected spot when the chicks can't fly yet, or in the trees ( > ~7 days).

Observations of group shown are function of "container effect". Preferred roost area for group being observed is the garage with few up locations available to keep vehicles safe from feces. Balance of birds I have are scattered about on a savanah-looking landscape where hens with broods roost on edge of weed patches, usually in depressions between tufts of grass. They show strong preference for artificial containers in same locations. Something I think differs greatly from wild ground nesting birds is the domestics keep using same locations night after night unless disturbed. Sometimes domestics will roost up by 10 days but that means small trees / bushes must be present rather than artificial sites. By four weeks they can roost up to 25 feet up but ascent is never direct. Cultural effect may also operate. Some hens independent of immediate genetic background will take young up into trees at a younger age. That appears to be a function of how mother (not always biological) of given hen took her offspring up to roost.

Rooster role in this I think would not be biologically sound except under conditions folks like my family have kept them for many generations (human). Under such conditions the rooster direct parental investment directly benefits his own fitness. The larger size of these birds also makes so rooster can do things a wild jungle fowl could not, specifically when it comes to diurnal raptors. These rooster have the ability to repel raptors we have here that would likely be beyond the abilities of a jungle fowl.