Why do roosters crow?

[Ninjasquirrel]

It's 4:30 am here. Ive been up since 4 am. My roo woke me up again. He's been crowing nonstop since 4. Every morning I've had to leave the bed to go sleep on the couch where I cant here him. Ive always been a light sleeper but he crows all dang day. I'm thinking about buying a no crow collar just so he wont be as loud.

Before we had a roo I always thought they just crowed in the morning. Nope. They crow all freakin day. I asked google and it said they have an internal clock that tells them to crow at dawn. That's a load of bull because dawn isnt until 6:45. Whats the real reason or what do you think is the real reason?

 

[Aapomp831]

Lol, you are correct. They do have an internal clock, but that’s not why they crow. It’s mostly a territorial thing.... they are letting everyone around them know that this is their territory and their hens. If you have neighboring roosters, they will let each other know all day long. Roosters will often crow after a hen lays an egg; kind of like an announcement “hey, we completed a natural and primal process, go us!” (Beats chest with wings triumphantly).
It’s all a show of bravado.... nothing more, nothing less. I would suggest either moving your coop further away, or getting a high powered fan and some earplugs.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Lol, you are correct. They do have an internal clock, but that’s not why they crow. It’s mostly a territorial thing.... they are letting everyone around them know that this is their territory and their hens. If you have neighboring roosters, they will let each other know all day long. Roosters will often crow after a hen lays an egg; kind of like an announcement “hey, we completed a natural and primal process, go us!” (Beats chest with wings triumphantly).
It’s all a show of bravado.... nothing more, nothing less. I would suggest either moving your coop further away, or getting a high powered fan and some earplugs.

We just have the one rooster. Our neighbor 3 doors down has one but thats about a quarter mile away. He usually starts crowing around 4 am and stops by 5:30 am. I know that no crow collars dont stop the crowing. I just wish it was quieter. I have a fan in the room and it doesnt help and ear plugs are uncomfortable. The coop cant really be moved either. Our backyard has a lot of trees

 

[Chicken Heel]

Roosters crowing has never bothered me except at midnight because with my Appalachian Mountains background from my Mom's side of the family, that is a sign of a pending death. My Dad was from the piedmont area along the VA/NC border and didn't hold much stock in the belief. That was until he had two brothers pass within a couple of weeks after hearing crowing at midnight. Then shortly thereafter, my Mom's dad passed away once again a week or so after we heard a cock crow at midnight. Dad relented and said there might be something to it after all and maybe we should get rid of those damn roosters.

 

[Aapomp831]

We just have the one rooster. Our neighbor 3 doors down has one but thats about a quarter mile away. He usually starts crowing around 4 am and stops by 5:30 am. I know that no crow collars dont stop the crowing. I just wish it was quieter. I have a fan in the room and it doesnt help and ear plugs are uncomfortable. The coop cant really be moved either. Our backyard has a lot of trees

It doesn’t matter if you have other roosters, he will still crow to let any sneaky roosters that may be hiding in the bushes ready to take his girls.... it’s just instinct.
Do you have to have a rooster? The crow collars can sometimes hurt them... maybe it’s time to rehome?

 

[NatJ]

Whats the real reason or what do you think is the real reason?

They crow in the morning.
And when they hear another rooster crowing.
And when a light shines on them (car's headlights, or some early riser turned on a light, or...)
And when they hear some unusual sound, or maybe just a normal sound.
And whenever they just feel like it.

I think the basic idea is to make enough noise that every rooster and hen in the area knows that your rooster is there.

Do you have to have a rooster?

Very good question. If you need eggs fertilized by him, for hatching purposes--then you need him. For anything else, roosters are optional.

 

[Aapomp831]

Roosters crowing has never bothered me except at midnight because with my Appalachian Mountains background from my Mom's side of the family, that is a sign of a pending death. My Dad was from the piedmont area along the VA/NC border and didn't hold much stock in the belief. That was until he had two brothers pass within a couple of weeks after hearing crowing at midnight. Then shortly thereafter, my Mom's dad passed away once again a week or so after we heard a cock crow at midnight. Dad relented and said there might be something to it after all and maybe we should get rid of those damn roosters.

Roosters crow and people die... they are both inevitable. One is not connected to the other.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

It doesn’t matter if you have other roosters, he will still crow to let any sneaky roosters that may be hiding in the bushes ready to take his girls.... it’s just instinct.
Do you have to have a rooster? The crow collars can sometimes hurt them... maybe it’s time to rehome?

We dont HAVE to. We WANT to. I'm quite fond of him. I just dislike his morning crows

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

Roosters crow and people die... they are both inevitable. One is not connected to the other.

It is odd for a roo to be crowing at midnight though. Some people are superstitious. I'm just stitious

 

[Aapomp831]

It is odd for a roo to be crowing at midnight though. Some people are superstitious. I'm just stitious

It’s actually not odd at all... It’s very common for roosters to crow at night. I hear it often...