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Rooster
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{{otheruses}}
Image:Rooster04 adjusted.jpg thumb|250px|right|Rooster in grass, demonstrating the "alert" stance before sounding an alarm
The
chicken, the female being a
hen. The cock is called a '''rooster''' or a '''cockerel'''. The term is reputedly so used because the cock is said to roost over clutches of
egg (biology) eggs to guard them. In fact, "roosting" is the action of perching aloft to sleep at night, and is done by both sexes. The cock is
polygamous, and could not guard several nests of eggs at once. He guards the general area where his hens are nesting, and will attack other predators who enter his territory. During the daytime, he often sits on a high perch, usually 4-5 feet off the ground, to serve as a lookout for his flock. He will sound a distinctive alarm call if predators are around.
Image:Rooster03.jpg thumb|left|250px|Cock strutting
"
Cock" is the original name for the male, still in use in parts of the
English language English-speaking world, but largely dropped by Americans. According to
H. L. Mencken's ''
The American Language'', the euphemism "rooster" took precedence over "cock" in the
USA during the
Victorian era (and parts of the bird were similarly renamed, such as the "drumstick" for "leg") to avoid ostensibly sexually provocative language ("cock" is a coarse
slang term for the
penis). However, "cocky", another American slang
adjective meaning "arrogant" and derived from the "proud" strutting walk of the bird, is still considered acceptable in polite conversation.
The cock is the (unofficial) national mascot of
France, in particular for sports teams and a cock was chosen to be the mascot of the 1998
FIFA World Cup.
Image:Rooster.jpg thumb|right|A "Barred Plymouth Rock" cock crowing
The sound made by the cock is spelt (
onomatopoeia) as "Cock-a-doodle-doo" in English, but otherwise in some other languages, such as:
Arabic language Arabic KooKooKoo-koo,
Chinese language Chinese goh-geh-goh-goh,
Dutch language Dutch kukeleku,
French language French cocorico,
German language German kikeriki,
Greek language Greek kikiriku,
Hebrew language Hebrew ku-ku-ri-ku,
Indonesian language Indonesian kukuruyuk,
Italian language Italian chicchirichì,
Japanese language Japanese ko-ke kokkoh,
Korean language Korean k'ok'iyo,
Norwegian language Norwegian kykkeliky,
Polish language Polish kukuryku,
Portuguese language Portuguese Cócórócócó,
Romanian language Romanian cucurigu,
Russian language Russian ku-ka-rye-ku,
Slovak language Slovak kikirikÃ,
Spanish language Spanish kikiriki,
Swahili language Swahili KokoRikoo koo,
Swedish language Swedish kuckeliku,
Gujarati language Gujarati kuk-de-kuk,
Tamil language Tamil ko-ka-ra-ko and in
Turkish language Turkish üü-ürü-üüü.
The cock is often pictured in art as crowing at the break of dawn, and this is accurate. He can often be seen sitting on fence posts or other objects, where he crows to proclaim his territory. However, he will also crow during the rest of the day, and even sometimes on a bright moonlit night. He has several other calls as well, and can cluck the same as a hen.
Image:Rooster02.jpg thumb|250px|left|Cock amongst a flock of hens
The
Talmud refers to learning "courtesy towards one's mate" from the cock. This may be because, when a cock finds something good to eat, he calls the hens in his flock to eat first. This call is distinctive from regular clucking or crowing. While giving this call, he will repeatedly pick up a morsel of food and drop it again to attract the attention of the hens. (A mother hen uses a similar call and action to teach her chicks to feed.)
At another place in the Talmud (תלמוד בבלי מסכת ביצה דף ×– עמוד ×?) the rooster is closely connected to the day. It is said that he fullfills his task at daytime and is born at daytime.
Also the Greek philosopher
Socrates has an intersting connection to a rooster: After he has already drunken the poison in his cell in Athens (at the end of the Platonic Dialogue
Phaidon) his last words are: "O Kriton, we still owe a rooster to Aesclepius". Then he dies. See
Phaidon.
Capons
A Capon is a castrated chicken cock. In this procedure the testes of the cock are completely removed; a surgical procedure is required for this as its sexual organs are not external (most birds, especially cocks, don't posses a penis). As a result of this procedure certain male physical characteristics will develop, but stunted:
*The comb and wattles cease growing after castration, so the head of a Capon looks small.
*The hackle, tail and saddle feathers grow unusually long.
Caponisation also affects the disposition of the bird; as a result. Removal of the bird's
testes eliminates the male sex hormones, lessening the male sex instincts changing their behaviour: the birds become more docile and less active and do not tend to fight.
This procedure produces a unique type of poultry meat which is favoured by a specialised market. The meat of normal uncastrated cocks has a tendency to become coarse, stringy, and tough as the birds age. This process is not duplicated with the Capon. As Caponised males grow slower than entire males they accumulate more body fat; the concentration of fat in both the light and dark areas of the Capon meat is greater than in that of the uncastrated males; overall, it is often thought that Capon meat is more tender, juicier, and more flavoursome than regular chicken.
Cocks as domestic pets
While not so common in cities as in small towns or farms, having a domestic cock is considered by some to be one of most wonderful experiences, although it's debatable whether or not this kind of environment is adequate for these birds. Some general tips for raising and keeping the well being of domestic cocks include:
*Giving them a wide and open area to live and walk about, allowing them plenty of space to "roost"
*At night, keep them in a simple but comfortable structure or bed, allowing them space to crow at dawn.
*Try to keep their sleeping space dark. Cocks usually crow at the first sight of light, which could be annoying to neighbours.
*Feed them cracked corn, sold at any live poultry house.
*Clean their living space frequently.
*Prevent interaction between cocks when it is possible.
French cock
The origins of the
French language French cock lie in wordplay on the Latin ''Gallus'', which means both "
Gaul" and "cock". Note that this symbolism dates back to the time when many French people had the notion of "The Gauls, our ancestors" (most French are actually from Latin or Germanic descent). Nowadays, some in France consider this symbol to be associated with vulgar
jingoism rather than out of fashion. However, it continues to be used as the national symbol for the French
rugby union rugby and
football soccer teams, amongst other uses. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:France#French_Cock]
External links
*[http://www.aldaver.com/Images/Wc/wc1998m2.jpg] Images of Footix the cockerel mascot of the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
*[http://www.info-france-usa.org/atoz/rooster.asp] Information from the Embassy of France in United States about the cockerel like France´s mascot.
Category:Heraldic birds
Category:Poultry farming
da:Hane
de:Hahn
fr:Coq
nl:Haan (kip)
pl:Kogut
ru:Петух
fi:Kukko
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