Rooster behaving strange....

[Lady of McCamley]

@GitaBooks

Since you show interest (like I do) here are a couple of good reads about "gender-bending" chickens

First, how sex reversal occurs in chickens, From the University of Florida. To date, only hens have ever been recorded as having spontaneous sex reversal due to the process I described above:
http://mysrf.org/pdf/pdf_poultry/p11.pdf

Now to really bend your mind, here's an interesting article on the aspect of chimeras...BOTH female and male in the same chicken, as if two birds were glued together. An anomaly during gestation, the resulting bird is female on one side, with appropriate characteristics, and male on the other, with appropriate characteristics. However, they are almost always sterile.

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/03/12/sex-bird-gynandromorph-somatic/

Have fun reading about our weird and wacky world

LofMc

 

[enola]

I find chimeras to be absolutely fascinating!

 

[GitaBooks]

My bantam rooster chases the New Hampshire who chases the silkies who chases the bantam. Everyone leaves the top-guy (the barred rock) alone. Its so confusing.

 

[shortgrass]

@GitaBooks


Since you show interest (like I do) here are a couple of good reads about "gender-bending" chickens

First, how sex reversal occurs in chickens, From the University of Florida. To date, only hens have ever been recorded as having spontaneous sex reversal due to the process I described above:
http://mysrf.org/pdf/pdf_poultry/p11.pdf

Now to really bend your mind, here's an interesting article on the aspect of chimeras...BOTH female and male in the same chicken, as if two birds were glued together. An anomaly during gestation, the resulting bird is female on one side, with appropriate characteristics, and male on the other, with appropriate characteristics. However, they are almost always sterile.

http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2010/03/12/sex-bird-gynandromorph-somatic/

Have fun reading about our weird and wacky world  

LofMc

Ooooh chimeras are amazing! Probably one reason I changed my major to Agronomy lol...there are a TON of genetic codes that can result in some very interesting mutations!

However, as far as chimerism vs hermaphroditism, chimerism can affect ALL DNA strands, where hetmaphrodites ate limited to just sexual traits.... There are numerous animal phylum that are hermaphrodites but mostly invertebrates and fish... But it IS environmental stresses that can cause it.... Just never heard of it simultaneously happening in birds..it would be in the DNA from in vitro. Cool stuff, genetics!

 

[Spatzerl]

Wow- what a fascinating topic and exchange. I had no idea about any of these hormonal dynamics, etc. One of you posted about the delays in crowing, which explains a lot. My roo in question, Lucius Vorenus, always seemed in my eyes to be top roo, but probably wasn't. He would strut around and since he developed his comb and wattles before the Spitzhauben,always looked extra impressive. But, he didn't start crowing until recently and he only does it on occasion.

 

[GitaBooks]

I have five roosters right now and they all love crowing.

When one starts, the others all want to do it to and get in a crowing contest. My silkie roosters work together and don't fight with one another. I use to have two bantam roosters that would work together, and both attacked me (I have since gotten rid of one of them) and whenever they crowed they tried to do it at the same time. Was this to try and intimidate my top rooster with the louder sound or just coincidence?

 

[shortgrass]

Well they are territorial...so yes, they will try to "outcrow" each other sometimes... They are in essence telling each other, or any rooster within a few miles, that "these are mine. This is mine. Hear me I'm big.".... Ha-ha I crow at mine right as they start to, and they stop and garble and stare at me... Not sure if they need to announce again, because I am actually THEIR flock leader ....

My younger rooster avoids the bantam roosters; they may be smaller, but they have the older hens on their side... He is not even trying to crow yet, but he is definitely bigger, and he stands up to the little guys; still, he doesn't upset the hens. (Don't make the ladies mad or embarrass yourself or you can forget it!) Oddly similar to humans lol

 

[animalgrl]

One of my pullets was very sick and separated from the other 3 for about 2 weeks. I had to reintroduce her through a separate pen in the run for a couple of days and there was still some reestablishing of the pecking order when I fully integrated her. I think that when one "disappears" and then "reappears" they all have to reestablish rank.