Rooster!

[foghorn00]

Hello, looking for advice from the chicken lovers here -

My next door neighbor has some hens and a rooster that crows a few times a day. It used to crow all day, but I think the neighbor found a way to limit it. The crowing doesn't bother me, but my son (7 years old) totally freaks out when he hears it. Yesterday afternoon, we were playing in our backyard and the rooster started crowing. My son covered his ears, screamed, and ran inside. "No rooster! No rooster!" I tried to explain, "well, that's just what roosters do and they can't hurt you". But he is triggered by the sound. It is highly unpleasant to him. He reacts this way every time the rooster happens to crow when he's outside.

What is the reasonable way to handle this such that I properly advocate for my son without demanding my neighbor give up the rooster? In other words - what's the polite way to let a rooster-owner know that their rooster is causing stress to a little kid? I don't want to put them on the defensive and just want a solution. I also want to model productive behavior to my son. (For example, perhaps they can schedule when the rooster crows so that we can be ready for it when it happens.)

Thanks!

 

[swamphiker]

Hi there, welcome to BYC! I'm a bit confused what you mean by "scheduling" a rooster crowing. Roosters can crow at anytime of day or night, and the owners don't have control over it. Depending on where you live, roosters may or may not be allowed, especially if you live in city/municipal limits. If you Google "Your city/municipality/county + chicken ordinance", you may come up with something.

 

[foghorn00]

Hi there, welcome to BYC! I'm a bit confused what you mean by "scheduling" a rooster crowing. Roosters can crow at anytime of day or night, and the owners don't have control over it. Depending on where you live, roosters may or may not be allowed, especially if you live in city/municipal limits. If you Google "Your city/municipality/county + chicken ordinance", you may come up with something.

Thanks, of course I already checked the local ordinances. Roosters are allowed.

The reason I wonder whether the crowing can be scheduled is that it used to crow all day, every day. Then it mostly stopped (I think some other neighbor called and complained - not sure). So maybe they're doing something to keep the rooster quiet most of the time, like a collar or a shade over the box or something. And maybe they take the collar off for a while to let it crow. I don't know. I figured y'all might have some better knowledge. I just don't want to knock on their door and start asking for details about their rooster because I don't want to come off as another complaining neighbor. I want a solution, not an enemy.

 

[N F C]

Hi, sorry the crowing upsets your son so much. @swamphiker is correct...roosters can and will crow at any time. Since it's legal for your neighbors to have a rooster I'm not sure what you can do about it. Do other noises bother your son?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I'm sorry to hear that your son is having that reaction.
Does he know what the rooster looks like? Perhaps you can show him YouTube videos of chickens and roosters, hens clucking and an occasional rooster crow. Then ask your neighbor if you and your son can visit his flock so your son can see the source of the sound. Maybe if he sees and becomes familiar with the source of the sound, the reaction will be less traumatic.
There are much more annoying and louder sounds in our world than a rooster's crow. Try loud motorcycles, barking dogs, train whistles, boom boxes, lawn mowers, alarm clocks, roofing nailers, et. al.. Most of which are louder than roosters.
Maybe after he is introduced to the rooster, take him to a train track near a crossing so he can witness that annoying whistle or a motorcycle rally where they are revving their engines.

There is no way to schedule a rooster's crow. They crow when they want to communicate with the world. The rooster is now crowing less as he matures. New full grown cockerels crow incessantly, Older roosters not so much. They tend to just crow as dawn approaches and a few more times during the day. At night, if some kind of light enters their coop or in electrical storms they may crow for a while after.
I worked in Costa Rica where everyone had chickens. I grew to love that I was gently awakened in the morning by them than having to use an annoying alarm clock to make it to work on time. Before I moved there, I read that Costa Ricans get up and start working near sunrise, now I know why.

 

[foghorn00]

Hi, sorry the crowing upsets your son so much. @swamphiker is correct...roosters can and will crow at any time. Since it's legal for your neighbors to have a rooster I'm not sure what you can do about it. Do other noises bother your son?

Other noises don't bother him as much as the rooster does. I think it's the unexpectedness that makes it especially unpleasant. It's also just a very distinct noise, like an "acquired taste" that takes a lot of getting used to.

 

[foghorn00]

I'm sorry to hear that your son is having that reaction.
Does he know what the rooster looks like? Perhaps you can show him YouTube videos of chickens and roosters, hens clucking and an occasional rooster crow. Then ask your neighbor if you and your son can visit his flock so your son can see the source of the sound. Maybe if he sees and becomes familiar with the source of the sound, the reaction will be less traumatic.
There are much more annoying and louder sounds in our world than a rooster's crow. Try loud motorcycles, barking dogs, train whistles, boom boxes, lawn mowers, alarm clocks, roofing nailers, et. al.. Most of which are louder than roosters.
Maybe after he is introduced to the rooster, take him to a train track near a crossing so he can witness that annoying whistle or a motorcycle rally where they are revving their engines.

There is no way to schedule a rooster's crow. They crow when they want to communicate with the world. The rooster is now crowing less as he matures. New full grown cockerels crow incessantly, Older roosters not so much. They tend to just crow as dawn approaches and a few more times during the day. At night, if some kind of light enters their coop or in electrical storms they may crow for a while after.
I worked in Costa Rica where everyone had chickens. I grew to love that I was gently awakened in the morning by them than having to use an annoying alarm clock to make it to work on time. Before I moved there, I read that Costa Ricans get up and start working near sunrise, now I know why.

Thanks. He loves train whistles and barking dogs, so go figure.

I also used to live in Costa Rica as well as a bunch of other Latin American countries. So it's pretty normal to me.

This may be a dumb question, but do roosters like being pet? Or are they basically unfriendly? I don't want to bring him close to the rooster if there's a risk he gets pecked and make the problem 100 times worse.

 

[Tonyroo]

Understanding what makes noises will take the fear away from it. Your son just needs to see and hear what makes that noise.

If you do visit a rooster, have your son wear some ear plugs. They can be pretty loud up close.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Here is the engineer in me coming out...
The rooster is not the problem. And he is permitted there. Approaching the neighbor about his rooster is not a good idea in my opinion.
Your son has a phobia. Hearing a rooster crow and being terrified of it is not a natural response if he was never attacked by a rooster. I would seek out counseling for your son to find out why he has this phobia.

 

[swamphiker]

Many roosters are not friendly, but some are. It's possible your neighbor is using a crow collar and taking it off sometimes, but crow collars only work if they are adjusted very tight and none of us will be able to tell you what your neighbor is doing with their rooster better than them. It sounds like your next step should be to talk to your neighbor. If you want to arrange for your son to visit with the rooster, talk to your neighbor. If the rooster isn't friendly, perhaps you could arrange for your son to be on one side of a fence and the rooster on the other. If rooster are allowed in your jurisdiction, having a kind conversation with the neighbor is really the only way to work through the issue.