Why Roosters have wattles

[journey11]

I hadn't really thought much about it or felt that I really needed to know, but someone out there in a white lab coat did and this is what they found out. This article really cracked me up. I hope they didn't spend too much time and money just to find out something that we backyard chicken enthusiasts already knew--the only thing a chicken ever really thinks about is FOOD!

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

My hens are at a disadvantage then. My rooster only has one really big wattle and the bottom half is frostbitten. He has a second wattle but it is small, stunted, and fused to his lower jaw.

I should get a picture later today, he looks so funny.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

heh, i have both roos with and without wattles (have beards instead) and i see no real issues with who the girls run to. it's all in how the roo does his song and dance to the girls to get their attention. my Chickie has the largest wattles of all my birds and the girls may start to react to his calling and then realize it is him and ignore his calling. he would attack them if they get too close and the girls seem to understand and give him space. (Chickie is antisocial with all my birds and prefers my and the dog's company instead)

 

[journey11]

heh, i have both roos with and without wattles (have beards instead) and i see no real issues with who the girls run to. it's all in how the roo does his song and dance to the girls to get their attention. my Chickie has the largest wattles of all my birds and the girls may start to react to his calling and then realize it is him and ignore his calling. he would attack them if they get too close and the girls seem to understand and give him space. (Chickie is antisocial with all my birds and prefers my and the dog's company instead)

LOL, yeah, chickens definitely aren't stupid. They know what he really wants!

 

[Wishin']

Wow that is the second most ridiculous study/conclusion I've ever heard. Really that is sad, and that passes as scientific fact? I wonder if any of the people working on that have ever had any previous experience with chickens. Because if they did they should know that is B.S.

 

[TheSeedObsesser]

Earlier today I was wondering how and why chickens would evolve to have wattles for that reason. I have accepted at first because I could not think of a better, more sensible explanation. My guess is that their wattles are really for regulating body temperatures, just like a rabbits ears. Rabbits in the warm south tend to have huge ears, which helps them to cool down their bodies. (Think of what all of those little blood vessels inside the ears do.) Rabbits up north however have smaller ears. Small thing with chickens- breeds originating in warm south have huge combs and wattles, breeds from the north have small combs and wattles.

What do you think Wishin'? If you're going to disapprove something and call it B.S. you might as well state why.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My thoughts are that the wattles have a part in temperature regulation like Seedo said. That’s probably why they first developed. Chickens don’t sweat like we do. They get rid of extra body heat through areas close to their skin like this and through respiration. That’s why they pant when they are hot.


But it’s also a sexual attractant. Bright red comb and wattles indicates a rooster in good health, fertile, and ready to mate, similar to a hen having a bright red comb and wattles signals she is laying eggs or about to and needs to be fertilized. I think the color has more to do with it than size.


That’s not the only criteria for mating. Some hens will squat for practically anything in spurs, but a sensible mature hen (maturity often has little to do with age) expects more out of her rooster. She expects him to dance, find her food and let her eat it, keep peace in the flock, and provide protection. Act like a rooster is supposed to act.


Where this research might have a use is that the commercial chicken industry spends many millions of dollars housing and feeding roosters so they can get fertile hatching eggs. If they could find a way to remove the roosters that are eating food and taking up space but not earning their keep, they can save money and be more efficient. Maybe that ratio could change from 10 to 1 to maybe 15 to 1. That would save them a bunch of chicken feed. I’m just guessing on that being the reason for this study. There might be another reason but they did not say who was paying for the study. Always follow the money.


I think they might be better off working with real chickens instead of virtual chickens. That way they might hear the rooster’s call when he finds food. The call is what gets their attention. The head bobbing and him picking up the food and dropping it shows them where the food is. Ever watch a broody with her chicks when she is calling them to eat. Just because someone did a study doesn’t convince me they reached a valid conclusion, especially when I have preconceived notions.

 

[Just-Moxie]

good post ridgerunner. I tend to agree with you. Even though I am a newbie chicken owner, I watch and observe them daily, for health and behaviors.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

i've definitely have watched my broodies with their chicks and i noticed they tend to do a lot of the same rooster behavior, the bucking and the bobbing of the head when i've brought treats or filled the food dish. even seen it happen with some of the ones i've raised in the house once they figure out that food is a good thing and to start 'spreading the wealth' to the others!

 

[Jared77]

I'm with Journey I can't believe someone actually studied this. I think Ridge is right a little more focus on what's going on with the flocks would do better than some virtual chicken.