Hawk in the Henhouse

Rooster Dance

Jack the yard rooster (Gallus gallus domesticus) and his successor who remains without name.

Jack, formerly the alpha, lost his eye in a fight with the black rooster, and so was demoted to beta male, and banished to the garden. Once, he got in a physical confrontation with the now-dominant black rooster, but, with only one eye and no longer at the peak of fitness, he literally ran away screaming like a scared child. It was humorous and bitter-sweet.

Now, all confrontations (rare as they may be) occur with a fence in between.

They mirror each other’s movements, in an age-old dance of dominance that probably dates back to their dinosaur ancestors.

First down, then up. Then the neck feathers flare out.

The black rooster has outgrown Jack. I suspect Jack has some banty genes.

Chickens really are tiny dinosaurs.