Why do cocks croak: the conclusions of biologists. Several reasons why the cock stopped crowing

The village life seems idyllic for many townspeople - silence, fresh air, a measured rhythm of existence, simple and understandable troubles ... The only question that residents of the megalopolis are surely asked to come to the village to rest - why do cocks crow? In the street it's still dark, early unhealthy, sleeping and sleeping, and the voiced "alarm clock" arranges a time and time again. Since unused and on vacation, these "songs" seem annoying and unnecessary.

This colonel

Meanwhile, as everything in nature, and crowing has a logical and clear rationale. The main reason why cocks crow, is the need to alert competitors in the district that the territory is busy and guarded vigilantly. It is believed that in ancient times the ancestors of chickens dispensed with such acoustic signals, which led to severe battles for the habitat. And nature provided cocks with a loud voice in order to avoid universal mutual extermination.

Male first casts his voice when he turns 4 months old. Experienced poultry houses, who know why cocks crow, carefully follow the singing talents of chickens. And, if the potential producer of attempts to declare himself does not, he is subject to culling. Soup from a young cockerel who has not trampled on chickens is considered a delicacy in many countries.

It is also curious that the voice of each "alarm clock" is profoundly individual, just like his morning song. And the deviation in the sound - a maximum of a half tone. In addition to annoying townspeople crowing, the cock has a lot of other sounds, for every life event. Somehow he calls the harem to a meal, somehow denotes discontent with the behavior of one of the wards. There are signals of danger, there is a warning about your own attack, there are love songs. But all these sounds are quiet enough, so people do not pay attention to them.

Time to sing a song

It is well known and why roosters croak in the morning. There are several reasons for this. One of them is a reminder to others that the territory is still unfree. The second - a kind of army verification: everything is in place, no one caught the tooth of the night predator. The third is the announcement of the coming of a new day.

Sunrise is the reason why the cock crows at night. It's still dark for the person, and the bird feels that the dawn is close. So the first signal, depending on the season, is distributed between 12 and one o'clock in the morning. These biological clocks are extremely precise and do not get knocked out. Biologist Wolfgang Schleidt conducted a series of experiments on this topic. True, the experiments were performed on turkeys, but they also belong to the chicken tribe and are crooked in the same regime that the roosters yell. The scientist has established that the delivery of a voice does not go astray from the right time, even with complete prolonged isolation or deprivation of hearing birds.

Hierarchical staircase

It is important to understand not only why cocks crow, but in what order they do it. In the poultry house, especially not the smallest one, there are usually several males. And they are strictly distributed according to the rule. This hierarchy clearly regulates the order of access to food and mating. And the main indicator of the ranking is the order of morning singing. Japanese biologists published a research report in the Scientific Reports magazine in which they indicated that the first is the voice of the alpha cock, the second is the next one, etc. If the head of the pack dies or grows old, the next in the list replaces it.

A Few Reasons Why a Cock Crows

Speaking impartially, the loud-sounding "alarm clock" screams not only according to the schedule. He can scare even in broad daylight. However, there must be an excuse for this. As it can act:

1. Invasion of the protected territory of a potential enemy.
2. Challenge the young competitor to Alpha for the battle for primacy.
3. The upcoming sharp weather change.

Can try the voice and young males, not going to compete with the leader. In this case, the leader does not respond to the cry, but sets the bashful to bash. And, if that hint does not understand, he can peck him to death.

If the cock crows constantly, during the whole day (or even nights), there can be two explanations. First, the personal character of the bird is affected. And then the owners will either have to accept this, or change the manufacturer. Secondly, the bird can constantly be stressed in stress. For example, if you bought an adult. In this case, you just need to wait until the adaptation period passes.

An alarming silence

But why the cock stopped crowing, you need to find out as soon as possible. It's just that the bird does not lose his voice. The most common cause is a variety of respiratory diseases, which can soon lead to the death of the individual. Indirect symptoms of this are rapid or intermittent breathing, together with blanching of the scallop.

Sometimes the cock is silent during moulting. If so, then he will resume his songs when the difficult period is left behind.

Worst of all, if due to a recent illness, the cock "changed the floor". This does not mean that he became a hen, just internally he ceased to perceive himself as a male, leader. He loses interest in his harem and ceases to defend the accountable territory.

The bird should be immediately shown to the vet. In most cases (except moult), the cock must be replaced.