What’s the good of a rooster?

You will be surprised to find there are quite a few uses and reasons for keeping roosters. Here we list a few and I’m pretty sure these aren’t the only ones

Pet or protector

Many chicken breeds - from the smallest Bantam to the king of chickens, the Bhrama - are actually very docile and don’t mind being carried around or fussed over. But don’t mistake his mometarily docile behavior. If he is faced with danger - which can be anything from the farm cat, hawks, snakes,dogs, or pretty much anything unusual or out of place around the yard - he can become very protective and rush off to defend his territory.

When does the day start?

The day usually kicks off at any time if you are a Rooster. There is no such thing ,as "oh a rooster crows at dawn.” Nope! If they spy a small flicker of light they crow 12 pm, 2am, 3am and even all through the day it’s all the same to them. Chickens have magical eyesight. The scientific name for this is tetrachromatic vision. A rooster,being super alert, misses nothing. Their extaordinary lenses and four cones magnify the tiniest movement of light, and allows them to see not only red, blue and green, but also ultra voilet which pretty much means they can see better and in more color than us. They can see 300 degrees which makes them so hard to catch, and many times just as you think you’ve gotten him, you don’t, and end up with bleeding scratches and a tail feather - after getting your face wing beaten off or worse - getting chased yourself!

Sounding the alarm

For some reason, being able to sleep through a rooster crowing is next to an impossible feat. All roosters have different crows and as you lie cursing in bed, trying to identify which rooster is making his voice heard and who is responding, you ask yourself are they sounding the alert to an intruder in the night? Perhaps in the form of a porcupine or p redator? Or did one of the tenants just arrive home unable to sneak past Mr Rooster? They make excellent alarms, which is one of his many job titles .

Getting rid of a rude word

Before a rooster comes of age he is known as a stag. During this phase the competitions begin as to who will become a main rooster. Much raping and pillaging of the pullets, and many stag fights take place, also know as cock fights . The word rooster is a fairly new word. They were all cockrells and cocks before. Then it got rude as it became known as a human appendage

I myself have turned beetroot red at comments like “wow look how big and shiny your cock is, he’s wonderful“ or “I only need a little gentle cock to cuddle.“ I support the term rooster and am glad the English dictionary does too.

Food and self-sufficiency

The lucky roosters get to stay, whilst the not so lucky guys are processed into feeding the family or the farm dogs. The lucky or “chosen ones” are then given their own little harems, or flock in chicken terms, in a ratio of six hens to one rooster. As he takes on his role more seriously he begins making his clicks, clucks and koers louder, and with much wing beating and fancy sideways footwork, he soon wins his ladies over. Not to mention when he finds a juicy cricket he calls them over. He spends a lot of his day doing finding juicy worms and protein bites for the hens, and when they go broody your future food source is on its way. In the form of eggs or meat.

A flair for drama

Perhaps one of the lesser know things about a beautiful big rooster is his feathers. He has a cape around his neck area, and a saddle around his back and tail area. Certain breeds are kept just for this, and the feathers are prized for fly tying. Fishermen all over the world are passionate about these specific feathers the more dramatic the better - and as we all know, a rooster is indeed a proud bird.

Heritage

All through the ages chickens and in particular roosters have been a sign of prosperity depicted in rich oil paintings, used for weathervanes and to decorate ceramics. In more recent times, there are gorgeous printed fabrics to make any home look very inviting and giving it that touch of good old country feeling.