I've been looking through the forum already on the meaning of the rooster dance and come across conflicting opinions. Some people claim it's aggression/dominance driven while others say excitement/happiness. Well, which is it? I am wondering because my rooster did his little dance with me this morning as I was giving him snacks. Everybody gets scratch thrown out into the yard in the a.m. but I hand feed the rooster (not technically HAND feeding, I just hold the little measuring cup and let him eat out of it) because our dominant rooster will chase him away from the scratch. I know, I know... "You shouldn't spoil your rooster, it will make him mean." Anyway, this has been our routine for several weeks. He has not shown any aggression towards me, in fact he has become quite "sweet" for a rooster.
Fast forward to this morning. I am giving him the scratch from the measuring cup and he starts doing the dance as he's getting bites. Now, my first instinct was to end the session immediately because I assumed he was getting ready to be a jerk. As soon as I stood up and took the cup away, he gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes a rooster can give. I could almost FEEL the disappointment and sadness radiating off of him, sounds silly I know. But that brings me to the question in hand... Does the dance signify aggression/dominance or can it be affiliated with happiness? What are your thoughts?
Fast forward to this morning. I am giving him the scratch from the measuring cup and he starts doing the dance as he's getting bites. Now, my first instinct was to end the session immediately because I assumed he was getting ready to be a jerk. As soon as I stood up and took the cup away, he gave me the biggest puppy dog eyes a rooster can give. I could almost FEEL the disappointment and sadness radiating off of him, sounds silly I know. But that brings me to the question in hand... Does the dance signify aggression/dominance or can it be affiliated with happiness? What are your thoughts?
