Old, Less Fertile Roosters Dominate Access to Sexually-Active Hens

Aging roosters think they’re still top birds, even as sex drive fades. They can’t fertilize eggs anymore but they continue to dominate still fertile hens. Reality is that the hens would benefit from sex from younger more fertile males, but aging makes them run around like peacocks, oblivious to a decline in key reproductive traits from libido to sperm quality.

Conducting research in Sweden, Oxford scientists found that aging roosters try to dominate the pecking order, monopolizing direct access to females. Because of their reduced fertility the old roosters fail to fertilize the eggs, presenting a significant evolutionary conflict.

Our study shows that this sort of sexual decline is an engine driving sexual conflict in animals,’ said Dr Rebecca Dean of Oxford University’s Department of Zoology, also an author of the report. Researching animals in the wild is very difficult but the researchers believe that the classic war between the sexes may have roots in the biological need of hens to hang out with younger males. via Science Daily

Refusing to accept reduced influence in the evolutionary pecking order, aging male roosters not only attempt to restrict access to the hens but occasionally dress them head-to-toe in hemp cloth, so they’re not even visible to young males seeking to plant their evolutionary seeds in still-hot hens. Read on at Science Daily