Quiet Roosters?

[RedDrgn]

I can tell you, having done a noise survey around my property to make sure my roo (a New Hampshire) wasn't a noise ordinance issue (the only ordinance that may have been a problem for us), that at 75 feet (the closest property boundary to the roo), his crow peaks at 64dBA (the ordinance is 65dBA at property boundary), so we cut that close. Our neighbors dog, across the street from our property boundary (about 25 feet) was 78dBA when it barked at me while I stood at my property boundary.

However, we also talked to our neighbors before getting him so that everyone was aware...and we still had a short-lived issue with one of the neighbors that initially approved once we got him, but then they got used to the sound. The thing is, most people are used to hearing dogs barking. They're not used to hearing roos. New sounds will stand out and be perceived as louder and more annoying than what would be considered common background noise in the same area.

Just some things to think about.

 

[BooBear]

A rooster's crow is at the same decimal range of a barking dog. Because it is different it will stand out more at first.
I have both bantams & big boys. The bantams seem to have a higher pitch or squeakiness to their crows whereas the big boys are more normal range with a few deep monatone types.

How often he crows and the level of sound can vary on an individual basis.

 

[animallover505]

my neighborhood is full of barking dogs. Hopefully, It will drown them out.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

I am new to chickens so I'm just tossing this idea out there as a crazy newbie... When researching wind breaks and external insulation for runs, I read on a few other threads that folks have had good luck with straw bales. They say that not only is it good, temporary insulation (that gets turned into the compost heap periodically) but that walls of straw completely muffled crowing roos.

 

[bluedogsonly]

Hey, I'm a vet in OK and have woked up a decrowing procedure. Might check out my thread on the subject.

 

[Mattemma]

Stick with the hens until you move and can have roosters. If it is not a code issue as you say then who cares what your neighbors want.Some let their dogs bark,some blare music,some work on cars,some light fireworks,some have parties....the list goes on.Even in the country you might get neighbors who complain.Do your best to be considerate,but if you are within the laws do what you want.

I live in town and my rooster crows.Even in the coop he crows.Sometimes all day long.Some days he just crows once. Crowing will vary. I let my chickens out at 10am.Ofcourse some people might sleep during the day,but I am sure they own ear plugs! I did.

Bantams are super cute! Best wishes whatever you decide.

 

[warmheart]

Our rooster barely crows, and it's a somewhat soft, musical crow at that. We adopted him as an ancient grandpa with overgrown spurs and ouch-y joints. He's feeling much better these days with good care. A senior rooster can make a wise companion and sentry for hens.

Having room to roam and therefore less stress can help, too. If your hens free-range safely in a fully-fenced yard, both the roo and hens may feel less stressed than in a confined pen. Add to this that when you collect eggs or do coop chores, the roo and hens would be off free-ranging, so less stress for the rooster and hens when you're in the pen area, so possibly (?) a bit less crowing.

If I needed a new rooster someday and wished to keep crowing down, I'd again select an elderly roo who had a calm demeanor, and again have a secured free-range situation to minimize stress.