Ok, now the question is, how do you stop roosters from crowing? Now that I know why roosters crow, I can comfortably tolerate their peculiar noise. But for a new chicken owner, this can pose some challenges when it comes to making these birds quiet.
Luckily, there are numerous ways of stopping these male birds from crowing. And that is exactly what we are going to discuss in the following sections. You can stop your cockerel from crowing by applying several methods. These techniques are effective and safe when you use them as required.
Before you prevent your male birds from making their usual noise, you should also understand why they do so. In most cases, roosters crow due to their daily cycle. This cycle is commonly referred to as circadian rhythms. Each animal in the world follows this cycle in its own unique way.
Recent studies on this subject matter show that light is not entirely a determining factor for roosters to crow. These birds have what is known as an internal clock. This particular clock triggers them to make their noise, especially early in the morning. Across the day, they can crow between 13 and 15 times on average.
Roosters can crow to mark their territory in a bid to keep away any intruders. Just like other male animals, these birds create their own territory. In fact, they are always ready to defend their area even of influence if it means fighting. That explains why you may have spotted your cocks engaged in a fierce battle. Mostly, the winner takes all, and the loser takes a walk to establish his territory elsewhere.
The rooster may crow as a sign of dominance over others. This type of rooster is usually the oldest among your flock of birds. As such, he crows to let others know of his presence. Unlike hens, roosters generally have a leader, and the only way you can spot their leader is through crowing. In this regard, the most dominant rooster will crow first before others can follow suit.
Finally, a rooster can crow to shield or protect his hens. Whenever a rooster senses danger, he starts crowing immediately to alert his hens in advance. As a result, the hens stay aware of the impending threat or take cover to keep themselves safe.
However, it is not easy to prevent your roosters from crowing, although you may limit this behavior a little bit. You can do so by reducing their voice to a certain level that you think is manageable. Below are some helpful tips for stopping your roosters from crowing unnecessarily.
1.Assign One Rooster to Every Coop
Most chicken owners prefer raising hens rather than roosters. For some, these male chickens are only as good as pets and nothing else. But they may get into your flock by mistake. This happens when you buy chicks to raise mature chickens. So, do you discard the roosters? The answer is no. Instead, you can raise them to help your hens produce fertile eggs.
If you have more than one cock in your backyard, you may separate them to minimize their noise. Roosters can crow even more when they are many. Therefore, you should consider placing each rooster in a separate coop to reduce the noise they are likely to make.
Once you let them stay in one place at the same time, they might want to display their mastery by crowing. As such, their noise could become unbearable and upset, even your neighbors. Keep them separate by assigning each rooster to one coop.
2. Be Aware of their Crowing Time
Likely, you will always anticipate the time your roosters will start crowing in the morning. For instance, if the sun rises from 5:55 A.M, your rooster will crow at 4:30 A.M., And this is absolutely normal.
Sometimes your rooster may crow at night, and this could surprise you. Most roosters start crowing after seeing the light during the night. The light confuses them to think that it is daybreak, and that triggers them to crow. If you feel that their noise is a nuisance at night, then limit the light around them until morning hours.
3.Provide Your Roosters With Enough Feed
In most cases, roosters crow when they are hungry. This is normal across all animals, including humans. Whenever we are hungry, we complain or look for food. But for your roosters, they will make their usual crowing sound to let you know that they need to eat. A hungry rooster is a noisy chicken, and the only way to make him quiet is to feed him.
When you discover that your roosters are hungry, you can feed and water them as soon as possible. Find out which type of food they like and how much they can eat at one time. Once you fulfill their dietary needs, you can rest assured that they will become peaceful. That is one way of keeping them quite at any given time.
4. Keep Your Roosters in Blackout Box
Roosters have an internal clock that triggers them to crow at certain times. This strange phenomenon puzzles many people, but that’s not important right now.
Your roosters will automatically crow when it is daybreak. To many people, this is the time to enjoy some sleep. But with the roosters crowing, their sleep is disrupted, and this can be annoying sometimes. The most effective way to avoid these incidents is to keep your roosters in a blackout box during the night.
So, what is a blackout box, and how do you get your roosters inside this structure? First of all, the blackout box refers to a container that you can use to keep your roosters at night. This structure provides them with a dark environment in which they can sleep peacefully.
You can obtain a blackout box from the market or poultry store near you. Alternatively, you can make your own version using a cage and blanket to obscure the light and sound. Use the blanket to cover the cage. Add some hay to your DIY blackout box to keep it comfortable for your birds.
Place the box away from light or sound to enable your roosters to enjoy their sleep across the night. This way, your roosters will not crow because there will be no stimuli to trigger them to do so.
5. You May Use a Rooster Collar
The use of a rooster collar should come after you have exhausted all other options. The collar is carefully designed to prevent the rooster from crowing. At least, this will help you enjoy your peaceful moments, especially when you don’t want to hear any noise.
This gadget uses a simple mechanism to limit the noise from your male chicken. It usually cuts down the flow of air to your rooster’s voice box. As a result, his voice is lowered dramatically.
When using a rooster collar, make it a little bit tight to avoid choking your chicken. This is the last incident you can expect when using such a piece of equipment. With this information at the back of your mind, make it as easy as you can to keep the rooster comfortable.
At the initial tie, the rooster collar should be loose around the neck. As time goes by, you can make it a little tighter. The rooster will soon get used to it and feel comfortable throughout. But keep on checking his breathing and movement from time to time. If you notice that he is struggling with the collar, you can loosen it to help him stay comfortable.
Related Questions
Why do roosters crow? When roosters are crowing, just know it is their form of communication. It sounds more or less the same way human beings talk to each other. For roosters, crowing can have different meanings, such as informing other chickens of their presence, warning of dangers, and as a sign of pride.
Why does my rooster crow in the middle of the night? If your roosters crow in the middle of the night, just know that they are responding to other roosters nearby. Or they are merely trying to deal with some form of disturbance around them. So if this happens so often, take your time to find out why they are crowing at such odd hours.
Final Thought
Cocks crow for different reasons. Some may crow to mark the beginning of a new day while others will do so to show dominance. Whichever the case, you must know that it’s natural for them to make their funny noises at specific times.
But their crowing can become a nuisance not only to you but your neighbors as well. Since you can not get rid of them immediately, you should find a way to minimize their noise. To achieve this feat, you can apply any of the methods mentioned above to see how things unfold. Stopping your roosters from crowing is a good idea if you want to enjoy quiet moments at home.
Below is a Pinterest friendly photo…. so you can pin it to your Chicken Board!!
