Anyway to convince a rooster it doesn't need to crow every 30 seconds?

[lilstar]

So, I have 5 chickens, hatched around may 13/14. 2 roosters, 3 hens. I definitely want to get rid of 1, rooster, possibly both, and perhaps get another hen or 2. I like the idea of keeping one of the roos, but holy crap, they have got to SHUT UP! I was dreaming of hearing crowing before the crows successfully woke me up this morning, and they've been going non stop since. Seriously, I've been home from church for maybe 10 minutes, and I've heard a lot more than 10 crows, just in that short time! To make it worse they really like this spot near the fence, since its really shaded, right by our closest neighbor.. goodness, they might be closer to the neighbors than to us! I've never met those neighbors.. I do know they get up and leave for work early, but still

I do not want to upset the neighbors. We've been leaving the coop door ajar so they can come out in the morning at their leisure (since I know if they had to wait for us to let them out, they'd be in there till 9 or 10.. which doesn't seem fair to them) but I'm wondering, if they were locked up in a coop, would they be less likely to crow before it gets light? At the very least, the coop is quite a bit further from our neighbors and our bedrooms! I also have no idea which bird is crowing the most.. but that would be the one to go! Do certain breeds crow more than others? They are both half americauna and by best guess one is half barred rock and the other is half sexlink. The half sexlink one was my favorite from the flock since before I could tell he was a roo. Friendliest, most likely to be the first to run up to me if I hold out a treat. And he has a lovely golden color! But if he's the loud one, he's gotta go. I've only SEEN the crowing twice, and both times its been him (could be coincidence, because I've heard a couple hundred others from the inside and have no clue which one is the loudest) I loathe to break up the flock because right now, they all just seem so sweet together! They wander around the yard in this tight little group and its just so cute. Anyway.. any tips on figuring out how we can manage to keep one of them?

 

[allmychickens]

my roo crows alot too!!

 

[ChickenScratchin]

From what I understand, you wouldn't want 2 roos with 3 hens anyway. Not nearly enough hens for each roo, and they'll harass the hens WAY too much and stress them out, and can even make the hens stop laying.

But as for crowing, my cockerels each crow about the same, but the barred rock started earlier because he matured a lot faster. But the BAs quickly caught up and as far as I can tell none crows more than the other now. If you black out the coop (block all light out) that can help keep them from crowing too early, but they will still crow.

 

[totallytang]

when my roos started they went on and on all day everyday for about a week and now they make very little noise...

 

[joshyoua_rine]

had 2 roos and one crowed all the time so i sold him and then the other started

 

[lilstar]

ah, yes, the crowing IS a fairly new "skill" as of the last couple weeks. So it'll calm down soon.. maybe? And yes, I know that 2 roos to 3 hens is just not going to be okay.. so one definitely needs to go. Goodness, my brother has 1 rooster (which all of my birds have descended from!) and 20+ hens, and he's so...enthusiastic? that several of the hens have bald patches on their backs! So I need to decide which one to rehome. I should probably spend some time outside just observing for awhile. It might be pointless to decide which to keep based on noise anyway, but are there any specific behaviors within the flock dynamic to watch for, to see which might be the best fit? Or.. just keep the one that I've always found friendliest? I know that "most friendly to people" might not necessarily be the same as "best flock member". Neither have shown aggression towards us, and my 4yo and her friends pick them up all the time.

 

[nuttyredhead]

Luckily for me, my neighbors didn't mind my old roo. He crowed alot, but not too much. He would crow everytime a car pulled in our driveway though, that was funny...Maybe having one of those automatic doors, so it can open to let them out. That way they arent out too early?

 

[stcroixusvi]

You might want to talk with your neighbors. Even though we have quite a bit of space, I spoke with everyone within crowing distance. Everyone, without fail, said they couldn't wait for the crowing to start

You may be surprised. I love hearing them. We have three that crow, and you can tell which rooster is crowing, they are so distinct. Ours crow inside and out.

 

[saddina]

You have 1 roo too many. Crowing is part of the alpha male thing, with a second roo present he's trying to out-man the other roo.

 

[mleigh]

My roo crows constantly, whether he is cooped up or not!! All day, and all night!! I have just learned to love it, but I would not have two of them!! This is our 2nd roo, and personally, I would look for traits other than the crowing....like how aggresive is he? The first one, we got rid of because he wouldn't let us in the coop to get the eggs. This new guy is not as pretty, but much nicer!!