No Crow Rooster Collars?

[lazy gardener]

Woa that got serious Being pretty new to chicken ownership i'm guessing this is one of "those" subjects.. There are similar dividing topics in sheep ownership i found out a few years ago. It's always a steep learning curve on forums when it comes to triggers. Looks like i found my first one, i'm guessing there is a divide between those who eat their chickens and those who don't? Or is that less of a sore point? Any other topics i should be wary of? I get scared when i'm new and don't know.

Don't let the heated debates scare you. Yes, we're all opinionated, and some of us are more likely to share our opinions. My advice: do your homework on any topic, and then you will be making an informed decision that fits your husbandry style.

To worm or not to worm.
To use medicated chick starter or not.
To provide supplemental lighting or not.
To heat the coop or not. (PLEASE, NO!!!)
To ferment your feed or not.
To keep a roo or not.
To free range or not.
To cull your flock for the purpose of building a stronger flock, remove weak birds who are more likely to be parasite and disease magnets, or not.
To use layer feed, or multi flock
Organic or not.
Heat lamp vs. MHP cave brooding.
Brooding in the coop vs. brooding in the house.
To process extra birds for meat, or run a geriatric poultry boarding house.

Thank you for your anatomy lesson, moonshiner. Much appreciated. I am of the opinion that while a no crow collar may help for a time, the first time that roo tries to choke down a nice big grasshopper, a big piece of grit, or any other large delectable morsel, he's gonna be in a heap of trouble. I've seen my birds choke down some very impressive sized chunks, some of which I questioned that would even pass the beak! Bird nature being what it is, when they are doing a scrimmage for control of the mouse or frog, the first one to choke it down is the winner. A roo is not going to think to himself... "perhaps I shouldn't eat that." when he's headed for a touch down with a big 'ol frog hanging out of his beak.

 

[K.Riggs]

The above post is incorrect.
Let's set some anatomy straight here and clear up that posters misconception

The main job of the respiratory system of birds is to absorb oxygen and rid the body of carbon dioxide. In addition, the respiratory system also gets rid of excess heat, detoxifies some of the waste products of the body, and makes noise — most noticeably, crowing noise, much to the annoyance of our neighbors.

Like humans, birds have a windpipe and two lungs, but from there, birds are distinctly unlike mammals. Air flows into a bird’s lungs during the intake of breath, it continues through the lungs into nine air sacs, and then it goes back out through the lungs again.

Birds get two doses of oxygen for the price of one breath! The air sacs are arranged around the inside of the chest and abdominal cavity, and they connect with some of the bones of the skeleton.

Humans breathe with the help of the diaphragm muscle, which divides the chest and abdominal cavities. Birds don’t have a working diaphragm; instead, a bird moves its rib cage and keel (breastbone) to draw air into the lungs and force it back out.

The voice box in chickens is called the syrinx, located down in the chest cavity where the windpipe splits to enter each lung. Both male and female chickens have a syrinx, so hens can crow, too, if they feel like it. The syrinx isn’t an optional piece of anatomy though. A rooster can’t live with his syrinx removed

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Wow, extremely informative thanks!

 

[OliveGrace]

Let's set some anatomy straight here and clear up a misconception. Roosters have a small air sac at the base of their throat that expands off of the trachea like a small balloon. This sac, (along with the lungs), has all the air expelled out through it when a roo crows. Putting a collar on is not constricting the air flow to the lungs, it's just restricting the volume of air that can inflate this air sac, and thus the volume of the crow emitted by the roo. It's like you having a small balloon in your throat you could inflate on demand to make funky noises but otherwise wasn't very useful to you at all. Applying a no crow collar to this area does not choke the roo unless you don't follow the instructions (which are to place it snugly but leave a pinkie's width of room between collar and neck).

Having said that, I have 3 roos right now for breeding (Langshans and Bresse). I live in the middle of a subdivision. My neighbors would not appreciate loud roos at all hours of the morning, so all 3 of my boys have collars. None of them are in any discomfort, or really even all that concerned about the collars. they STILL crow, mechanically everything is the same for them, just the volume is reduced because they can not fully inflate their air sac. My neighbors are content (and I bribe them with eggs too), I can continue to work on breeding these 2 lines of bird, and the boys are happy and thriving.

The one thing I will strongly urge is that if you decide to go with a collar, feed your roos crumble. You ARE putting an external device around their neck which could potentially cause a choking hazard with pelletized feed or larger coarse feeds.The key to success with a collar is to understand how it's supposed to be applied, know your own birds, and be prepared to monitor and adjust a collar or even remove it for the well being of your bird if necessary.

Collars are not a solution for all birds or all people. Were my circumstances different I might not use them, but they are serving their purpose and do not seem to be harming my flock. Mileage varies per bird and per owner, and I won't try and sway anyone on whether or not to get a collar or not. My experience with them has been positive, and I'll leave it at that.

 

[OliveGrace]

Thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. Your analogies were very helpful for me to understand the process. I would love to have a rooster but could not even think of it without the collar. I am trying to figure it all out now.