How loud is a rooster crow?

[Pequena Bandada]

Please don't laugh, I know this is a silly question. But how loud is a rooster crowing really? I've been a city girl my entire life and haven't ever lived near a rooster. Now I'm in the country, and I can hear a rooster from time to time when I'm outside. I think he's fairly far away since his crow is very faint.

I'd like to eventually get a rooster myself to live with my 12 hens but have no idea if his crowing would wake my family up? Our coop is about 200 feet from our house, and about 400 feet from the nearest neighbor. Would a crow be loud enough to be heard inside a house at 200 feet?

How close are the roosters that you hear inside your houses? And do they wake you up?

Thanks!

 

[suzettex5]

It kinda depends on the breed. Some roo are long, high pitched crowers, some have deep crows that dont last more than 2 or 3 seconds. Also, your roo will hear the far away roo and answer it with his own crow to establish terratories.

You will surely hear your roo in your house. As will your neighbors. I would check with the neighbors first to be sure you wont have any problems, and really look into breeds as far as crowing is concerned. I noticed my bantam roo's have longer, high pitched crows when compared to my Jersey Giants, who have very short deep crows. The Deep crowers sound doesnt seem to travel as far.

It used to wake us up, but now its just normal background noise. If you arent used to the sound, you may be tempted to make chicken soup outta the guy for the first few weeks, but you will get used to it.

Your hens dont need a roo by the way- they are just fine without one. So unless you need fertile eggs, it may not be worth the noise and work and possible neighbor issues. Not to mention you will have to work to make sure the roo stays friendly and does not become aggressive. Some people have trouble with bad roo's, some dont, but it is a possibility, even with a home-grown roo you raised yourself.

What kind of roo are you considering?


BTW- that wasnt a silly question, it is a very valid concern and shows you are thinking ahead!

 

[cafarmgirl]

They are loud. I have a RIR roo in a coop about a 100 feet from the house. He wakes us up with no problem though he is slightly muffled in the coop. Even in winter with the windows closed I can hear him and he likes to throw in a few crows very early like about 4:00 a.m. no matter how dark it still is. Some roo's will crow for a bit in the morning and then quiet down, other's, like mine, crow all day long.

Also, if you can hear another roo in the distance yours will hear him to and crow all the more.

I don't find it irritating at all though, to me it's just background noise. He's far enough away that it doesn't grate on the nerves or anything although when I'm in the barn I do wish he'd stuff a sock in it!

 

[bakerjw]

Our roos can wake us up with ear plugs and windows closed. Oftentimes they will see me in the house before it gets light and crow away at me. Kind of funny. It's too dark for them to get off of the roost and go out in the yard but yet they'll go on and on when they see me.

 

[bburn]

One of mine wakes me up every morning. But then he is only about 20 feet from my bedroom window. The other is 30 feet away.

In spite of being woken up I like it....there are times I really wish he would can it. But when he does start crowing if I listen I can hear the neighbors roo faintly....so they are crowing at each other.

I am a new country girl too and a rooster crowing is one of my favorite sounds. I can tell you that they all seem to crow differently. The BO and BR roo's that I have both could take a lesson from the RIR's that I had. Now they could crow.

You just have to read and listen and decide on your own what you want.

 

[ND]

I agree with *it depends*.

Someone nearby (but about 10 acres away) has a RIR rooster that crows non-stop, morning...noon...and night... and he's LOUD. Annoyingly so. He's far enough that he doesn't wake me, but if I'm awake, I can hear him. And I hear him all darn day.

I have a Brahma rooster that isn't very loud, and doesn't crow much, despite being able to hear that stupid RIR. He never 'answers' the other rooster back. Mine rarely crows during the day, doesn't ever crow in the middle of the night, and crows a few times in the early mornings before the coop is opened up. I can hear him if I'm awake, but he's not loud enough (in the coop) to wake us up unless we're already stirring. I doubt the RIR owners can hear him ever. It'd be super faint if they could, and definitely not when they're inside.

Think of it like a dog... barking. Some dogs bark a LOT. And some are yappy and high pitched. Some bark nonstop at the wind. Some hardly ever bark...only if there's really a cause for barking. Some have a very low, soft bark.

Now, would you hear a barking dog where your coop is located? Would it wake you up? Maybe it would depend on the how loud, or quiet or nonstop or random it was...
I'd say explaining how loud a rooster crows (or how often or how annoying) would be like trying to explain how loud a dog can bark... or how often, or how annoying. Just...depends... on the particular bird and breed.

I'm FAR more annoyed when my dogs bark than when the rooster crows... they're ALL louder than my rooster. And, one or two is known to just bark at the wind...

 

[awesomefowl]

I have two banty roos in the house.
One is silkie, and the other one a serama whose crow sounds like a deranged squeaky toy. We just ignore them in the mornings.

You should definately get a rooster anyway. I love mine. They are so amusing, fun, and protective of the hens!

 

[heksa]

Quote:
I agree!

We ate our 5 roosters withing few weeks since they started crowing.
Now I miss the boogers and their crowing.

 

[domino7]

Listen for yourself. My inside birds freaked out when I played it lol.

 

[eggrarian]

The two Welsumer roos we had would start crowing before the sun was up and then sporadically throughout the day. Our coop is about 150 feet from the bedroom, and on the opposite side of the house. If I was up already, I heard them, otherwise I didn’t notice. We live in the country, too, and at 4:00 it’s dead quiet, so a rooster might seem pretty loud. If you’re worried about your neighbors, then the crowing is always going to seem loud to you.

Farm noises and farm smells come with the pretty house in the country.