Decrowing Roosters.

[bluedogsonly]

Dr James, I think this is very interesting and there is a market. I suspect that the best market is Urban or semi-rural folks who want to be good neighbors or who like to sleep past 4 am. You know, the folks that name their chickens and cry when they die. The folks that do a lot of culling in all likelihood won't pay for the procedure. Pet vs farm animal.

I was wondering if the procedure dampens all of the noise the rooster makes or if it only quiets the crowing?

I dislike the crowing, but my roo's purpose is a flock protector and he does sound the alarm call when he see's something amiss and gathers his hens. Just last week there were a pair of hawks migrating through and he saw the one perched in the top of the pine tree and got the girls under cover. I would not want to take away that part of his behavior for the sake of sleeping past 4am.

I also find it charming when he calls the girls over when he finds treats for them--does the procedure dampen that sound as well?

Thanks in advance for the added info and also for refining the procedure, it will be a very good advance for Urban chicken owners!

I agree with this, it's not for the big time breeder with a dozen breeding roosters out in the country. Or the yard flock that are left to fend for themselves out in the country. It's for the backyard flock that ended up with a beloved pet rooster that needs to be rehomed or killed.

I also think that there are many families that would like to hatch some chicks with their kids. You need a rooster for that. This is pretty important to me, the vast majority of kids these days don't realize that milk comes from actual cows and meat is in reality a dead animal. No ag based education in most of the schools anymore.

This procedure isn't for anybody. I don't do it to my brood roosters, I don't think that the risk vs benefit is appropriate for my flock. Plus, I like to hear my birds crow. (barking dogs on the other hand...) It's fine if you don't want to do the surgery on your rooster, but pretty unfair to judge somebody who does. Especially when it comes down to the rooster going to the chopping block.

They usually still have some cackle left but it is subdued also. It varies with each bird and procedure. They still react to predators but again the volume is mostly gone. So if you need the rooster to vocally warn the hens of predators, probably shouldn't do this. If this is the case, it's doubtful that the neighbors will be calling you in for noise anyway.

Keep the questions coming!

Dr. James

 

[sconner]

I wanted to post that the white Silkie in the video above is my rooster. If anyone has any questions about getting this procedure done, please let me know. I live in a suburban area on a 1/4 acre lot, and the county commission is in the process of changing the ordinance to allow backyard chickens - but absolutely NO roosters. I raised Whitey from a chick and was extremely attached to him by the time he started to crow. Since roosters are not allowed in this area, people are always trying to dump them on Craigslist. Plus, Whitey has a neurological disorder which causes seizures if he is not medicated every day - so he was NOT a candidate for re-homing. It was either de-crowing or death. The day he started crowing, I did a Google search to see if there was anything I could do - and came across this post by Dr. James. I contacted him through this site and made the arrangements to have Whitey shipped to him for surgery last week (I live in Florida). As you can see from the video, the surgery was successful, and now I get to keep my beloved "special needs" rooster. And I'm sure he'd rather be alive and quiet and bossing around his hens than dead. Whitey actually returned to me this morning and its been pouring rain here so I haven't been outside with him as much as I'd like to. However, someone above asked if he can still make sounds to alert his hens when he finds some treats. The answer is yes, but rather than a cluck, its kind of a low raspy whisper. He can make somewhat of a louder sound when he gets more excited, but that sounds kind of like a chirp or puppy bark. I'll get to hear him try to crow tomorrow morning. My chickens live in a coop and I have a fully-fenced backyard and they only free-range when I can supervise them, so him being able to alert for danger isn't too much of an issue (and his hens were fine free-ranging without him around last week - they alert too). But I wanted to let people know that if they are in a situation where they want to keep their rooster but need him to be quiet, something CAN be done. I can attest to that. Dr. James answered all my questions before I sent Whitey to him, and kept me posted along the way. As for price, I think $150 is extremely reasonable. The only other vet I could find in the country who does this procedure charges around $450. The price was well worth it for me. If anyone has any questions they want to ask me about my experience, either on this forum or privately, just let me know. -Sharon

 

[gryeyes]

 

[sconner]

