An old Farmer told me this about why I got so many roos this year.....

[cmjust0]

We've been seeing a lot more rabbits, too.. We never, ever saw them on the farm when we first moved in, but I've seen several in the barnyard this year and we had TONS of bunny tracks in the snow back during the winter..

I didn't chalk it up to a natural cycle, though.. A slightly modified natural order, perhaps, but not a natural cycle. You see, before we added our livestock guardian dog last summer, what we had in close proximity were foxes and coyotes...now we have rabbits.

 

[Stina]

The "cycles" related to prey animals have nothing to do with any certain number of years. Prey and predators create a natural cycle....as prey becomes more prolific, predators become more prolific, which leads to a decrease in prey, which leads to a decrease in predators, which leads to an increase in prey...........etc etc... It's a natural cycle, but as I said, has nothing to do with any specific timing....other causes for changes in animal numbers can easily affect the cycling as well.

I've never heard of any sort of gender cycle.....an increase in males makes no sense biologically speaking...extra males of a species doesn't help anything. It's more likely that something in adult diet or egg incubation can affect how the embryos develop. An animal (or human) can be male or female genetically and still turn out phenotypically the opposite.

I myself seem to have gotten a normal ratio of males/females in my 7 serama chicks with 3 males and 4 females (I think....they're only 3 1/2 weeks old, but starting to look different). I've also gotten pretty normal ratios amongst my mice (overall anyway...I've had heavy male litters and heavy female litters).

 

[lildinkem]

Then how come one of our BYCers wrote me saying he hatched out 13 cockerels out of 14 eggs? My west coast friend, that has 400 plus chicks is having near 70% or higher cockerels. That has nuttin to do with prey.

 

[Stina]

It's more likely that something in adult diet or egg incubation can affect how the embryos develop. An animal (or human) can be male or female genetically and still turn out phenotypically the opposite.​

 

[lildinkem]

Anything is possilible. I know I am not at all having a ton of cockerels hatching out. I actually want cockerels in some of my varieties of chickens, and am getting way too many pullets. But, I am just starting out in chickens. And my birds ALL are a year old or younger. MAYBE, in the genetic code of chickens and or anything that is alive, down the road in a few years, these same birds MIGHT have a year where I do have tons of cockerels. This happened to me with one of my German Shep females. I didn't breed her till she was 6 or 7, I really did not count the days, and her litter was 9 males 2 females.
So, could this still be possible?

 

[chickenguysmom]

I am sorry if I seem ignorant, but I believe it. I also avoid stepping on cracks that break my mama's back, don't like walking under ladders and try to avoid breaking mirrors. Call me stupid .......

I believe the old farmer! Too many rabbits to not believe him. And way too many roos running around my back yard.

 

[Whispering Winds]

Quote:
Probably because the "old-timers" have been around far longer and have much more wisdom than most people these days. There are many things my 80-year-old mother has said that have been true, so why doubt the word of someone who's "been there and done that?"

I've also been seeing more rabbits this year - never saw them much around here before...

I agree; I have an old farmer friend who is 83 years old, and his wisdom just blows me away some days, and I wish he was able to share it in a book. . .just because they didn't have all the modern conveniences that all of us spoiled brats have become use too, and I am 50's child, and KNOW I had it ten times easier than my folks did growing up, they made do with what they had and I would LOVE to go back in time to their day for a month and learn all those ways. My mom was a great one for the old ways, and I am sick at heart that I didn't write more of them down!!

 

[Chickenaddict]

If this "lore" is true Then why have i been hatching out mostly roos for the past 2 years! I have been asking my hens the same thing but all they have to say is BOOOOOOOOOOK. Seriously tho it's getting rediculous around here and harder to rehome the roos because alot of people around here have been having the same problem. They dont call me the crazy chicken lady anymore now they call me the alarm clock maker. If they had more meat on their bones (standards) I would gladly eat em but im not cleaning a serama for a chicken wings worth of meat.

 

[lildinkem]

There was a show I seen on NGTV which covered a story of the rats invasion every 50 years in some country in Asia cause of the bamboo flowers. And the journalist checked this folk lore to records that date back to hundreds of years. And it is true, there is a cycle that has rats over populate and eat everything. Then they die off till another 50 some years and history repeats itself

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82722

 

[buckinghorse]

I have rabbits all over my place this year they really love my pea patch.I have not had chickens in about 6 years now .Going to try to go to chicken sale in Bainbridge ga. sat. My dad was the foreman on a large farm in early.co ga.Their old hog barn had about 35 game chickens that ran lose best eggs you could eat if you could find them.I miss those days.I will have chicken again soon. Chris in southwest ga.