Canadian Ruffed Grouse
B.u. togata
Canadian Ruffed grouse are residents of the following areas.
Northeastern Minnesota, Southgern Ontario,
Sothern Quebec,New Brunswickand,Nova scotia,Norhtern Wisconsin, Central Michian,Western New York,northern
Massachuetts and North western Connecticut.
The males find a territory and will keep it for their life span.
Once spring starts the males will start to drum to help hens
Locate them in the hard wood forest. They sometimes will start drumming during the middle of the night as to stimulaste the females.Once a hen has chosen a male that she
wants to breed with. He will be on the ground doing what is called full collar display and he will shake his head from left to right very fast and it sounds like a rattle snake. Then he will rush the hen with a hissing sound if she hold her ground
then will breed 1 time. Then she will go off to make a nest
and lay 8-15 eggs and incubate them for 24 days. Then she
will hatch and raise them by herself alone to mid September.
Then an event called CRAZY flight happens. At random they will start flying off and never return to the brood.
Personal I think they casing each other with the result of
fleeing never to return. As the Ruffed grouse in captive
are very aggressive . This behavior requires that in mid-August they have to be put into single pens.
A 3 year old breeder hen.
young hen in her first fall.
A couple of breeder hens in an overflow ground toghether in summer time
Same 2 hens in summer.
Breeder male coming over to chalange me .
young 6-7 week old ruffed grouse coming out to say
hello.
