Excessive crowing - new to having a rooster.....advice please

[cbdiann]

Hi there....we have one rooster who showed us he was a roo about a month ago. He's approximately 24 weeks. He's a good boy...protective, non aggressive so far...dances for the ladies and he's beautiful! He just crows incessantly! Starts in the dark wee hours of the morning......my guess is probably hundreds of times a day. He's an Easter Egger. Our flock is in transition and we only have him and one hen right now. We will be getting 3 more hens in the next month or so. Do I have too few hens for a roo? Will he maybe crow less with more hens to keep him busy? Is this just him? Not sure if he's still practicing and will crow less with age or what. Any advice is appreciated!

 

[hellokittyfive]

Hi - I have three hens and one roo and he crows at all times of the day. I don't think more ladies will quiet him down, just keep him a little busier

I could be wrong but I think you can have up to 12 hens to one rooster. I think one hen and one roo would be too much for the hen!! My three seem to be fine.

 

[Folly's place]

Maturity may help; time will tell! Some birds just like to talk. Mary

 

[azygous]

I agree, maturity may mellow him a bit, but roosters crow mainly for the sheer joy of it, some more than others, some less or hardly at all. It's kind of like us humans who are joyful and inclined to show it by singing. Some of us do it a lot, others, like me, very badly or not at all. We humans are all different, and so are roosters. You can't do much to shut us up, and the same goes for roosters.

 

[shmeggs]

What age would maturity be? I have rooster about year old some days he will crow almost all day

 

[Beekissed]

I free range all the time and I've had many different roosters of many different breeds, but no matter if I have one or two in the flock I rarely hear any crowing in the day time hours. I've often marveled at that and been thankful for it and am glad I don't have that incessant noise going all day. I know I wouldn't stand for it at all, so having quiet roosters is perfect for me. I think mine are quiet because they have much to do, are not under any stress or feel any threats, and they recognize me as the flock leader....all of these things sort of take away the reason to crow.

I think roosters that live in a coop and run situation are more likely to be crowing all day, much like a dog that is in a kennel or on a chain all day...they are bored, they have excess energy but not enough exercise to expend it. I make sure my chickens have reasons to forage and get plenty of exercise...I only feed once per day and in the warmer months, that time is in the evening, so all day long they are hustling to rustle up some grub. They don't have time for posturing and crowing as they are too busy finding food for the flock and for themselves.

My advice? Change your setup to insure safe free ranging all day, provide more hens for mating opportunities and a healthy social structure, and make sure he has confidence that you are in charge and you protect the whole flock. I do this by being a confident presence, directing rooster behavior at times, remaining calm when I have to handle them but otherwise I leave my hands off them and give them room to be a chicken. A flock leader crows more than a subordinate rooster, so if you can keep him in a subordinate role to you then he's naturally going to crow less...at least that's my take on it. I've had some very quiet roosters for many a long years now and I don't think that's any accident or coincidence.

 

[shmeggs]

My rooster has 14 hens to keep him busy and I also free range, he will be walking across the yard and just stop still and start crowing

 

[cbdiann]

I agree with thinking that he'd be happier if he was busier, had more hens and was free ranging. I have lots of eagles and hawks where I live so a covered run is safest. It's a great size, but right now we are awaiting 3 New hens so it's only him and his sister right now. This morning beginning at 6 while still dark he's exceeded 150 crows! I love him, but his singing must be sending a message......

 

[Beekissed]

We have an abundance of hawks and owls here as well but I free range mine with the protection of a farm dog, so no losses of adult birds and no losses to chicks when they are born in the right season. Fall chicks out on range during hawk migration are easy pickin's and will happen even with the dog on patrol, I have found. He has too big of an area to cover it effectively during persistent attacks and without the crows to help him in the fall.

But, it's worth getting a dog and training him on chickens to have that level of protection so that the birds have a normal life, if you can do it.

If I could only do a pen and run situation and was not breeding for more birds, I'd just not have a rooster and that solves the problem.

 

[cbdiann]

Unfortunately we are unable to have a dog do to allergic family members (3 out of 4)......unless the roo can keep the chickens safe free ranging it's not a good idea to let them out. We do have an acre of fenced yard so plenty of room, but I hate to take the chance. We already lost one hen to a hawk before the run was completely covered and we all know how horrible that is....especially when you have children.