I see that a couple people are interested in having this done, but live far from OK and are concerned about the shipping. I had the SAME concern - I didn't want to ship him USPS and go without water for a day or two. I actually made arrangements to pay extra to fly him to OK on Delta, but at the last minute they told me they only ship chickens "for research purposes", and I was left with using the USPS. No, it wasn't ideal, but he arrived safe and sound, just a little hungry and thirsty. I live in Florida and Whitey took a day and a half in transit on both ends of the trip and arrived fine. So don't let the distance deter you. Its a short time of inconvenience to the bird in exchange for the chance to carry on with their life in their loving homes (not that birds understand delayed gratification, but Whitey is happy to be back home with his ladies and I doubt he's still dwelling on the unhappy time he just spent in the shipping box).

 

[Bush Chickens]

my mom is a vet and was totally joking about looking into this!!

shhh... dont tell her its possible

i love it when Ricky&Rico crow at 3:00 am

except they go "dootdeedoot dee DOOOOOooooo..." instead of cockadoodledoo

 

[Basel]

I wanted to post that the white Silkie in the video above is my rooster. If anyone has any questions about getting this procedure done, please let me know. I live in a suburban area on a 1/4 acre lot, and the county commission is in the process of changing the ordinance to allow backyard chickens - but absolutely NO roosters. I raised Whitey from a chick and was extremely attached to him by the time he started to crow. Since roosters are not allowed in this area, people are always trying to dump them on Craigslist. Plus, Whitey has a neurological disorder which causes seizures if he is not medicated every day - so he was NOT a candidate for re-homing. It was either de-crowing or death. The day he started crowing, I did a Google search to see if there was anything I could do - and came across this post by Dr. James. I contacted him through this site and made the arrangements to have Whitey shipped to him for surgery last week (I live in Florida). As you can see from the video, the surgery was successful, and now I get to keep my beloved "special needs" rooster. And I'm sure he'd rather be alive and quiet and bossing around his hens than dead. Whitey actually returned to me this morning and its been pouring rain here so I haven't been outside with him as much as I'd like to. However, someone above asked if he can still make sounds to alert his hens when he finds some treats. The answer is yes, but rather than a cluck, its kind of a low raspy whisper. He can make somewhat of a louder sound when he gets more excited, but that sounds kind of like a chirp or puppy bark. I'll get to hear him try to crow tomorrow morning. My chickens live in a coop and I have a fully-fenced backyard and they only free-range when I can supervise them, so him being able to alert for danger isn't too much of an issue (and his hens were fine free-ranging without him around last week - they alert too). But I wanted to let people know that if they are in a situation where they want to keep their rooster but need him to be quiet, something CAN be done. I can attest to that. Dr. James answered all my questions before I sent Whitey to him, and kept me posted along the way. As for price, I think $150 is extremely reasonable. The only other vet I could find in the country who does this procedure charges around $450. The price was well worth it for me. If anyone has any questions they want to ask me about my experience, either on this forum or privately, just let me know. -Sharon

This is my white cockerel I had to rehome. Wish I had done what you did!

 

[sammyjay]

I think this is a great option, here in Australia we are not allowed to own roosters in townsite, so if I could keep my lads then that is awesome. Unfortunately males have a raw deal and they end up with the chop, this surgery is a more humane option and I recon I should come over and work for you Dr James in your clinic, ha ha .
keep up the great work and even better results..its good to lay a new path to success...

 

[sammyjay]

ha ha love your sense of humour.....ssshhhhh seceret squirrel...we wont tell a sole...

 

[julierupert]

My daughter's pullet crowed this morning. This is her pet and everyone loves him. In fact, he is so loved that she named him Daddy (even when we thought he was a SHE). I don't want to re-home him and I don't want chicken Cordon Blue. Decrowing sounds like a fabulous idea, even better to my 5 yr old.

 

[LauraNJ]

I think this is a good service to offer. We have 3 acres and are allowed roosters but if I thought they were disturbing neighbors, I would do this procedure. I have some rare eggs hatching and am planning to keep at least one rooster for each breed. THis procedure sounds like it would allow anyone to be able keep roosters without disturbing neighbors. How many more people would raise some chickens or keep a rooster if it wouldn't disturb the people around them? Probably quite a few more.

Sconner- I am glad you were able to get the procedure done and still have your rooster.