How to hide a rooster

[SueT]

Sell your house and buy a place in the country....you know you've been wanting to raise lots of chickens, right?

 

[Anagram]

So when I lived in the city and had roosters, I had 3 roosters. I went to all the adjoining neighbors, told them I had roosters that would be crowing during the day but that they would never hear them crowing at night and asked if that was okay. Actually all of them said that they would enjoy the sounds of the chickens/roosters. Most were early risers anyways. One neighbor said they would appreciate not hearing them at night but during the day was okay.

So I included my neighbors and made sure they knew what was going on and got them on my side first.

Then, every evening, after everyone was roosting, I pulled out my Roos and put them in crates in my guest room with towels over the top of the crates to keep it dark. In the morning around 0800 - not too early, I would put them back outside with their ladies.

This is time consuming and can be a pain to do every day over time. Think about vacations, family emergencies, holidays, unusual schedules.. etc....

How badly do you want your roo? If you really want him, there are options, but all of them will require time and effort I think. I'm against the shock collar personally, but conversely, I have no problem with the electric fences I have all over my property now so go figure.

Edited for grammar and also as an additional aside, I lived at the very edge of the city in an area that was like a large flaglot and we had the national forest to the north and large open areas around us. We had lots of critters around me such as bobcats, coyotes, raccoons, opossum, squirrels and rodents - so my point is that I did not live in the middle of town, my neighbors were used to a more rural feel anyways and were more inclined to deal with backyard chickens.

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, no crow collars are inhumane. There have been a number of posts regarding roos who have been killed while wearing one. They must be checked frequently, the fit must be precise, and they must be continually adjusted to allow for growth of the bird. There is a warning on the instructions about not allowing the bird to eat large diameter items while wearing the collar. I believe they even go so far as to recommend that roos wearing a collar be placed on crumble feed instead of pellets. Any one ever watched a flock of chickens fight over a mouse, a frog or other delectable morsel of mobile meat? I can only imagine the risk to a roo if he tries to hoover a frog while wearing a no crow collar.

If I could not keep a roo and allow him to live like God designed him to live, I would rehome him, or humanely euthanize him. Then, I'd have a wonderful chicken stew.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Hey. So I have house roosters that wear diapers. I can't have chickens here anymore so I keep a couple as house pets instead.

 

[centrarchid]

Sell your house and buy a place in the country....you know you've been wanting to raise lots of chickens, right?

This is approach I followed, but had it planned before ordinances became an actual issue.

 

[Abriana]

Here are some options:
House chicken
Sell him/give him away
Keep him and risk it
But a house in the country
Dinner

But do not use crow collars or shock collars. They are inhumane and can choke the rooster.

Good luck!

 

[keesmom]

Well I definitely have a cockerel on my hands, and I live in the suburbs. Has anyone hid a rooster before? And how did you do it?

Do your parents have any concerns with trying to keep him even though roosters are not allowed?

 

[starrmar006]

Have a link?
Never heard of a shock collar for a rooster.
Maybe you're confusing no crow collars as shock collars?
IMO restricting their air flow is cruel enough I can't image anyone thinking shocking them is a fiesable idea.

Yes that is what I meant

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There is another option - change the laws.
Originally, I kept them locked up till after people went to work. Then I decided to change the ordinances. With a great deal of community support, a game plan, lots of daily media attention and after nearly a year of filling city hall twice a month, I now have a permit for 85 chickens and 5 roosters plus 10%.
After all, my family raised chickens (and other livestock) here for 100 years before there was a city.
It's your city too.
I've helped others get chickens legalized in their cities around here. So far, 7 successes and 2 failures.

 

[starrmar006]

IMO, no crow collars are inhumane. There have been a number of posts regarding roos who have been killed while wearing one. They must be checked frequently, the fit must be precise, and they must be continually adjusted to allow for growth of the bird. There is a warning on the instructions about not allowing the bird to eat large diameter items while wearing the collar. I believe they even go so far as to recommend that roos wearing a collar be placed on crumble feed instead of pellets. Any one ever watched a flock of chickens fight over a mouse, a frog or other delectable morsel of mobile meat? I can only imagine the risk to a roo if he tries to hoover a frog while wearing a no crow collar.

If I could not keep a roo and allow him to live like God designed him to live, I would rehome him, or humanely euthanize him. Then, I'd have a wonderful chicken stew.

jeez I didn't know that! Good to know