As in so many other species, the basic instinct of male chickens is to exercise and maintain control over a given territory, which includes not only a physical space, but also a population – in this case, the chicken coop. The rooster thus has a whole repertoire of special characteristics to impose its authority: such as swelling, a greater coloration of the comb and, of course, the song – issued with vigor to scare any challenger. “Like a daytime bird, which sleeps and wakes up early, it sings at the top of its lungs at daybreak, to let the hen house know that it is still alive and in charge”, says veterinarian Herbert Ribeiro dos Santos. For this reason, it is very difficult to find a henhouse with more than one rooster – unless there are an excessive number of hens – as only one male would survive the dispute for leadership.
