As I mentioned in yesterdayâs post about the house where Joan Crawford (aka Faye Dunaway) lived in Mommie Dearest, I have become just a wee-bit obsessed with the 1981 film as well as the 1978 autobiography of Joanâs daughter, Christina Crawford, on which it was based.
The rooster's sexual organ is called a papilla, a small bump inside his cloaca from which semen exits. To mate, a rooster climbs onto the back of a hen, standing on the hen's back and using his wings maintain balance, and forcefully touches his cloaca to hers in what's known as a cloacal kiss.
Standard recommendation is 10:1 ratio but I find 15:1 a better fit for a mature, breeding age rooster. As they age into later years and breeding isn't a goal, you can get by with a few less hens and still not have too much wear and tear on the hens as the rooster won't be as vigorous.