I accidentally ended up with 3 cockerels out of 4 chicks. Two of them I unsuccessfully tried to find homes for, and ended up having the neighbor butcher them. (These are all mutt chickens). The last one I still have and am quite fond of, because he is a great rooster (actually 5 month old cockerel). He has been protective of my little hen from the time I got them (2 weeks old) and is very generous with the hens (I have two now). He has never shown me any aggression at all. He has not hurt the hens or over-mated them even though he is a big guy now.
He was not a heavy crower at first, and I was thrilled--only a couple sessions in the morning and maybe once in afternoon. The last couple of weeks he is crowing a lot more and I am worried that it is getting to be too much for my neighbor and my husband. (We live in a great neighborhood). If I could find a great home for him I would be thrilled--but I doubt that is possible. I woke up this morning with an idea that I would assert myself as the alpha rooster, and maybe he would not crow as much. This has not gone well--chasing him around the coop he injured his comb, and even though I run out there every time he crows he has not slowed down that I can tell. Gotta be a way to do this.....
So my questions: Will he possibly quiet down again as he gets older? Would getting him more hens be helpful? (Keep him occupied). Has anyone successfully trained a rooster to crow less? or should I face the inevitable sooner rather than later.
Here is my Big Bird and his two girls:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/14648_scan0004.jpg
I'm going to give this picture posting another try.
He was not a heavy crower at first, and I was thrilled--only a couple sessions in the morning and maybe once in afternoon. The last couple of weeks he is crowing a lot more and I am worried that it is getting to be too much for my neighbor and my husband. (We live in a great neighborhood). If I could find a great home for him I would be thrilled--but I doubt that is possible. I woke up this morning with an idea that I would assert myself as the alpha rooster, and maybe he would not crow as much. This has not gone well--chasing him around the coop he injured his comb, and even though I run out there every time he crows he has not slowed down that I can tell. Gotta be a way to do this.....
So my questions: Will he possibly quiet down again as he gets older? Would getting him more hens be helpful? (Keep him occupied). Has anyone successfully trained a rooster to crow less? or should I face the inevitable sooner rather than later.
Here is my Big Bird and his two girls:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/14648_scan0004.jpg
I'm going to give this picture posting another try.
