Hi all, So to start a little disclaimer: I have googled my specific problem, and searched this forum, but have not gotten a solid answer to my problem. The problem is, I have a dominant rooster that crows. Loudly. At night. I have a young flock of about 20 mixed juvenile hens, one juvenile maran rooster, and two d'uccle roosters. The maran and the hens I have had since they were about 2 weeks. The d'uccles I acquired from a friend, with the intention of acclimating my flock to them so that even though the rest of the flock would eventually outgrow the d'uccles, they would establish themselves as the top dogs and protect the flock. Well the plan seems to be working and the d'uccles are dominant yet docile, and overall get along with the growing hens/maran rooster swimmingly. However, the dominant d'uccle crows at night, and I don't know why. I 'lock down' my coop every night, so there is no way in or out. It's very secure and comfortable. There is a red heat lamp in there as I live somewhat north and it gets cold at night, but other than that it is very dark outside and we are in a relatively remote area. So I don't think light or excessive outside movement is the problem. Honestly I've owned chickens for over half of my life, and I've never run into this problem before. Is there any other explanation behind this odd behavior, or any way to curtail it? I cannot afford to lose this rooster. Thanks for reading!!
I would not have a heat lamp if the chickens are over 3 months old, a small light to keep hens laying will do.
It could be the heat lamp. I keep a red light on my brooder chicks, and they move back and forth between it and the feed and water all night long. Its not bright, but obviously bright enough for them to see. Also, outside movement or noise doesn't have to be excessive to be annoying. Something as simple as mice rummaging around inside the coop or a deer walking by outside would be enough to set him off. Anything unusual could be the culprit. Roosters are individuals as much as people are. Some are shy and quiet, others are a little more outspoken. I've had a few roosters crow at night, not excessively, but its happened. And when it does, I take my gun and flashlight and go investigate. Most of the time its nothing that I can see or here. However, a couple of times, I've caught raccoons and possums trying to find their way into my coop...
Thanks for the responses! I suppose I'll try shutting off the heat lamp and see if that does it. I've had a few other flocks in this same enclosure in the past with no crowing under the heat lamp, but - each rooster is different, obviously. The worst case scenario is that Dudley (that's his name) is just a bit of a kook, and since the neighbors haven't complained yet, I'm not SUPER worried. Thanks again, I really appreciate the input.
I agree. I also have 1 rooster that crows at night at the drop of a hat. Then I have 2 that don't make a peep. We have tons of predators here at night and I'm sure that's what sets mine off. I'm glad he is like that!! It alerts the hens, the dogs and us when something is out there!!
I have a game camera facing my coop so I know if anything is trying to get in at night, that should help you rule out a cat or something hanging around your coop at night.