My rooster is a nuisance but I love him

[DobieLover]

People that tell others to rehome are poorly informed and pretty much don’t give a crap about their pets.

This is a very inaccurate assessment of the advice given by the people in this thread. Myself included. My main interest is what is best for the bird. Always.

there are many things we do that are dangerous with pets

This is completely contrary to what you wrote in the first statement quoted. I know of no one personally that intentionally does dangerous things with their pets.

dark box don’t let any light get in and let him out in the mornings

These boxes rarely if ever have adequate ventilation for the bird.

It's always best to provide an animal with the proper species specific environment, food, etc.
I do understand about getting attached to these guys. But if you are not permitted roosters where you live, either move to where you can have them or rehome them. This OP has many fine options for rehoming and the cockerel will be able to live a normal, happy chicken life. That is the right thing for the bird and the hard thing for the keeper.

 

[DobieLover]

If he faints one more time

Yes, he can faint from the collar. Many roosters/cockerels die while wearing the collar because they swallow something too large and can't get it down.
Roosters are nothing like fainting goats.

but I can hear a rooster going off in the distance that my rooster is responding to

There is a flock of roosters about 1/3 mile from my house with multiple roosters. I can hear them crowing. My roosters rarely respond to their crows.
Roosters crow due to many triggers and just because they feel like it.
My roosters usually start crowing between 3 and 4 in the morning but I only hear them if I'm already up. That is very normal.

 

[wordsretainpower]

Glad to meet you and sorry for your rooster problems. Animals don't act for no reason, so the above posts should give your some ideas what to look for.

If the trigger for his crowing is something you can affect, you might be able to fix this problem. Figure out what makes him crow in the night and either stop the trigger, or hide it from him.

If you can't find the trigger, or fix it, it really does seem hard on the boy to try to muffle him with a rooster collar. I understand your worries - I am also a chicken keeper in what my area calls "heavily settled" area.

Best ideas I have seen for rehoming a rooster (where you want him to live his happiest best life):
1. Craigslist for your area
2. Facebook local poultry interest group (if you have one)
3. Back Yard Chicken's Animal rehoming list and thread for your state or area.
4. Breeder you got him from - if it's not a mega shipper, but local breeder, they might take him from you.

In all cases, if you are allowed to post an image, include the best glamor shot you can get of the rooster, along with all the info you have about breed, where you got him, and temperament. Is he nice with people and his hens? Is he protective? Is he healthy and sound? Be sure you mention in the header for the post your town or area so people know how far the rooster is from them.

Thanks!
Yeah we are planning on rehoming him to a barn near by if the collar doesn't pan out within Two weeks....He became famous on facebook so fortunately A LOT of people want him....because of his name haha.... so that's good... I just hoped there was a way to get the collar to stay on, I've been feeding him mealworms now when I put the collar back on and it seems to help... I hope...but even with the collar on it doesn't make is crow any less loud...so I am thinking it is not tight enough... What triggered it this am was a rooster going off in the distance... I ran outside and they were all on top of the chicken coop but there was no predator around so I kinda think the other rooster in the distance was alerting to a predator or something....

 

[wordsretainpower]

Welcome to BYC!

No crow collars are very dangerous for the roosters. As others said, he's fainting because he can't breathe. The best thing to do would be to get rid of him before you are reported.

Yeah, If he faints one more time I am going to throw in the towel and let this barn near by adopt him, he turned into a facebook personality so fortunately a lot of people want him as a pet now.... I have been giving him meal worms when put the collar back on him now and he seems to be more calm about the whole process...if it isn't solved within two weeks or he ends up fainting again we are going to go with the rehoming plan.

 

[GermanKennhuhn]

Welcome to BYC! I’m sorry about your rooster problem, they can be kind of tricky to own with neighbors. Sadly I think the best option may be to rehome him if his crowing begins to bother people.
Best of luck!

 

[Emily_loveschickens]

Welcome to BYC!!

 

[Birdsong 82]

Welcome to BYC!!!!!

I feel for your dilemma. I get very attached quite quickly. You say the middle of the night but then you mention 4 AM. Every rooster I’ve had over the years has started crying about 4 AM maybe 430. So I’m not sure if it’s also the middle of the night. Unfortunately it may come down to rehoming him now or when somebody complains. I don’t know much about crow collars as I have been lucky enough to live in an area where they can crow freely…. But from what I understand from the collars is it just seems dangerous for the chicken. I hate to say that’s my opinion because me loving animals as much as I do I hate that to be the option but…

 

[Birdsong 82]

If the only problem is him crowing at night, you can bring him inside and put him in a box/cat carrier/etc in a dark room. I have two crowing hens and I do that occasionally when guests are over. View attachment 3283303
However, if your rooster is still able to hear a noise that triggers his crowing, it might not work. Worth a try though!

Hey I never thought about something like that. It may not work for everybody depending on schedules or situations but if it’s one that can work it’s a pretty good one! I’ve had to do it with injured chickens for short periods of time before

 

[Yowza Wowza]

Sorry to hear about the issues you’re having with your rooster.

 

[wordsretainpower]

Fortunately, he is now beloved in my town...it was a really weird turn of events...he is now an internet personality...LMAO My neighbors in my area I went door to door asking if they mind him, and they all said they love him... There was one person a block away who complained about a rooster, but I can hear a rooster going off in the distance that my rooster is responding to...so I think that is the rooster that lady is actually complaining about...I reached out to the woman who complained and told her that I am rehoming him within two weeks if we can't get the crowing under control. She was actually super sweet and apologized for being rude...(she wasn't rude) She said she had no idea that tractor supply sucks at gendering chickens and hopes I can get the collar to work out (for all of our sake) Haha. Rehoming is def on the table, I am now giving meal worms every time I have to put the collar back on and it appears that he is calming down a bit..so hopefully the collar will work out... If not, there are now a sea of people who want Themi as a pet lol...really weird turn of a events but yeah hahaha