I'm just wondering who keeps roosters and how they manage them in regards to them being noisy and having neighbors etc. Are there any breeds who's roosters tend not to be so vocal? Are there any tips or tricks that will minimise the ammount of noise they make? I would love to keep a rooster for my girls and I am awaiting the arrival of chicks due next weekend and am not kidding myself thinking that I will get all hens so there is bound to be a rooster or two (or knowing my luck they will ALL be roosters!). Any advice would be great and I already have a plan for dealing with unwanted roosters, but I really would like to be able to retain just one
Quote:Unfortunately all roos crow, large, bantams and smallest Seramas. I do not know what you can do about it beside removing their vocal cords (I would never do it it would be very cruel to a rooster). I also do not understand some people on this board getting into chicken say: "I hate roosters," do they hate males of others species including their own? LOL Personally I love roosters crowing, my record was having 15 roosters, obviously they crowed most of the time. Now I have only 3 roos, 1 standard and 2 bantam roos, gives me kind of a choir, 1 baritone voice and 2 tenors, ha ha. I do not understand why most neighboors object to crowing rooster, but they would put up with dog barking around the clock. Unfortunately there is lot of stupid people in this world.
Making nice with your neighbors helps. At least it has for us. Listening to their concerns and working on reasonable solutions I think has helped us greatly. Then if there is a concern, it can be brought to you before any authorities are called. All roosters crow, but not constantly if they have anything else to do, like free ranging. We had an entire Summer with someone in the neighborhood with a dozen roos in individual cages and nothing to do. They crowed non-stop day and night. Needless to say, the authorities got called. We have various numbers of roos, 6 crowing at present, and other than one permit check as the AC guy just happened to be right there on a dog call, we've not had a problem. There's a bit when we let everyone out in the AM, maybe off/on for 15-20 minutes. Then sporadic crows throughout the day, but nothing continuous and unceasing. Bringing them in to a cage in the basement or garage and not letting them out until later in the AM is one thing you can do. Building a rooster box or insulating your coop helps. We used to bring in roos every night and put them back out in the AM. We added insulation to the coop for this winter and have been trying that with 2 roos right now. Nothing fancy, just a layer of the pink stuff. You can hear them crowing if you're out in the yard, but so far the neighbors have said they don't hear them while inside their houses, which is the point. Not sure if that will hold true in the Spring when people have their windows open, but we'll see.
I remember when we lived in the city we had this RIR rooster... Kept him for a year or so and one of the neighbors actually told us not to sell him because they turned off their alarm clock. Don't know if they were being sarcastic or trying to subtly drop a hint that they wanted him gone or what. We sold him though, the RIR roo in question was a demon possessed attack rooster. Right after the other neighbors had a baby, we would lock him up in a dog carrier, and throw a black out tarp over him... it did not stop him from crowing, but it definitely muffled it a bit. I would have a broom or a big stick ready though... he was not very happy whenever we let him out at about 10:00 am and usually tried to turn on whoever let him out. ( Like I said he was not a very nice roo)
Thanks guys - I think the best thing I can do is build my new big chook house on the oposite fence line to our neighbour (we only have one that is close enough to worry about) so that is a fair way away, unfortunately closer to our bedroom but I am the one who wants to keep a roo. We can see how we go and if it becomes too much of a problem then I will have to find a new home for it. Of course he will be free ranging through the day, if i make a coop for him that is insulated and light proof - will that discourage some of the crowing provided he doesn't get bored and I let him out early at say 7am? (it is getting light at 5.30-6am where i am in Aus)
I think the best way to deal with crowing and neighbors is to be a good and giving neighbor Our one neighbor LOVES the chickens, they used to have every farm animal under the sun long ago, but now are long retired. They tell me repeatedly that they love the crowing, and to please let the chickens roam their yard to eat the bugs and fertilize it LOL! I still give them eggs. They also really like to give their kitchen scraps and garden weeds to the chickens, but the tell me every time I personally don't care, but they are also courteous folks. The other neighbors were a little startled when the crowing started, they knew I had gotten chickens, but weren't quite ready for it. DH went to the farm, dropped a few trees and gave them a few trailer loads of free wood. They also don't have a bad word to say (they aren't egg eaters). The previous poster was also very cool to cover the roo when the neighbor baby came. Some folks just don't care and will be hateful, and then, you just have to agree to get rid of the roo. Most seem to respond well with some courtesy and a few free eggs though My neighbors that love the chickens like to bring their family and friends over to see the chickens, and almost take as much pride in having them near as I do owning them. It bodes well for me, since the coop is about 50 feet from the property line! Good luck!