The most common inhabitants of a poultry yard are chickens, together with their leader, a rooster. The crowing of roosters is considered the first signal for the beginning of the day by all villagers, and in the old days not a single farmstead could do without this useful bird. However, a little time must pass before the bird develops a voice, and then it becomes clear who is the leader of the flock. In this article we will find out when a rooster starts crowing, at what time and for what reasons he does this. By understanding some of the characteristics of the species, it will be possible to better navigate the behavior and determine the needs of the pet in order to provide it with a full life.
How can you describe a rooster?
The rooster is a beautiful bird, but quite heavy, whose gait is ponderous and slow. But still, in the full sense of the word, it is difficult to call a rooster a bird, since its wings are very short, so it flies rarely and over short distances, at most through a fence or bushes. Often, when in danger, these birds prefer to run quickly.
Interesting materials:
Why don't steps in health count? Why doesn't tuberous begonia bloom? Why doesn't Annabel's hydrangea bloom? Why doesn't hydrangea bloom in the garden? Why doesn't jasmine bloom? Why can't formatting complete? Why is the folder not deleted from the desktop? Why is there no sound playing? Why doesn't Call of Duty start? Why won't the Sims 3 game launch?
Why does the rooster crow?
Crowing is primarily a way for these birds to communicate. Moreover, if there are several males in the poultry yard, then the leader must be the first to vote. If a young cockerel goes against this established order and decides to shout down the leader, he will be very badly beaten, perhaps even to death.
Many people are accustomed to the fact that the rooster starts crowing early in the morning and then raises its voice from time to time throughout the day. However, what time the roosters get up and make their first cry of the day has nothing to do with the beginning of a new daylight hours. They crow according to signals from their internal clock. It happens that a pet can scream constantly, pausing only to sleep and eat. This may indicate pathological changes in the body.
In the morning
The crow of a rooster in the early morning does not surprise anyone and is considered a natural occurrence. It is at this time of day that the bird screams most piercingly and for a long time - this is how they indicate that they are the owners of the territory, communicating with each other.
You may also be interested in the article: “What to do if a rooster fights?”
During the day
At those moments when a rooster begins to crow during the day, his cry may indicate various reasons, for example:
- the desire to make sure that all members of the pack are present (roll call);
- support for females during egg laying;
- assumption of impending danger;
- desire to share the food found.
Oddly enough, changing conditions, such as lighting or temperature, can also cause a rooster to suddenly crow.
At night
The morning crow of a rooster has not surprised anyone for a long time and often becomes a kind of signal for the beginning of a new day for all rural residents. The reason why roosters crow in the morning is a signal from their biological clock, as well as an invitation to their flock to go out for a walk. The cry of a bird at night has not yet been fully studied by scientists, but it is known for certain that birds call at midnight, then around 2 am and a third time before dawn.
You may also be interested in the article: “Why trim the spurs of a rooster and how to do it yourself?”
If roosters interfere with sleep
Male chickens sometimes sing at night, at one, two and four early in the morning. We have not yet come up with an effective way to prevent the rooster from crowing, especially at night. Some zoologists experimented by keeping the birds in a dark room for more than one day, but the singing schedule was still not disrupted. It is not always possible to change nature. Therefore, if roosters are crowing on your or a neighbor’s property, all you have to do is enjoy the beautiful iridescent sound.
Tip: Seal the walls in the chicken coop to muffle the birds' calls.
What time does the rooster crow?
Many old annals and chronicles mention the fact that the rooster crows only three times a night. This incomprehensible phenomenon is usually called the first, second and third roosters. As mentioned earlier, why the rooster crows at night is still unclear, however, it was possible to establish that the first crows occur between midnight and one in the morning, the second rooster crows from 2 to 3, and the third just before dawn, about 4-5 hours. Also, a rooster can crow at night if it feels a threat to its flock, because many predators hunt at night.
Peculiarities
Without sounds, birds will not be able to communicate with each other. There is a wide variety of sounds in nature; wild chickens, whose habitat is thickets of bushes with a limited horizon, are especially distinguished by their roll calls.
The human ear can hear the crowing if the rooster is two kilometers away. This sound is single and long, at a high frequency. How long a male chicken crows depends on the circumstances and purpose of the cry. If the cockerel has found food, he will begin to make repeated sounds that serve as a call for the hens.
It is most effective when the rooster gives a loud, high-pitched signal for a long time. The crow of the same male cock is always pronounced almost identically, with deviations of no more than a semitone.
