Crow Collars: Humane or No?

[Queensilkie]

As a fellow chicken owner within city limits, I know many people share the frustration of not being able to own a rooster, much less keep one to breed or keep order in a flock, as it is in a rooster's nature to crow, and select few bitter neighbors, and the city lawmakers, would rather not deal with that particular behaviour.
So, we go searching, and aside from small tips that may discourage a rooster from crowing (distracting him, giving him more hens,- which don't quite work as a long term solution), and the inevitable giving up our roosters, there seems to be only one commercial option:
the infamous No-Crow Collar, homemade or bought.

So I'm interested to see, what are everyone's opinions on it?
There are wonderful, experienced and opinionated people bounding all over this site, so I'm really curious to know what the general consensus about it is, and what the stray opposing opinions are as well.

So the question is:
Is the Crow-Collar a practical and safe method of skirting a difficult law?
Or is it an unnatural and worrying attempt at stopping a completely natural behaviour, that will do more harm than good?

And please remember,
we're all intelligent and knowledgeable people here, who all love our chickens, rooster or not, so respect the fact that opinions differ.

Thank you to everyone who shares their view!

 

[A_Fowl_Guy]

I don’t like that the crow collars inhibit a natural function of a rooster. If your area does not allow a rooster then you should respect the law and get rid of it.

 

[chickpeasoup]

I'm curious about this too,I have a little roo that my aunt will be taking. However, she won't be able to get him for a few months and by then he'll probably start crowing. I've been snooping around about crow collars because I want to keep my little guy under wraps until he can go to his new home. On the other hand, I've heard of someone who would put his rooster in his garage under layers of blankets as a makeshift soundproofing. Not sure how feasible it is, nor how many blankets you'd need....

 

[Queensilkie]

I'm curious about this too,I have a little roo that my aunt will be taking. However, she won't be able to get him for a few months and by then he'll probably start crowing. I've been snooping around about crow collars because I want to keep my little guy under wraps until he can go to his new home. On the other hand, I've heard of someone who would put his rooster in his garage under layers of blankets as a makeshift soundproofing. Not sure how feasible it is, nor how many blankets you'd need....

Haha, yes, I actually kept a little serama roo and his two hens in my basement, undercover, for about 3 months, and had myself a little incognito breeding project until i was able to secure him a home.

 

[Namrag]

As a fellow chicken owner within city limits, I know many people share the frustration of not being able to own a rooster, much less keep one to breed or keep order in a flock, as it is in a rooster's nature to crow, and select few bitter neighbors, and the city lawmakers, would rather not deal with that particular behaviour.
So, we go searching, and aside from small tips that may discourage a rooster from crowing (distracting him, giving him more hens,- which don't quite work as a long term solution), and the inevitable giving up our roosters, there seems to be only one commercial option:
the infamous No-Crow Collar, homemade or bought.

So I'm interested to see, what are everyone's opinions on it?
There are wonderful, experienced and opinionated people bounding all over this site, so I'm really curious to know what the general consensus about it is, and what the stray opposing opinions are as well.

So the question is:
Is the Crow-Collar a practical and safe method of skirting a difficult law?
Or is it an unnatural and worrying attempt at stopping a completely natural behaviour, that will do more harm than good?

And please remember,
we're all intelligent and knowledgeable people here, who all love our chickens, rooster or not, so respect the fact that opinions differ.

Thank you to everyone who shares their view!

I am zoned agricultural and have an Olandsk Dwarf, a Serama and roosters ARE allowed. Neither crow excessively, and are at least 150 yards from my neighbor's bedroom window. Unfortunately his dogs are frequently in my yard after the birds, and I've had to make a report to the ACO. As a result, he complains about my roosters. While the ACO regards the complaints as retaliation, Code Enforcement has to follow through. So, I am in the same position, not because my roosters are abusive, but because I had the audacity to complain about a loose dog. So, yes, I'm thinking about no crow collars myself and would appreciate hearing from people who have used them.

