One new chick turned out to be a rooster! Neighbor unhappy!

[lbranin]

How does one keep a rooster from crowing at 5:00 AM? Last spring we got some new day old chicks and the one turned out to be a rooster. He is a big beautiful Rhode Island Red. However, he is not going over well with the neighbor. Is it possible to put him where he is covered up and it is dark longer? My 11 year old son is very attached to "Rusty" but I want to be considerate of the neighbors. What can be done besides find a home for him? We live in a rural area in a city and people have animals all around us, mostly horses. Not many roosters.

 

[FluffyChickenMama]

Nothing.. Roosters crow.. thats just what they do.. alot during the day and sometimes at night.. My RIR rooster is a great loud crower.. (I have heard of de-crowing but thats just cruel and shouldnt be an option).. best thing would be to find him a new home if the neighbors dont like him.. I read somewhere that you can hear an adult rooster crow for up to a mile away.. Good Luck..

 

[silkiechicken]

I know there are a few people on here who take their roo from the roost at night and keep them inside till their neighbors are awake for the day and let him back out. If the neighbor problem is the rooster waking them up that will work, else, you'll have to find him a home.

 

[peepkeeper]

Try keeping him in the dark until a reasonable hour. If he's the kind that won't shut up throughout the day, then there's really nothing you can do.

 

[tiffanyh]

I have a roo--I keep him shut in a light tight coop until about 8am, he doesnt make a peep until I let him out. He actually lives in a large dog house with 5 hens....he doesnt shut up once I let him out. Even if I happen to let him out late on the weekends, he is quiet until then.

Good luck.

 

[tx_dane_mom]

I've noticed that my noisy PITA roo (who I am very fond of) that crows whenever he wants (if I walked out there now @ 1:30 am he'd crow @ me) he gotten considerably more considerate of everyone else's sleep schedule since I put out a red heat lamp for them 4 nites ago. It used to be 5:36 every a.m. Now he's been waiting until there is actually a sun or later even. So maybe 6:30-7.
Kristi

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Can you put shades or some other type of cover over your coop windows? I would then only uncover the windows and let the chickens out a little later in the day.

 

[pattycake]

I keep my rooster locked in the henhouse until a reasonable hour, when I'm pretty sure my neighbors are up. You can still hear him crowing through the walls of the coop, but it's not loud enough to wake anyone up or anything -- not as loud as the squawking of blue jays or the school bus going by.