Rooster crowing and Water freezing

[16Chickens Keeper]

Ok so my rir rooster has been crowing very much throughout the day and were not supposed to have any roosters but we still want to keep him and I've been looking at No crow collars but are they safe?

Also, my chicken waterer has been freezing and I don't want to buy a heate one unless I have to, so what are some things I could do?

 

[sourland]

No crow collars seem to work for some, but there have been instances where roosters wearing them have died. Water multiple times daily.

 

[LlamaGirl4]

I used a no crow collar on one of of My roos a few months Back. It sorta helped. He still crowed but not as much. I think it was difficult for him to eat though.
What is the average temp where you live?

 

[aart]

were not supposed to have any roosters but we still want to keep him

Harsh, but gotta say it.
Are you willing to lose your whole flock and maybe pay a fine....
...and have others nearby lose their ability to keep females as the rules state??

 

[16Chickens Keeper]

Yeah I know and I don't want to risk my hens I think I'll try a collar and if it works for us then great if not hell be culled in the spring

I live in Iowa so may vary

 

[UncleDougsChickens]

Yeah I know and I don't want to risk my hens I think I'll try a collar and if it works for us then great if not hell be culled in the spring

Make a post on craigslist, someone will take him in.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Also, my chicken waterer has been freezing and I don't want to buy a heate one unless I have to, so what are some things I could do?

If you're able and willing to bring out fresh water several times a day, then you can bypass heating. Or some people have had luck burying the water bucket in compost or manure to keep it defrosted, though I don't know the details.

Personally I prefer a heated waterer for ease of use. Just got a new one and it arrived 2 days before a week of hard frost. The dogs water froze solid, but the chickens waterer stayed liquid and accessible the whole time.

 

[azygous]

I don't believe I've ever seen a satisfactory solution for a crowing rooster short of rehoming or eating him. The safest thing, as @aart pointed out, is to get rid of him. Even crow collars still permit some level of crowing.

The problem of freezing waterers is one I grappled with for years. I hauled water back on forth as the water would freeze, replacing it several times a day on freezing days.

The simplest way to keep water from remaining frozen without electricity is to use black rubber water dishes and place them in direct sunlight. They quickly unfreeze as the sun warms the dark container.

Then I heard about light bulb/cookie tin warmers, and I made some of those. They worked okay during the day, but not at night when the temp was driven well below freezing. And electricity for those bulbs was getting expensive.

Because I'm getting old and losing my muscle strength, I wanted something to free me from having to haul heavy loads of water back and forth every day, even in summer. A few years ago I switched to Igloo five gallon water coolers and installed Bright Tap nipple systems on them, easily screwing into the spigot hole. I only need to fill them once a week or even just every two weeks in winter using a garden hose.

The only problem I still needed to solve was how to keep the nipples from freezing. I solved that by buying a couple 9" x 9" heating pads for $9 each at Walmart. I tied them to the Igloo, draping them over the Bright Tap. It keeps the water from freezing in the nipples, and wrapping the tanks in water heater blankets keeps the water itself from freezing down to very low temps.

 

[Trux]

Yeah I know and I don't want to risk my hens I think I'll try a collar and if it works for us then great if not hell be culled in the spring

I live in Iowa so may vary

The No Crow collar works, AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW the INSTRUCTIONS! My Sam has one and it cut his volume down by 50% he eats and drinks fine. So follow the instructions to the letter and it will work fine.

 

[16Chickens Keeper]

Thx, for the feedback everyone