ROOSTER-HEN INTERACTIONS

[centrarchid]

CROSSING SKIRMISH LINES

I am watching two harems. First bounded by yellow is led by an American Dominique x California Gray rooster has a single adult hen about 17 days into brooding a clutch of eggs and includes about 35 juveniles derived from 5 broods, most were brooder reared through the first 5 weeks post-hatch. Second bounded by blue is led by a pure American Dominique and has four hens (three dominique x American game, and one pure dominique) all in the process of making clutches and three are near point of setting (going broody). Roosters squabble / skirmish back and forth at territory boundary about once each day but actually contact was observed only once. Typical skirmish involves roosters showing cotton as chasing each other back and forth along mowed path at border. It is funny to watch. The dom cross hens occasionally slip into rival groups territory and harem master chases them back which sometimes involves a 100 foot flight the rooster cannot match. Alternatively the pure dom hen walks almost to core or first harems territory and harem aster of that territory courts her but she has not allowed him to cover / copulate / mate with her. That harem master also has not attempted to provide her with eats. A juvenile stag of the first harem also escorts her about when she visits and low level threats seem to be exchanged between them but no actual fighting. She stays for about 15 minutes and then goes back where she is usually covered immediately by her harem master.

 

[centrarchid]

Edit: Got egg one at about 5:30 PM on 7/08. We are roughly two weeks from beginning of incubation and 5 weeks from hatch.
Edit: no egg 7/09
Edit: one egg 7/10 (n=2)
Edit: one egg 7/11 (n=3)
Edit: one egg late 7/12 - PM fed salmon fillet with skin on to put fat and carotenoid into Brownie to push egg production (n=4)
Edit: one egg 7/13 (n=5)
Edit: one egg 7/14 (n=6)
Edit: no egg 7/15 (n=6)
Edit: one egg 7/16 (n=7)

Darnit, Brownie has commited to setting after only 7 eggs laid. She is on nest tonight. She skipped two days with respect to producing an egg / day. This happens late in season when birds stressed by heat. Slugger will be moved tomorrow and pen placed in new location for next 23 days or so. During this time her ground will be watered each morning to help keep Brownie and developing brood from over heating.

Good news is Spec has produced egg number x Red on 7/16 (n=1)
Edit: no egg .7/17 (n=1)
Edit: one egg 7/18 (n=2)
Edit: one egg 7/19 (n=2)
Edit: no egg 7/20 (n=3)
Edit: one egg 7/21 (n=4)
Edit: one egg 7/22 (n=5)
Edit: one egg 2/23 (n=6)
Edit: one egg 2/24 (n=7)
Edit: 2/25 Spec goes broody.

 

[centrarchid]

ECLIPSE MOLT UNDERWAY FOR SLUGGER


Eclipse hackle feathers are shorter, with rounded black tips. They are very numerous but most do not extend beyond primary hackle feathers. Slugger must be hot with two coats.




All but main sicle feathers lost. New ones coming in as blood feathers.

 

[centrarchid]

HENS PREFER COCKS OVER STAGS

For some reason my hens prefer to interact with cocks. Initially I thought possibly hens saw differences in feathering. Cocks have more flowing sicles and longer flight feathers in addition to longer spurs. Cocks also are generally heavier as well, and almost always heavier than they were as stags. After watching the goings on, it appears hens can distinguish cocks from stags based on sound alone.

 

[centrarchid]

Darnit, Brownie has commited to setting after only 7 eggs laid. She is on nest tonight. She skipped two days with respect to producing an egg / day. This happens late in season when birds stressed by heat. Slugger will be moved tomorrow and pen placed in new location for next 23 days or so. During this time her ground will be watered each morning to help keep Brownie and developing brood from over heating.

Brownie's eggs all hatched yesterday and day before except one early this morning. Duration of her setting on eggs to first hatch only 18 days. This high heat is consistently screwing up hatches making so late hatching embryos would not survive without my intervention. Last egg to hatch was one that was last one set in clutch so "spontaneous" incubation by high ambient heat caused problem. Weight variation also extreme between hatchlings. Some appear dehydrated. Under such conditions I think hen would have done better with clutch contacting ground in more shaded location.

 

[adgcountrygirl]

I love your attention to detail!!!

 

[centrarchid]

AGE OF DISPERSAL

I have three flocks with roosting site very close to house. Flock 1 is about 20 weeks post-hatch, flock 2 (front porch) is about 16 weeks post-hatch, and flock 3 is about 12 weeks post-hatch. Each group has at least some members that are American games which are principle players in what is going on. The juveniles in flock 3 all roost tightly together and for most part get along well. Juveniles in flock 2 are starting to fight a lot which has resulted in four of the six pullets to roost elsewhere and even attempting to roost in locations occupied by other flocks which also reject them. Subadults of flock 1 all roost in same black walnut tree but they do not roost together on same branch. I have some adult roosters contained in pens in several locations. Those roosters seem to tolerate the juvenile pullets of flock 2 just fine and attempt to call in pullets of flock 1. About 16 weeks is age females start leaving natal flock. I think their brothers are speeding up process by being aggressive. By 20 weeks the brothers begin dispersing as well. If like in past the males will not attempt to roost with other groups, at least not in same tree if adult rooster present.

 

[centrarchid]

HEN FIGHTS OFF ROVING GROUP OF STAGS AT FEEDING STATION

Virtually all my hens are penned for duration of breeding season to ensure I have control over to whom hen is mated and what hen a given egg in a nest comes from. I now occasionally release a hen or two so they can dust bath bath and get some greens in diet. Today one of those hens went into the territory of occupied and defended by a group of subadult gamechickens made up of 7 stags and 3 pullets. She went straight to their feeding station which they typically exclude other groups from. Initially she had area to herself until resident group spotted her and approached from a 100 feet or so away. The stags took lead in trying to intimidate her making a threatening sound and going through the typical threat displays which hen responded aggressively to and she quickly went on offensive. Four stags committed to fighting with her yet she easily bounded back and forth between them effectively keeping them away from feed she had on ground. Feathers flew but she held her ground quite well despite all the stags having a weight advantage on her, sometimes by a pound and a half. At that point my dog ran over and broke up interaction. If allowed to play itself out I think stags would have driven her off themselves. She still was impressive. I doubt she would have attempted same against cock or even bullstag.

 

[Matthew3590]

Wow it is awesome how you have several flocks all in the same yard. How did you make that happen? Just the times when they were hatched?

 

[centrarchid]

Wow it is awesome how you have several flocks all in the same yard. How did you make that happen? Just the times when they were hatched?

Yard has size to it, several acres which are used by birds. I also maintain several distinct roosting sites and many sub-flocks are actually initiated as brooder reared cohorts. Such cohorts have all members imprinted on each other and they do not like non-members. Occasionally although not this year I have actual free-ranging harems and they hold discrete territories. Several acres is not enough when birds are games to allow muliple harems as roosters do not always respect boundaries and fights to end ensue. In past where I grew up multiple harems could be maintained but acreage much greater and habitat was more complex with natural borders / vegetated fences that helped define territorial boundaries.