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

[lilstar]

okay, so a recently observed behavior in one of them (the sexlink-americauna) is not staying with the flock as much. Usually they stick together like glue but lately this one's going off on his own. Now, I'm *completely* unfamiliar with what is normal vs abnormal, desirable vs undesirable behavior in chickens.. I'm new to this! So I was walking around the yard and he's following me around and I'm like, uhh.. where's everyone else? (inside the coop for the night, as I discovered) when I reached down to pet him, he pecked at me! Had me a little miffed. He did allow me to pick him up and behaved himself. So following me around=friendly/social? pecking, not okay! I have kids, and the neighbor kids love to come play in our yard too, we can't have any aggression.

So the crowing as alpha behavior.. do I WANT a strong alpha roo? Should I keep the alpha or non-alpha?

 

[mleigh]

Here is where my "expertise" ends!!!! My roo doesn't hang around the ladies all the time either, he likes to sit on the horse corals and crow!! I just know that I am not afraid of this one, the old one we had, I couldn't stand. Just spend some time out there, and as long as you are comfortable around him, I say keep him.

 

[NovaAman]

I don't let my birds out of the coop till 9 am. No, its not mean. They come out at 9, go back in on their own at 8-830. I have food and water inside the coop run so if they need to come out earlier, they just go out the bottom to the underrun. But I don't let them out before 9, cuz not all my neighbors want to wake up at the crack of dawn. But Mr Fluffers CROWS, and no one complains. He crows in the coop too, but being inside it, it doesn't travel as far as outside. SO, keep em locked up till 9 so he's not an early morning pest to the neighbors if thats your primary worry. That said, you need to find a new home for one of the roos, or take him to freezer camp and have a nice sunday night dinner.

 

[Zonoma]

Quote:
Ha! My neighbors said the same thing. I assured them that I would eat any roosters and they all said, "That's too bad. It'd be nice to hear a rooster in the mornings again!" So I have a rooster now and everyone's happy.

 

[smarsh]

it's not the crowing as much as the harrassing of the hens. And us male humans get a bad rap. Good grief they have nothing else on their minds.

 

[ChickyLove]

I don't know? I have a rooster who rarely if ever crows. When he does he sounds like a cat with laryngitis

I did have Buttercup the Vampire Rooster and he crowed ALL day long. Non-stop. He would wake up and crow, he would crow when I fed him, petted him, changed the water etc. He crowed when he saw the cat, or my kid, or the guinea pigs or the fish. He crowed just to hear himself crow I think. He now lives on a farm with his 12 hen harem.

 

[Eznet2u]

Quote:
This is the only way I know of to keep one from Crowing...

 

[AlbionWood]

Yours only crow once every 30 seconds? That sounds peaceful to me, mine barely take the time to draw breath before launching into the next crow!

Seriously, it is worst when they are young, and when there are multiple roos within hearing distance. If you cut down to one roo, and there aren't others nearby to get him riled up, and wait a few months for him to mature a bit... he'll dial it back to, oh, maybe once every 60 seconds or so.

 

[pooh731]

My roo starts crowing around 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning inside the coop so we get up open the coop and I give him and the girls there treat which is his favorite raw hamburger meat. When it is gone he will walk around and crow for about another 10 to 20 min. None of my neighbors have complained yet. I don't to have to stand in the run with him or send hi away or send him to freezer camp' he is a very pretty boy.

 

[toripeeps]

Yes the crowing is non stop. I had 6 bantams and 5 of them were roosters. we gave 2 of the more agressive ones away. We have 9 hens. Since we gave the 2 away the other ones started to crow. never heard them before but they are now that the alpha males are gone. ONe is feathered footed and has a little echo after he crows. sounds like he has something stuck in his windpipe. Is that normal? anyway, they start crowing in morning in their coop around day break and crow all day long. My neighbors don't mind at all