Here's some simple handy facts about Roosters that you might find very useful and entertaining:

Roosters love to crow at any time of the day, not just sunrise!

You probably think of roosters as crowing right when the sun comes up, but they can “cock-a-doodle-doo” pretty much any time of the day. Some roosters like to crow all day, all the time, while others crow very little. It really depends on their personality.

Rooster Reproduction is Driven by the Sun

We all know that light influences a hen’s laying cycle, but did you know that it also influences a rooster’s fertility? A rooster’s sperm and testosterone are produced in his testes. These testes shrink and grow seasonally.

Some countries hold rooster crowing contests.

Rooster crowing contests are a traditional sport in a lot of places like Germany and Belgium. So how do you win one of these contests? Depending on the type of rooster you have, the contest could be for the longest crow or the number of crows in a set time.

A rooster saved a pilgrim’s life.

According to Portuguese legend, a pilgrim visited the city of Barcelos and was wrongly accused of a crime. He asked the judge to spare his life and declared that the roasted rooster on the judge’s supper table would prove his innocence. Everyone laughed, but when the rooster came to life and crowed out loud, the pilgrim was spared. Today, the magical rooster known as the Rooster of Barcelos is a symbol of luck.

Hens don’t need them to lay eggs.

This may seem trivial to chicken keepers, but it’s actually the most asked question people have about chickens. You do not need a rooster to have chicken eggs. Hens will lay eggs regardless of whether a rooster is around or not. A rooster’s job is the fertilization of those eggs.

Origin of the name.

Until the late 18th century, a male chicken was generally referred to as a cock, a young cock was a cockerel. The word rooster first appeared in 1774. It was only when the shorter word began to have rude connotations that it began to be shunned in favour of rooster and cockerel.

The tidbitting dance.

Roosters perform a dance called tidbitting in which they make ‘took, took’ food calls to let other chickens know of the presence of food. It can be quite funny to observe and at the same time is a testament to their intelligence.

Rooster Combs, Wattles, and Feathers are Pretty with a Purpose

When we humans look for a mate, there are qualities we tend to look for. It’s different for every person; arms, abs, you name it. But at the root of this, is our base instinct to find a mate that will provide strong offspring. Looks help to guide us and it’s the same with chickens. Hens tend to favor roosters with a large red comb with tall points. Evenly formed wattles and long spurs are also must-haves. Long, shiny, and colorful hackle and saddle feathers are used as a rooster puffs up and displays for a hen. These are all outward signs that a rooster is healthy and will provide healthy offspring. It’s all about genetic destiny for both hens and roosters. Outward appearance provides that glimpse into the future.

The Gallic Rooster In 58 BC Rome and Gaul were “best enemies.” They had been attacking each other for a few hundred years, and Julius Caesar was just about to put an end to it. He began the Gallic Wars to take over the land of Gaul. It was the invading Romans who were responsible for making the barnyard bird the symbol of France. It seems that in Latin, the word gallus meant both “the people of Gaul” and “cockerel.” The Romans had a good laugh at those “roosters” who were arrogant enough to stand up and crow as if they were a match for the imperial Roman eagle. So, they used the image of the rooster as a way to belittle and degrade the people of Gaul. But the Gauls were brave in battle and decided to adopt their feathered namesake as a symbol of courage – because roosters will fight to protect their flock and will take on any other animal no matter how big. In the fifth century when the Romans disappeared and the Franks came along, the coq gaulois was already ingrained in the culture. Symbol of a god. Julius Caesar declared Mercury as the most popular and prominent god in Britain and Gaul. Mercury is also commonly associated with fine arts. He was previously equated with Lugus, the Celtic god. He is depicted with a cockerel, as herald of the new day, and a ram, as a symbol of fertility.

Roosters Have Hardy Sperm

The normal body temperature of a chicken is between 105 degrees and 107 degrees. Roosters do not have a penis. A rooster’s sperm is produced and carried inside his body and stays viable at body temperature. Once a rooster has mated, his sperm can stay viable inside a hen’s body for up to two weeks.

Hens Can Spontaneously Become Roosters.

It starts with hen anatomy. A female chicken has one ovary and one inactive gonad, a remnant of early chicken development when sex genes haven't yet activated. A gonad can become an ovary, a testicle, or a combination of the two (ovotestis), but once those genes go the female route, that other gonad just sits there.

Now enter a cyst or tumor that damages the hen's ovary, and the gonad steps up to fill the sex-anatomy void. A gonad that develops into a testicle or an ovotestis instead of an ovary will start the release of androgens, a male sex hormone, and a sex change can result.

The typical hen-to-rooster transition begins with an end to egg-laying and progresses to behaviors and physical traits. A hen will start strutting and crowing, gain weight and grow the quintessential rooster wattles, dark feathers and cockscomb atop its head.

The result is essentially a sterile rooster. As far as the experts know, this change only happens to females; a rooster-to-hen conversion has never been documented.