Lin, Harvey Ussery is right that roosters who dance for their hens have happier hens. Not only do they dance for their hens but they help raise chicks, watch out for the chicks, tell their hens of good places where to lay their eggs, and even help sit on the eggs. My blue silkie cockerel has a good 8-9, 1-2 month old chicks he is raising on his own. I've watched my silkie roosters make a hollow in clean pine bedding, call to his hens, make broody noises and put beddin on his back like he is broody. After his hens lay their eggs in the nest he made, he sits with them and stands guard over them. I am keeping my white frizzled cockerel because he goes one step farther and takes treats to his broodys and keeps a concerned eye on them. These behaviors are not limited to silkies. My white rock rooster is just as caring and gentle to his hens and pullets as my silkie roosters are to theirs. A good rooster/cockerel is worth his weight in gold.
Cathryn rainbowsilkiesTM Michigan
From: Tante Lin <tantelin@gmail.com>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2012 6:43 PM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Rooster wounding hens when mating
I read in Harvey Ussery's book THE SMALL SCALE POULTRY FLOCK that
chickens are most likely to be wounded during mating by a rooster who
lacks the ancestral knowledge of courting. He won't keep a rooster who
doesn't "dance" for his ladies. Roosters who court their mates with
dances are accepted by the hens, who are prepared for what our
grandfathers called "treading." Without the rooster's dance, the rooster
is effectively raping the hens, who have had no time to prepare
themselves for the act, and thus, they are injured. Mr Ussery states
that since he only allows roosters who dance, he has not had any injured
hens.
Does that match the experience of others? I don't own a rooster, so I
can't speak from experience.
--
Regards,
Lin
"If you believe in freedom, liberty, self-determination,
free enterprise, I don't care if you're a Muslim,
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