The roosters interest is in protecting his genes. He isn’t all that bothered about the hens safety unless it’s one of his favorites he regularly mates with. All the roosters here will give the predator warning call but after that they will try to take cover with the hens. The reason most rooster die is due to miscalculation and/or being the last to take cover and thus becoming the predators target, or attacking the predator. Rooster attacking predators is pretty rare in my experience.
Roosters are equipped to fight other roosters; they are usually at a massive disadvantage to say a gos hawk or even a weasel. The attacks I’ve seen by a rooster have been after a hawk has struck. The rooster sees a hawk on top of one of his hens and launches an attack. It would be interesting to know exactly why this is. Perhaps he views the hawk attack as mating competition.
Roosters will protect mothers and chicks I’ve assumed because of further his genes; if the chicks survive his genes go forward.
The only chickens I know of here that have attacked a hawk and lived have been hens protecting their chicks.
Roosters are great as watching and warning but I read with some skepticism stories of rooster bravery and driving off predators; it is usually not in their interest, there are plenty of other hens putting it brutally.
I’ve watched/lived with the chickens here for eight years. I spend on average 4 to 5 hours a day with one or other group. In all this time I have only seen 3 hawk attacks from start to finish and I get at least one attack per month; many are aborted and others interrupted as I’ve heard the general panic call.
Ground predators, if they are any good, you hardly ever see. This is how they are successful. Even when I’ve seen the chickens escaping a ground predator attack I rarely see the culprit.
So, in my experience brave roosters are a wishful myth. Desperate roosters forced to fight for their lives more common and most will run away given the chance...........well you would wouldn’t you.....
