Why Roosters have wattles

[Wishin']

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.





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.

Exactly I have over a hundred free range chickens, there used to be around twohundred and I spend a lot of my time sitting around watching them. I can say roosters bob their heads all day long, and hens don't come running. It is the call that brings them in. Also the size of the wattles has nothing to do with it, here there are big wattles, little wattles, no wattles, it doesn't matter. What seems to matter is the pecking order, rooster and hens maturity, and habits of the rooster.
Here is what I have observed over the years ....

While rooster do tend to have harems usually consisting of the batch of chicks they were raised with, they tend to have one or two girls who are "theirs" that even as inexperienced cockerels they are the first they protect from other roosters while other members are subject to the "grab and mate" from other roos. As the roos mature they may protect the rest of the harem as well. They are also the first girls they start dancing with instead of "grabbing and going" They tend to follow their hens around constantly, find places for her to lay and show them off by squeezing into the space and calling the girl. It is amusing to watch a poor rooster do this all only to have each place rejected and then when she finally goes to lay she picks the first spot of the day. Hens often fall for these roos, unfortunately hens that aren't "his girl" are subject to grab and go.

There there are the roosters who are fully mature and usually at the top of the pecking order. They call females often, but always dance for permission and never mate unless the hens crouch. They protect all hens in their harem from juvenile roosters. Hens prefer these roosters an will often follow them around and crouch without the male having to dance. Most of these males are Easter eggers (tiny barly noticeable wattles)

Then there are the young roosters, or the ones at the bottom of the pecking order. They don't protect, and when calling fails they chase down and often gang up on females mating one after the other, ignoring the poor girls squawking protests.They call females constantly, but most girls (unless they are young and inexperienced) completely ignore them. Many of these roosters have HUGE bright red wattles.

So why the wattles? When I first got chickens I wondered the same thing. So I researched it. What I found was temperature regulation. The wattles/comb are skin filled with blood vessels. Chickens can't sweat, the exposed skin not insulated by feathers helps them lose heat just like the cassowary . I believe this because I often observe chickens dip their wattle in water not drinking mind you, just dipping. Chickens with larger wattles/combs also seem to handle the heat better and don't tend to start panting as quickly then those who don't.

 

[AMKuska]

We had 2 roosters for a little while. A really mean jerk of a rooster, and a really sweet tempered, wonderful rooster. The sweet tempered, wonderful rooster would take treats out of my hand, and when ever I had treats he would make this little "BRRR!" sound and his little flock would come running to share.

We currently only have one rooster now. The nice one.

 

[so lucky]

I have the one rooster, He is still immature at 5 months, but big and beautiful, and a little scary looking. He is learning to manage his flock, but hasn't mastered the "gentlemanly" part yet. He's a copper black Marens. He does have a wattle, by the way.

 

[baymule]

Fox News Reports: Virtual Rooster Study wastes 347 BILLION DOLLARS of taxpayers money borrowed from China. Link; $%%$^%&^#$&*^(!@%& (and other cuss words)

 

[Cuddles11]

Ridgerunner, I agree with you on your point of heat expulsion. I am wondering how my poor sweet rooster will do this summer because his comb has been frostbitten. Because of his breed (he's a beautiful gold Phoenix) he has (had) one very tall comb. Almost every tooth of the comb (for lack of a better description) is now black due to lack of blood supply. I expect they will fall off, but am currently letting them remain to see what will happen. Being the king of the roost, the ladies are not the least put off by his shortened comb. Of course, they knew him when he was young and beautiful.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Fox News Reports: Virtual Rooster Study wastes 347 BILLION DOLLARS of taxpayers money borrowed from China. Link; $%%$^%&^#$&*^(!@%& (and other cuss words)

No Bay, that's 347 Bazzilion dollars. Marshal would be ashamed of you if you can't count better than that!

Yeah Marshal, you get blamed for things when you're not even around.

 

[Wishin']

Fox News Reports: Virtual Rooster Study wastes 347 BILLION DOLLARS of taxpayers money borrowed from China. Link; $%%$^%&^#$&*^(!@%& (and other cuss words)

 

[Smart Red]

Ya'll are laughing? I think crying is more appropriate. That's my money and yours that was just flushed.

Maybe laughing is a way to keep from crying?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Red, who paid for that study? Looks like it was probably performed in Macquarie University in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Are you sending your tax dollars there?


Our government does sponsor some pure research. It really does. But most of this type of research is performed at Universities. Not always but a lot of the time it is sponsored by private corporations. By donating big money they get in with a certain school. There is a reason the Poultry Science building at the University of Arkansas is named after a Tyson. These corporations sort of suggest a grad student might want to look into the specifics of something and by the way, they’ll fund the study. That way the corporation gets something looked at under the expert guidance of the University professor specializing in that, probably in facilities the corporation paid for already. The grad student is knowledgeable about something a potential employer wants them to be knowledgeable about. They are probably working with specialists from that company so their research project amounts to a really good interview with that company. That just seems like a win-win-win all the way around.


I’m not laughing about that study. I’m not crying about that study. I don’t know who paid for that specific Australian study, but that is typically how business does business, students become knowledgeable in things they need to be current on, and the universities enhance their reputation as a research institute plus their graduates get jobs.

 

[Just-Moxie]

The virtual chicken is as bad as the recent "Vegetable" egg! People have way too much time on their hands. Why not just study and observe a real flock....