🐾 Rooster

Rooster

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Who it is

• Scientific name: Gallus gallus domesticus
• Family & relatives: A male chicken in the pheasant family Phasianidae; its wild ancestor is the red junglefowl of Asia.
• How to spot it: A proud farm bird with a tall red comb, dangling wattles, glossy arched tail feathers, and a loud crowing call.

Its body & abilities

• Size: About 40 to 50 cm tall, depending on the breed.
• Weight: Usually about 2.5 to 4.5 kg (5 to 10 lb).
• Body & adaptations: It has sharp spurs on its legs, a strong beak, and bright feathers, and its red comb helps it stay cool.
• Top speed: Can run quickly at about 14 km/h (9 mph) and fly in short bursts.
• Strength: For its size it is strong and brave, flapping and using its spurs to guard the flock.
• Senses: Sharp color eyesight and good hearing; it can see more colors than people can.
• Growing up: It hatches from an egg as a fuzzy chick, grows its comb and feathers over months, and can crow by a few months old.

Where it lives

• Habitat: Farms, backyards, and villages all around the world, wherever people keep chickens.
• Where in the world: Found worldwide as a domestic bird; its wild ancestor lives in the forests of South and Southeast Asia.
• Territory: A rooster guards a small home yard and the hens in his flock, chasing away rivals.

What it eats

• Diet: An omnivore that pecks seeds and bugs from the ground and drinks fresh water daily.
• Favorite foods: Grain, seeds, grass, worms, insects, and kitchen scraps.
• How it hunts: It scratches the ground with its feet and pecks up seeds and small bugs it uncovers.

How it behaves

• How it moves: Walks and struts on two legs, scratches the dirt, and flutters up to roosts and low branches.
• When it is active: Active by day and famous for crowing at sunrise; it roosts up high to sleep at night.
• Family life: Lives in a group called a flock, where the rooster leads and protects the hens.
• How it talks: Crows loudly to announce his territory and makes clucks and calls to warn the flock of danger.
• Babies: Hens lay eggs that hatch after about 21 days of warm sitting; the chicks can walk and peck soon after hatching.

Its place in nature

• Role in nature: It helps control bugs and weeds on the farm; foxes, hawks, and other predators may hunt chickens.
• Conservation: A domestic bird that is very common worldwide and not at risk.
• Dangers: Most risks come from predators, cold weather, and illness.

Life & legacy

• How long it lives: About 5 to 8 years, and sometimes over 10 years with good care.
• In our culture: A worldwide symbol of the dawn and of France, and one of the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac.
• Where to see it: Farms, petting zoos, county fairs, and backyard chicken coops nearly everywhere.
• Fun fact: A rooster tips his head back and crows with his whole body, and he often starts before the sun is even up.