Wattle

In my grade five science class we are learning about poultry. We drew a rooster and labeled the different parts. There is the red comb on top of the roosters head and there is the wattle, which is the red skin that hangs down on the neck. One of the kids asked me what is the purpose of the wattle. Well I had no idea so after class I looked it up and after much looking around, I went back to the kids the next day and gave them the answer. It is for nothing. The wattle is for nothing. And I find that to be strange...flesh that is for nothing. It is the same as our ear lobes, what is the reason for them...it is for nothing. Or the baggy skin on some dogs...for nothing. You know a lot of different kinds of birds have a lot of for nothing skin. Don't you find that strange? I find that really strange.