Rooster/cockerel starting to crow- who’s used a ‘collar’?

[featheredplanets]

Bottom line if I can’t find away of curbing his crow humanly with as little stress as possibly I will need to find him a new home although that’s easier said than done as nobody wants cockerels… I have two dogs & although they do bark I don’t let them bark at antisocial times etc & have read about the BARBARIC operation in USA were they removed the voice boxer the dog & declaw cats - thankfully that’s illegal in the UK

If you do need to rehome then try Facebook groups and The British Hen Welfare Trust, they have a part of their site dedicated to cockerel rehoming. If he’s a good quality Cream Legbar then I don’t see why no one would want him.

 

[Duck_life]

Bottom line if I can’t find away of curbing his crow humanly with as little stress as possibly I will need to find him a new home although that’s easier said than done as nobody wants cockerels… I have two dogs & although they do bark I don’t let them bark at antisocial times etc & have read about the BARBARIC operation in USA were they removed the voice box & declaw cats - thankfully that’s illegal in the UK

Sometimes you can give them up for free on craigslist, farmers will take them or someone else looking for a cockerel to breed with the hens or eat. I know most people wouldn't want their pets to be meat but I just don't ask them to tell me what they're planning to do with them or ask them cannot be used for meat. Good luck but I don't think their is much ways to do it.

 

[FortCluck]

We aren't going to go tit for tat what's done in different countries.

I have not heard of anything legally done in the United States to stop a dog from barking. Cat declawing is allowed, but frowned upon usually. Not many veterinarian offices perform declawing.

If you want to try the crow collar then try it. It's up to you what you want to do with the rooster and no one can truly stop you from what your heart desires.

Good luck with everything!

 

[Ted_Harrell]

Hey… it’s the northern most area of the county of Kent in the UK about 40 miles from London - it’s roughly 11miles long & 8 miles across… Lived here about 15yrs & love it x

Unfortunately the only part of the UK I have seen is from the air and between Gatwick and Heathrow. One day maybe I can explore it more...

 

[NatJ]

Going to try insulating/sound proofing because as long as I can quiet him down until 7’ish there won’t be a problem

If the crowing is only a problem at certain times (like when the neighbor wants to sleep), then that sounds like a great idea! I hope it works for you!

 

[SilkieLover1969]

Honey do not waste your money. I've tried it & did numerous adjustments. If anything it lowers the decibels of the crow about 1/4. We even tried making our own. Several of them. He just ended up defying them. Then pretty soon it will just come off. I've also heard of some dying due to it being to snug. Just not worth losing your beloved pet even though it may be irritating to neighbors. I ended up having to part with mine because he ended up a rooster instead of a hen & we live in city limits. Hope this helps hon. Sorry I couldn't give you better news. Just check out the reviews & make your decision from there.

Aww thanks for your input/advice I did wonder about the collars but got confused as some reviews read ok although the concept of restriction without damage just didn’t seem feasible… I’ve already been warned from my neighbors that he’ll come strangle him I’m hoping in gest!
Going to call the vets now & see if they caponize x

Crow collars are bad, in my opinion. Some use them successfully, others are met with a sad end. The roosters squirm and jump and flip to get out of it. The usual story is that they choke whilst eating and die.

Are you allowed males where you live? You could try keeping him in his coop until a reasonable time to dampen the loudness. Roosters crowing is as natural as us talking. It’s their duty to protect their flock and they’ve been doing it for thousands of years. I think that if people don’t want to let a rooster be a rooster, then they shouldn’t have one. I really don’t mean that in an offensive way but it’s like debarking a dog or declawing a cat, not humane in my opinion. Others will disagree but I’m sure they’ll share their opinion.

