The Genetics of Temperament - Anecdotal Notebook

[Seaslug]

("Unkind" to mean causing damage attempting to mate and not displaying courtship behaviors).

I am interested to know if anyone thinks that roosters may be at a disadvantage trying to mate some of the breeds that no longer physically resemble the structure of the game fowl from which they originated? Could damage be related less to temperament and more to structural difficulties? I am asking, not suggesting, as I do not own roosters.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I am interested to know if anyone thinks that roosters may be at a disadvantage trying to mate some of the breeds that no longer physically resemble the structure of the game fowl from which they originated? Could damage be related less to temperament and more to structural difficulties? I am asking, not suggesting, as I do not own roosters.

In some cases that is entirely the case, not just as a change from the game fowl, but between highly specialized varieties. Some birds have so much butt fluff that they can't connect. Others are simply the wrong shape.

A rooster can accidentally grab the comb rather than the neck on a smaller hen, but the aggression which results in him tearing her comb entirely off is not accidental. The aggression which results in him killing a hen that won't submit is not accidental.

Wild gamefowl have a highly complex set of social rules, which result in the highest number of chicks surviving and a relatively peaceful flock life. One of these rules is the courtship. A rooster which forces mating will never have any offspring because the hen decides which sperm she retains. It's a decidedly counter-productive behavior which is much more prevalent in captive flocks. A wild rooster needs to court his ladies and ask their permission. Going after young pullets is also counterproductive. Killing hens or disabling them because they won't sibmit, likewise.

It is likely that some of this is accidental, particularly with young cockerels who are still learning. Not all of it, by a long shot.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I've been trying to decide if the following anecdote fits here, but it illustrates a number of temperament issues as well as flock behavior.

My current rooster was probably 20 weeks (?) old when this happened.

I let him out of confinement when the old roo died. He started cozying up to the ladies, wing dancing, tit-bitting, and no forced matings. The young pullets were his groupies, but the older hens didn't like him.

This was primarily due to the lead hen, who wasn't about to give over her position to a teenage punk.

Then one of HER hens squatted for him, and the war was on! She knocked him off, lit into the hen, then went after him.

He fought her off, she attacked him again. At one point he wrestled her down and started pecking at her head. The other hens piled in to stop him, he backed off...and she went after him again!

She just would not give in. I won't use the word submit, because it was obviously her attacking.

I guess he finally got tired of it, because he began to chase her. Not seriously, but he had longer legs and was much younger. She ran, stopped, attacked him again, and this time he chased her all the way around the house. They came around the corner and she was panting, staggering and close to collapse. He's jogging easily behind her, obviously just enjoying the run.

She got back to the other hens and collapsed, which he of course took as an invitation to mount.

She fought him off, but this time didn't attack him. And he let it go.

The next morning they were besties and she was his beta. First and only time I heard her crow.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

I find this thread very interesting and am looking forward to following along.

 

[MysteryChicken]

One thing I need to correct with my Chameleons, is their flightiness. They're non aggressive, but are just pretty scaredy.
Don't want to get rid of flightiness entirely, but reduce it abit so it's not that extreme.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

in my experience, RIR hens are more dominant and human- aggressive, often becoming the leaders in all hen flocks. the roosters can be sweethearts who are polite to their humans, but are again very dominant, starting fights even with known roosters, and breeding more frequently and roughly with their hens.

 

[LaurenRitz]

in my experience, RIR hens are more dominant and human- aggressive, often becoming the leaders in all hen flocks. the roosters can be sweethearts who are polite to their humans, but are again very dominant, starting fights even with known roosters, and breeding more frequently and roughly with their hens.

The hen in this case is a Jersey Giant, the roo a Jersey Giant x RIR back-crossed to the RIR.

 

[MysteryChicken]

in my experience, RIR hens are more dominant and human- aggressive, often becoming the leaders in all hen flocks. the roosters can be sweethearts who are polite to their humans, but are again very dominant, starting fights even with known roosters, and breeding more frequently and roughly with their hens.

I've always ended up with human aggressive Cockerels/Rooster from RIRs. Weird to hear the opposite from someone else.

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

I've always ended up with human aggressive Cockerels/Rooster from RIRs. Weird to hear the opposite from someone else.

maybe Will was the outlier, not the rule. even being a good boy, he still somehow overbred 3 of his hens......... he had around 20, but I guess the Plymouths were his favorite.

 

[LaurenRitz]

I've always ended up with human aggressive Cockerels/Rooster from RIRs. Weird to hear the opposite from someone else.

What about RIR hens? I've found the hens to be pretty chill toward me, indifferent, but a good percentage hate chicks to the point of homicide and they fight a lot among themselves.

On the other hand, those I have interacted with have also been the best at flock cooperation.