 

[sealer39]

I ordered one Saturday for my VERY loud White Leghorn. I have no legal issues here but he’s waking me up every morning at 4:00am. I already found a new home for him but if the collar works well for me AND him then I’ll keep him. I’ll post the results, good or bad, after I try it.

 

[Namrag]

I ordered one Saturday for my VERY loud White Leghorn. I have no legal issues here but he’s waking me up every morning at 4:00am. I already found a new home for him but if the collar works well for me AND him then I’ll keep him. I’ll post the results, good or bad, after I try it.

Where did you get it? I have only found them on My Pet Chicken. TIA

 

[sealer39]

My Pet Chicken is where I ordered it.

 

[dogyX3]

Hello all, I have found online that there are many mixed views and opinions on the no crow collars cruelty, but would like to share what I wished I knew before using one, and thus, I will share my experience with one.
In case your wondering, on the poll above, I voted Neutral; it depends on the situation.

My rooster called Teeny (Meeny) died today, although my Rooster survived initially, as I was watching over him at the time. My rooster was also in a no rooster allowed neighbourhood, and I expected him to be a hen when he was a chick (hence the name teeny).
We had fitted his collar on him for almost a month and we thought we found the perfect fit since everyday we checked, he was fine, doing normal boistrous rooster things, eating, drinking, dirt baths and... that we don't say, and we saw he was very used to of it and mostly comfortable and the collar did indeed reduce his crow volume, to an acceptable amount. The collar when fitted properly does not inhibit regular behaviour, but carries a major choking risk.
Yesterday, they were out in the garden, then all of a sudden, I found him being choked, jumping around the garden to try remove his collar (as he would when its too tight), his mouth was wide open but he was not panting, and I saw his comb was not as red as usual (it was bluer). I thought at the time the colour and behaviour was odd that he's trying to get the collar off now, given the collar did not need to be adjusted for over a month, and he would only run around backwards, when it was freshly adjusted too tightly. (We checked his collar tightness regularly).
I managed to get to him just in time, and take off his collar, which initially saved him, as he managed to recover from whatever he was choking on. He had foam coming out of his mouth and was literally upsidedown by the time I got to him, and I reckon he had about a minute of life left, before I saved him. I suspect while crowing he ate something, and it went down the wrong pipe.

Sadly, my mistake was I did not take him to the vet after that choking. I was misled by the fact he began walking around again, regained colour in his comb, and even ate food and treats.
Admittidly, I did put the collar back on his neck that night, as I did not have time to put it on the next day should he start crowing out loud, but I put it on loosely, expecting that he would crow loudly once he found out it was on loose.
But he did not make it through the night in the coop. He died in the middle of the night. He did not have access to anything to choke on inside the coop and the other 3 chickens seem relatively unphased by his death, so I'm guessing his cause of death was a gradual swelling in his throught. (I think that even if he went the night without the collar, I still think he would not have survived the swelling, but this is purely my guess, and does not change my opinion on the collar)

Personally, I'm still not completely against the no crow collar, as a trip to the vet might have saved his life, and I very much enjoyed the time spent together. I also think I read the collar is deemed humane by a bird orgainsation but I ABSOLUTELY believe its NOT THE FREE SOLUTION THAT IT IS SOLD TO BE, and WHOEVER USES ONE MUST STRICTLY REGULATE THE ROOSTER WHENEVER IT IS ON, and remove the collar whenever the rooster is not under supervision, for example, when sleeping in the coop. Even simple regulating is enough, I was working in my dining room, when I looked through the window, and saw him choking. They must also take the rooster to the vet IMMEDIATELY if their rooster survives a choking. If these conditions cannot be achieved, then I'm completely against usage of the no crow collar, since whenever the collar is on, its just a matter of time before a choking happens, and you need to be ready.

 

[dogyX3]

In my answer above, I should mention that the collar did not inhibit regular behavior much. I think the collar did make him a bit of a slow eater. But this problem was mitigated by hand-feeding him small treats, out of the reach of the hens.