This morning’s random object was a rooster Roosters are dinosaurs in the yard. They are predators, aggressive, and funny because they act like they run everything.
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If you have never been chased by a rooster, are you even living. My mom likes them from afar because it is their cocky ways, their strut, and their little guy energy that make them so bold. They will run right up and spur you if you are not paying attention.
That old question shows up, which came first, the chicken or the egg. It is the egg because we created the domesticated chicken. Chickens were domesticated from the red junglefowl, and those birds will still interbreed with chickens. Red junglefowl are skittish and only lay once a year, so there are real differences. People bred chickens for eggs, meat, color, and attitude, and later for show with big poofy Orpingtons and bold Leghorns.
Roosters still hunt like little predators. I have watched them stalk grasshoppers and insects across the yard, and I have seen them eat mice. My mom thought they only ate seeds and grains until she saw videos of chickens and roosters chasing and eating mice. My favorite clip has a young cat confused by a big mouse, then a rooster darts in, scoops it up, and swallows it. Every time I watch it, I think of a tiny T Rex moment.
Part of the modern aggression was bred because of cock fights. Where I grew up, cockfighting was a big deal, and I even saw a school team called the Fighting Chicks. My grandfather’s feed store had customers who raised prize fighting birds and bought special feed and gear. It was legal in many places until 2018 when it became illegal nationwide and in all the territories. It still happens in places like Mexico, South America, the Philippines, and India.
Texas has been in the news for a different reason, the fight for the right to keep backyard chickens. Cities and HOAs try to stop it over noise and smell, and roosters take the blame for the crowing.
People ask why they crow in the morning, but roosters are birds, and most birds sing at dawn to mark territory and to let the hens know they are healthy and ready for love. I even joked about singing to my wife at dawn to see if that works. There are famous roosters like the San Diego Chicken, Cocky, and Foghorn Leghorn, and there are a lot of chickens in the world feeding people every day.
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Also, if you, or a teacher friend, would like a 20-30 minute lesson plan about roosters, feel free to download and share this one:
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