Scientists have long figured out why a rooster crows loudly, and why, when there is another male chicken, or several, nearby. The sound made can be a call, and brothers of the same rank as the rooster call in response. When a subordinate cockerel of lower rank raises a call in his yard, the dominant male attacks the one who dared to raise his voice; he does not give a sound response.
At what age does a rooster begin to crow?
Of course, once the chicks hatch, they are not able to make any sounds other than squeaking. Only after some time can you see the first attempts to show your character and, at the same time, your voice. As a rule, this happens at the age of 2.5 months. When the voice has just emerged, attempts to make a louder cry can be made every half hour. So if you don't know why a rooster crows constantly, it may be that he is trying to develop his voice and gain leadership.
For what reason may they not sing?
It happens that the rooster does not crow. Then you need to understand his health condition. The bird may remain silent due to complications with the respiratory tract. Signs of the disease also include a pale comb and difficulty breathing. A veterinarian's examination will be required and treatment with an antibiotic may be possible.
After suffering from an illness, the bird may also stop singing for a while. If changes affect hormonal levels, the male may not feel like a leader in protecting the territory and does not trample hens, although other behavior is normal.
If the rooster has stopped crowing, this may mean both a hormonal and age-related change, or the beginning of molting. The exact cause can only be determined by examining the bird at a veterinary clinic.
This is interesting
It is noteworthy that males speak different languages in their own way:
- The crow of a rooster in Russia sounds like a crow.
- In Japan, the male says - koke-koh-koh.
- In Germany, the cockerel crows - kike-ri-ki.
There are also specially bred singing breeds of roosters. For example, Yurlovskaya vociferous. They begin to develop vocal cords much later than others, at the age of 9-10 months. Their voice becomes completely stronger as the year approaches.
It is also interesting to observe the sounds the chicken makes. According to statistics, the female constructs up to 30 sentences from the sounds made in her language.
When a chicken sings, you can notice how the production of pronounced sounds, intonation and timbre changes.
For example, chickens cluck very excitedly if they feel danger or stress. If you give a female a rooster, her cackling will be inviting. And over the hatched chickens she clucks like a hen.
Age, appearance of loud voice
At what age roosters begin to crow has only been determined approximately. Babies up to two months of age cannot make loud sounds, and they still squeak. Young cockerels at two and a half months try their hand at crowing, but it turns out a little funny. There are individuals who began to master a loud call at 3 months of life, which is already quite good. Most male chickens learn to crow fully at four or five months of age. Often a young rooster crows constantly for several days, not even half an hour passes. Gradually the frequency of screaming goes away. The six-month-old young animals are already vocalizing with all their might.
Advice: Beginnings are influenced by the breed and the conditions in which the birds live. Well-groomed males begin to sing earlier than their less well-groomed, rather weak and skinny counterparts.
Cock crowing
Why does a rooster crow if his brother is at an impressive distance from him, and the males do not see each other, it becomes clear if you understand the natural evolutionary factors. As usual, the rooster has his own “chicken harem”, and a group of birds lives in one area. Birds zealously protect their food, rest and sleep from strangers, including their own kind.
An aggressive attitude helps populations spread, develop new habitats, and also prevents overpopulation. Although the brutality of fighting with injury or death can harm the entire species, the number of birds is reduced, especially if breeding males die. Thus, the reason that male chickens crow is simple, they need to protect their areas, capture and develop new ones, but roosters use harmless dispersal routes; the crowing is an intimidating maneuver.
By crowing, the male sends a warning to his rival that the given yard is busy and an offer to look for another place. A serious battle between rivals can begin only when everything nearby is already populated. The rooster, the strongest physically and psychologically, wins, he will continue the race, which will lead to the prosperity of the species, a progressive revolution will occur in evolution, but this was more typical for the wild ancestors of modern chickens. The domestication of roosters occurred due to their loudness.
Poultry is more controlled by humans, although the chickens have not forgotten the form of territorial behavior, and the male always reminds the neighboring roosters that the yard and chicken coop are his territory. The cockerels also sing loudly after their loving intercourse with the hen.
Scream volume
The volume of a cockerel's crow can reach 90 decibels. A dog's barking, for example, is not much different from crowing.
A crowing rooster is much quieter than the engine of an old tractor plowing a field. Some electric instruments operate with louder sounds.
But the crow of a rooster can become an irritating factor for an unprepared person. This is because males cannot be silenced at night or early in the morning. All the same dogs can be weaned from barking.
What does crowing mean according to folk signs?
It has long been believed that this bird can predict trouble. There are many folk signs associated with crowing.
