How far will the sound of crowing travel?

[Kessel23]

I've been told it carries for 3 miles, but when I go down to my pound which is only around a thousand feet from my coop I can hardly hear my roos crow, i'm not sure the exact distance it is from my coop to the pound but considering that I can walk to the pound in 10 minutes it can't be a mile, unless my walk is actually a fast paced jog. I can't imagine being able to hear a crow from 3 miles away.

Edit: I looked on google maps, my coop is just about 1000 feet from my pound. I would guess a crow in perfect conditions around here would travel 2000 at max. I do not live in a busy, loud area at all though.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Why I rate em at around 400m it is totally flat here, this was formerly laser leveled farmland and I only notice that my neighbors 200-300 meters away having chicken even though I know more have them. Now the guinneas I have no idea who has those but I hear them I think they are 1/2 -1/4 mile away. Same with the peafowl they are closer but I do not know who keeps those either.

 

[IamRainey]

Yes 400 Meters I was assuming that was your unit of measure there in England.

I'm in Los Angeles. Not sure where you got the idea I was British.

I've lived in Vancouver and used the metric system as well. I just wasn't expecting it. But I agree that, once you get used to it, it's so much simpler and it's easier to work with. Why the US abandoned the conversion after setting so many deadlines to do it, I'll never understand.

Thanks again!

 

[AllenK RGV]

I'm in Los Angeles. Not sure where you got the idea I was British.

I've lived in Vancouver and used the metric system as well. I just wasn't expecting it. But I agree that, once you get used to it, it's so much simpler and it's easier to work with. Why the US abandoned the conversion after setting so many deadlines to do it, I'll never understand.

Thanks again!

Now you mention it I don't know where I misfired there either=) but sure 1-2 football fields and your should be fine, up to 4 football fields in extremely calm weather. I do wish I could explain why my chicken never crowed in the middle of the night while all of my neighbor's birds do. I will phone a friend on this one. @chickens really @aart @KikisGirls @penny1960 do any of you have ideas for keeping roos from crowing at night?

edit--night crowing isn't OP's question it just might be a factor plus a question I have as well.

 

[pennyJo1960]

400 meters is roughly 1400 feet ... I have two cockerel under a year old one crow's the other is quiet, there is no crowing at night but starts at daylight I do nor hear them in my room BF hears them in his the closest to the main coop

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Just to tickle your funny bone lets go to the metric system to tell time and have
10 milli-hours to a day, and 10 milli-months in one year. Next we can dispose of the old standard of a dozen hen eggs and replace it with a milli-dozen eggs. Yea that is 10 eggs instead of 12. What's not to like? As you were troops.

 

[aart]

The distance that rooster sounds travel is affected by ambient temperature, relative humidity, the topography, wind direction, the types and size of vegetation, and finally by background sounds. Then there is the unknown effect that tuning the sound out has on the hearer.

This^^^ is the best answer so far.
There is no finite distance,
too many other factors have an affect on how sound travels.

I would ask why do you want a cockbird?
How important is it to you vs. ticking off your neighbors?
Hard to poll folks, they might say it's fine then call the cops when it disturbs them.
Trying to silence, or quiet down, a crower is pretty much futile and can be cruel to the crower.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I think its nice that you want to poll your neighbors, but not a good idea. If you are zoned for it its not up to your neighbors.

Good luck

Gary

 

[IamRainey]

Just to tickle your funny bone lets go to the metric system to tell time and have
10 milli-hours to a day, and 10 milli-months in one year. Next we can dispose of the old standard of a dozen hen eggs and replace it with a milli-dozen eggs. Yea that is 10 eggs instead of 12. What's not to like? As you were troops.

I worked in an accounting office in NYS about 4 decades ago. We had to bill all our time in 6 minute increments. Six minutes = 1/10 of an hour.

This is not a new concept despite our unreasonable aversion to the metric system.

 

[IamRainey]

This^^^ is the best answer so far.
There is no finite distance, too many other factors have an affect on how sound travels.

Of course, but that doesn't mean there can't be reasonable assessments. I am currently thinking I'll focus on 1/4 mile from my house. As I said we are close to a hospital with sirens, heavy traffic both on the freeway and a major 4-lane street most of the day. We have a flat landscape but lots of shady and sound-absorbing trees.

I would ask why do you want a cockbird?
How important is it to you vs. ticking off your neighbors?

I want a rooster a) because I'd like to free range my hens more and want the protection for them, b) because it's a more natural and complete part of the chicken experience and c) because they're beautiful.

Ticking off my neighbors -- or, more correctly, NOT ticking off my neighbors -- is very important to me. For that reason I would give communicating with them in advance my best shot. That doesn't mean that I have any illusion that I can please everyone but if my closest neighbors feel strongly I'd give that serious consideration. But ultimately I will make a choice I can live with.

For many years our immediate next door neighbor had a horse on a 1/2 acre lot. Since we are live-and-let-live people, we sucked it up and dealt with the odor that sometimes made enjoying an outside meal challenging. That doesn't mean I believe everyone is as tolerant as I am but it does mean that I believe in the relaxed character of my neighborhood and people's ability to cope.

Hard to poll folks, they might say it's fine then call the cops when it disturbs them.
Trying to silence, or quiet down, a crower is pretty much futile and can be cruel to the crower.

If they don't take the opportunity to reply or to be up front about their objections then it would more or less fall to them to suck it up, no? If they called the police to object I'm sure they'd hear what I'd tell them which is that we are zoned for a rooster and would be within the same category as someone who has a dog who barks or a motorcycle or any other nuisance.

OTOH, if it becomes a bigger issue over time, there is a feed store that will take roosters.

I have no intention of using a device to inhibit crowing.