 

[SilkieLover1969]

Yes, I did forget to mention the flipping around & acting catatonic for several minutes & walking backwards. I refused to put the poor fellow through it. Godzilla was our son. He came into the house & even spent a few days in here with us. I was pretty upset with the neighbors. I get that I'm in city limits but they could've knocked on my door instead of calling on us. Then falsely claimed twice of smell that the city never found. We are very tidy with our children! Yes they are our children‍ They do prosecute here for false reporting. They came & gave us 30 days so we made arrangements to have our friend whom raises chickens to retrieve him on said date. Well, even though he was inside a good portion of the time we allowed him out 2 hours of the day for exercise never at night! So several days later we get a call notifying us that that 30 days was void & that the jerks called again to report us! We can have hens but no roosters. As stated in prior reply post he was supposed to be a hen. We bought 4 different chicks that supposedly were all sexed but discovered that obvious crow one morning. Mind you we had him close to a year before they made any reports. My husband was even kind enough to speak with the neighbor asking if he was bothersome & he said no in fact he enjoyed listening to him crow. So we are thinking since he was a student roomating with the actual owners & finally graduated that he moved out & it wasn't him but the others. Anywho, we are going to start looking for a home in the country in March since we will be financially set to afford to do so. That way we can have as many roos as we choose & nobody can say anything. Anyway, I know I don't have any advice or answers to lessening the crow but if you're not a homeowner perhaps consider a home in the country like we are going to do in a few months. God Bless & hope you find a solution sweetheart.

 

[Arbutus Peregrine]

I just finished finding homes for 12 roosters... kept two even though they are not allowed where I live. So far my neighbors are supportive but when the weather warms and they sleep with open windows, I imagine they will change their minds. Being vegan most my life (I started eating eggs last year after 30 years vegan!) I totally understand the feeling responsible. I built my roosters their own coop and run... spent tons of money and soooo much time hoping to keep all my boys. They got along great as brothers! I believed all the good stuff about the crow collars but after my rooster experiment... I can’t say I’d recommend the collars. None of my birds were hurt with them but things happen. They can aspirate. They can be vulnerable to others holding them by the collar and strangling them... they can get their beaks stuck in the collars.... so many problems with them. I was home and checking on my boys quite a bit during this experiment. I adjusted and checked and worried over the collars constantly. They worked for some but not completely. For others they didn’t seem to work at all. I think the idea is great... to try and help people keep roosters in situations where they wouldn’t otherwise be able to. Just be ready for two very real possibilities if you choose to use them... the collar could easily kill your bird or the collar might not work. And know that your boy will get much louder as he sexually matures. This could be in 2-6 months if he is 3 months now. Good luck and just know that sooooo many people have struggled with this. I decided to rehome my boys and they got wonderful homes as pets on farms. It took almost 6 months but I was persistent. Wishing you all the best.
Oh and also... my plan for the two boys I kept is to bring them into my house every night during the warm part of the year and not put them outside until 7am during the week and 10am weekends. I’m also trying to figure out a way to insulate and ventilate an attached coop next to their regular coop. I can put an automatic door on it that keeps the two boys locked up in the morning longer than the girls. Just some ideas.

 

[Fairview01]

Arh interesting from what people are saying on here I thought they were just cruel but I’m at home all day with my chickens & could monitor him in much the same way you have - did it stress them out? Or did they adjust quickly?

Yeah, it stressed them out like a cat getting a bath. They were walking backwards, doing somersaults etc., etc. After about 15 minutes it was over. After that they became like dogs wearing collars. I'd remove it every weekend, check for problems, reapply it and let them go.

I'm allowed to have roosters. I found the loudness to be very disagreeable and this was my solution. Bottom line if you aren't allowed to have roosters and you arent willing to cull and eat them you shouldn't have them.

 

[CatWhisperer]

I agree with every word & in many ways sorry I started this thread especially if it’s upsetting people - to me the sound of a cockerel crowing reminds me of my childhood on the farm but one neighbor has let it be known he will throttle it if it gets any louder & I was hoping there may be something (these days) that would be a simple procedure similar to castration but it’s looking like that’s not possible at least not in the UK because of the complications involved with canonizing...

If only one neighbor is the problem and they threaten to come onto your property to kill one of your animals I would talk to law enforcement.