Why do my two roosters go on and on and on?

[3SiameseCats]

This has been an issue for awhile. These two, once or twice a day, make this endless godawful “chorus” of bawks for literally no apparent reason. I’ve gone out countless times to check, and nothing! The only way I can get them to shut up is if I go out there. They don’t do it after I leave. But it’s so freaking annoying, especially when I have the windows open. And I’m also worried the neighbors might hear it, although they couldn’t legally do anything about it. But I like my neighbors, so I’d like to avoid pissing them off, especially since I share a driveway with one.

 

[LTAY1946]

They saw something that upset them. Are there hens with them? Maybe it is a warning for the hens to take cover?

 

[3SiameseCats]

The saw something that upset them. Are there hens with them? Maybe it is a warning for the hens to take cover?

Problem is it goes on for like several minutes at a time. And they all have their own yard they stay in so they know when the hens are safe. We have hawks, but I’ve been in the vicinity of the coop and seen some flying overhead, and they don’t do it.

 

[LTAY1946]

Problem is it goes on for like several minutes at a time. And they all have their own yard they stay in so they know when the hens are safe. We have hawks, but I’ve been in the vicinity of the coop and seen some flying overhead, and they don’t do it.

You may have to set to where you can observe them as far from them as you can to see what is going on. I have roosters that do the same especially late in the day. No neighbors so I pay them no attention.

 

[3SiameseCats]

You may have to set to where you can observe them as far from them as you can to see what is going on. I have roosters that do the same especially late in the day. No neighbors so I pay them no attention.

I’ll have to do that next time they do it. It’s just so bizarre

 

[SourRoses]

They're alerting to danger. It's normal and useful behavior. It could be something in the air or something on the ground.

Our 7 roosters alert a few times a day. When we walk out there sometimes we can't see what's bothering them, but most of the time we do. First place to look is up.
Sometimes the "danger" is silly, like earlier this afternoon one of our 3 month old cockerels was scaring everyone into hiding over a giant butterfly. The mature roosters are more sensible.
Just by our human presence, most predators get scared off, so that can make it hard to figure out what was there. A camera could help with that. The birds relax when they see us because they've learned the predators are scared of us.
But I also think the roosters alerting has a deterrent effect for the more timid predators. Especially when there are a lot of boys taking up the call. Most predators prefer to take their prey by surprise.

So there are things they get used to with maturity and stop fussing about (if it's fairly consistent), like barking dogs, active people, butterflies, small birds, and the like. Irregular activity or shapes will (and honestly, should) always bother them.

 

[McChooky]

My geese and roosters both alert to people. Young cockerels and roosters can crow day or night depending on the type of noises they consider to be threats.They adapt to common noises and crow less as they get older

 

[KayisforKale]

Problem is it goes on for like several minutes at a time. And they all have their own yard they stay in so they know when the hens are safe. We have hawks, but I’ve been in the vicinity of the coop and seen some flying overhead, and they don’t do it.

Are they singing? It sounds like they are singing. Hens are not the only ones that sing; my two roosters are the ones who tend to start it now, and they go on and on until I threaten to eat them.

 

[KayisforKale]

They're alerting to danger. It's normal and useful behavior. It could be something in the air or something on the ground.

Our 7 roosters alert a few times a day. When we walk out there sometimes we can't see what's bothering them, but most of the time we do. First place to look is up.
Sometimes the "danger" is silly, like earlier this afternoon one of our 3 month old cockerels was scaring everyone into hiding over a giant butterfly. The mature roosters are more sensible.
Just by our human presence, most predators get scared off, so that can make it hard to figure out what was there. A camera could help with that. The birds relax when they see us because they've learned the predators are scared of us.
But I also think the roosters alerting has a deterrent effect for the more timid predators. Especially when there are a lot of boys taking up the call. Most predators prefer to take their prey by surprise.

So there are things they get used to with maturity and stop fussing about (if it's fairly consistent), like barking dogs, active people, butterflies, small birds, and the like. Irregular activity or shapes will (and honestly, should) always bother them.

I thought of singing because she says they bawk. My roosters make a growling sound when they give alerts. Do different breeds make different sounds for different reasons?

@3SiameseCats Could you post a video of your roosters making this sound?

 

[SourRoses]

I thought of singing because she says they bawk. My roosters make a growling sound when they give alerts. Do different breeds make different sounds for different reasons?

They all make different sounds depending on what the threat is. Whether it's in the air, by land, a definite danger or a maybe danger. Influenced a little bit by the breed and a little by their own personality. And their position in the flock.
We currently have a lot of roos. Of 2 brothers, one growls and the other alerts more typically, which sounds to me like "uuh gluh gluh gluh". lol
Another rooster we recently sold was a whistler, which was a bit annoying. He'd whistle over us humans moving around or having a conversation just as much as potential air threats. Then switch to an actual alert if something truly flew near. Even the hens got so used to his whistling that they didn't believe him anymore. Thankfully, his son makes the typical "gluh gluh" noise.

On top of that, they can hear and emit sounds that we can't even hear, way far in both directions of the scale.
I read that hens especially rely on really low sounds to communicate. Researchers were able to use equipment to show newly hatched female chicks making these subharmonic vocalizations to each other. I guess that's how they find each other in a dark nest and if they hatch at night? But the males didn't go so deep.

Whatever we may, or may not, think of chicken intelligence in general, their communication abilities are advanced, which I suppose makes sense since they are birds.