Rooster

[txcowgirl51]

I have received complaints from neighbors about our Rooster BoomBoom crowing at 3:00 am. She was wondering if there was some way we could cover the chicken run so he would think it was still nighttime. What do you think is the solution to this problem.
Thank you.
ora

 

[Baymule]

I hate to tell you this, but if neighbors are complaining about being awakened at 3:00 AM, then in the spirit of being a good neighbor, get rid of the rooster. I live in town and have 20 hens in the backyard. Our yard is small and we have close neighbors on all sides. The hens make very little noise and nobody minds them, especially when "in the spirit of being a good neighbor" I give them a carton of eggs.

Your neighbor will go from politely asking you to hush up the rooster, to complaining to the authorities, which could result in having to get rid of ALL your chickens. Put yourself in the neighbors place, people have to get up and go to work, church, school, etc. and if they are not getting enough sleep, it affects their job performance and makes them grumpy all day. Enough grumpiness, and it will land on your doorstep.

By all means, enjoy your chickens. You don't have to have a rooster to keep a flock of hens. Peace in the neighborhood is worth more than any rooster.

 

[jtn42248]

I have received complaints from neighbors about our Rooster BoomBoom crowing at 3:00 am. She was wondering if there was some way we could cover the chicken run so he would think it was still nighttime. What do you think is the solution to this problem.
Thank you.
ora

Short of keeping your rooster in a dark basement he is going to crow. Chickens perceive ultraviolet light much earlier than we are capable of. That and the roosters instinctive behavior to crow as and alert and/or warning. Your rooster is going to crow and crow and crow. Mine crow night and day for any number of reasons. I however live a little over a mile from my nearest neighbor so that solves my problem. The only solution to your problem is to get rid of the rooster. Unless you were planning on breeding and expanding your flock with new chicks (half of which could turn out to be roosters) there is no, repeat NO reason to have a rooster. You probably will find it difficult to rehome him so be prepared to have to deal with him in other ways. Just be as humane as possible.

 

[Beer can]

I live out of town and have no neighbors luckly. I don't think roosters can tell time, mine starts crowing well before daylight.
You can try the no crow rooster collar. They have them at my pet chicken, and a link to a youtube video demonstrating it in use.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Bay gave you the surest solution. Get rid of the rooster. You can try to black out every street lights automobile lights, moonlight, security lights, houselights, any light the rooster might see to try to stop him from crowing. If you do that for your entire flock it’s likely you will cause other problems. The hens need enough light to be able to see to get to the nests. If you feed and water in there they need to be able to see for that. If it is too dark to see in there you may find them sleeping outside. So you are probably looking at something you put up every night and take down every morning. How practical is that for you?

You can try making a blackout box for that rooster, a box that is totally dark inside even in bright sunlight. Put him in it every night and don’t let him out in the morning until his crowing won’t disturb people. That takes a commitment from you.

I’ve seen threads on here about rooster crow collars. I have no idea how they work or if they are effective or not. You can try a search for them.

Bay, I think you should get out of town and get a rooster. You don’t know what you are missing. How close are you to making that move? I haven’t noticed a date.

 

[waterloo]

"I hate to tell you this, but if neighbors are complaining about being awakened at 3:00 AM, then in the spirit of being a good neighbor, get rid of the rooster."

I will disagree with this advice.

This is happening all across this nation of ours. More and more people are moving away from the cities, moving further out into the rural area's, then they want to change other peoples life style.

These people should be fully aware of what to expect when they decide to move to an area where livestock is kept and raised.

If it were me in this situation, with a new neighbor complaining.

Get more roosters, or better yet a pair of Peacocks.

 

[HarmonyOaks]

where you live is important and should factor in your decision on what to do.

should you decide to keep your rooster, here are a couple of ideas

if your coop is such that the birds roost in what can be generally described as a big woodsided enclosed box, then install an automated door that you can program to open at 8am.

if you have open roosts, get a suitably sized airline crate and put your boy in it each night, and house him overnight in your garage.

my third suggestion is to have him decrowed. there is a vet here on byc who lives in oklahoma and does this procedure, as poultry keeping becomes more mainstream, i think we will see this option become more widely available.

i understand your desire to make nice with your neighbors, but ultimately if your zoning provides for roosters, then the law would be on your side.

 

[Mac14]

I have seen the rooster collar work for a friend of mine. You put it on underneath his neck feathers (hackle feathers) just tight enough to make it so he can't expand his throat very much, so he won't have AS powerful a crow. You have to look out for him to see if his behavior changes,(not eating, not mating, huddled in a corner). It might not be for everyone. The rooster collar will not eliminate his crowing, but it will make it quieter, and it will sound like he is learning to crow again (a raspy, unfinished crow). Anyway, I hope this helped, and I hope things go well for you.

 

[jtn42248]

First, this is just me and obviously not gospel. But, de-crow? Anti-crow collar? All these solutions to a problem that should not be a problem. If a person has a rooster in an area that does not allow them then they should (will be required to) get rid of the rooster. If they are in an area the does allow roosters then it should be no problem and they can keep the rooster. If you have a rooster to protect your hens you probably need to evaluate the predator risk and what happens to the rooster should an actual attack occur. If you are not running a setup where you are breeding chickens you really don't need a rooster.

To de-crow, use tension or shock to reduce or eliminate the crowing of a rooster is, to me, like sugar free or fat free or salt free food. Have you got a dog, did you have it de-barked, do you have a cat did you have it de-clawed.

Again, this is just me and I am fortunate to live in the country where crowing roosters, barking dogs, scratching cats, etc. are not a problem.