- Mar 11, 2007
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All of us who keep roosters have seen how watchful the roosters are, how they warn the hens of potential danger, how they stand guard over them as they dust bathe, how they find delectable little worms and grubs and then offer them to their hens, etc.
Do any of you who keep roosters have experiences with roosters actually protecting your hens from predators by their crowing, or even by attacking? Here's what spawns my question:
I was up in the middle of the night last night. It was a quiet and dark night, but all of a sudden our roosters began crowing, one after the other, over and over and over again. I began listening more closely and heard an owl--it sounded like a good-sized one--hooting in the pine tree right behind the chicken house. The owl and the roosters went back and forth for some time, almost as if there was a kind of "conversation" going on.
The episode made me wonder:
Unless they can take the risk of fleeing, many prey animals "freeze" and become very quiet and still when they sense a predator around, in hopes the predator won't notice them. Why did our roosters so loudly and insistently announce their presence when they sensed the owl nearby? Is it possible they were crowing as a "warning" to the owl? And that they crowed in sequence to give the owl some idea of the number of roosters prepared to defend the flock?
Based on their other protective behaviors, and the episode last night, I'm wondering whether roosters may serve a more protective role over the flock than I realized and, if so, how they do so.
Have any of you had personal experience with your roosters actually scaring off, or fighting off, owls or other predators? If so, I'd love to hear your story. This is fascinating stuff!
Thanks,
Chickenladyk
Do any of you who keep roosters have experiences with roosters actually protecting your hens from predators by their crowing, or even by attacking? Here's what spawns my question:
I was up in the middle of the night last night. It was a quiet and dark night, but all of a sudden our roosters began crowing, one after the other, over and over and over again. I began listening more closely and heard an owl--it sounded like a good-sized one--hooting in the pine tree right behind the chicken house. The owl and the roosters went back and forth for some time, almost as if there was a kind of "conversation" going on.
The episode made me wonder:
Unless they can take the risk of fleeing, many prey animals "freeze" and become very quiet and still when they sense a predator around, in hopes the predator won't notice them. Why did our roosters so loudly and insistently announce their presence when they sensed the owl nearby? Is it possible they were crowing as a "warning" to the owl? And that they crowed in sequence to give the owl some idea of the number of roosters prepared to defend the flock?
Based on their other protective behaviors, and the episode last night, I'm wondering whether roosters may serve a more protective role over the flock than I realized and, if so, how they do so.
Have any of you had personal experience with your roosters actually scaring off, or fighting off, owls or other predators? If so, I'd love to hear your story. This is fascinating stuff!
Thanks,
Chickenladyk
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