Let's consider why a cockerel can crow, according to popular beliefs:
- If a bird screams very loudly and hits the windows, a fire may soon occur in the house.
- The cockerel lost his voice - to the illness of loved ones.
- If during dinner a Kochet runs into the house and jumps on the table, it means the death of one of the family members.
- A bird shaking its head for no reason means trouble.
- Waking up to the cry of a kochet in the morning means good luck and a good day.
- Kochet is bathing in dust - it will rain.
- Molting was considered a warning about good and warm weather.
- A rooster crow in broad daylight means unexpected changes in the owner’s life.
There are many reasons why roosters crow, but the main one is their instincts and biorhythms. If you don’t like your bird screaming too loudly, then you should resort to the methods described above to get rid of it.
Do you want to know? Then let's figure it out.
The sudden “ Ku-ka-re-ku ” is unlikely to be just a spontaneous desire of the rooster to crow. Most likely, something scares or worries the bird, and in this way he warns his flock of danger, and small predators that the chickens here are not “ownerless” and are under his protection.
How loud does a rooster crow?
The volume of a rooster's crow can reach 90 decibels . This is roughly equivalent to a dog barking. And the clucking of alarmed chickens is only 70 decibels . But all sorts of lawn mowers and power tools can produce much more shrill and annoying sounds than an entire flock of chickens.
Based on the level of sound irritability, people are more likely to make an exception for a dog than for a rooster. We encounter dogs much more often. Even in the city, not in the countryside, we are constantly surrounded by dogs – our own, our neighbors’, or the traditional pack in our yards. Dog barking is much more common, so we have learned to simply not notice it.
Conscientious dog breeders do not allow their pets to bark loudly at night or early in the morning. But with a rooster things are more complicated. You can't force him or persuade him to shut up. He has his own plans for this and he will shout contrary to any of your wishes.
Why does the rooster crow in the morning?
Until recently, there was no clear answer to this question. Although traditionally, from time immemorial, the rooster was considered a reliable “ live alarm clock ”. But a group of scientists from Japan conducted research in 2015 and proved that the first crow of a rooster in the morning is still an “announcement” of dawn .
The first "official announcement" comes from the most dominant rooster in the area. Then the representative of the “second rank” shouts, and so on, down the hierarchy. If someone violates the crowing order, the dominant male will try to challenge the “violator” to a fight.
This instinct remains from the times when chickens lived in the wild jungle and were not domesticated. In this case, shouts allowed them to mark the boundaries of their “domains.”
In addition, as we already wrote at the beginning, the cry was a warning to small predators that the herd was “under protection.” Although, for example, a rooster's crow, on the contrary, will only attract a fox.
If you hear an untimely rooster crow in the middle of the night, this will most likely be a distress signal: some predator has sneaked into the chicken coop and wants to feast on your chickens.
The rooster is a living alarm clock
One of the most interesting things the researchers discovered is that roosters have an internal circadian clock. Although this idea had long been accepted, it remained unproven.
When the birds were kept in complete darkness for several days, they still remained tuned to the 23.8-hour day. And they continued to “announce the dawn” without ever seeing it with their own eyes.
How often does a rooster crow?
Usually, after one or two screams, the bird calms down, believing that all its neighbors have been successfully alerted to its presence. After this, he remains calm for a long time until something alarms him.
Why can a rooster crow too much? If he is alone in your herd, and there are no other relatives in the vicinity, then he will yell due to lack of competition. Because he will not hear or feel confirmation of his power over this territory.
Cock crow duration
The duration of the scream itself usually does not exceed 5 – 15 seconds . Although there are some breeds whose scream duration reaches a record 30 seconds ! For example, the “song” of the Japanese Koeyoshi (or Koeyoshi) is a quiet, low and prolonged sound, similar to Buddhist throat singing or even wheezing. It is for this feature, for this strange sound, that the Japanese breed the Koyoshi breed.
Or this handsome guy. It starts as usual, but then it “jams” for up to half a minute.
How to make a rooster silent?
By and large - no way . He will still crow from time to time. Moreover, small breeds usually scream louder, shriller and more obnoxiously. Sometimes it’s easier to get used to the lower and more confident cry of a large bird than to listen to the howling of small fry weighing 300 grams.
But there are several recommendations that will help reduce the intensity and frequency of screams.
- If your chicken coop is located near a fence, try to move it somewhere further away, to a quieter and more protected place. Plant some bushes around the fence. Peace and quiet will not allow the rooster to get excited and start crowing.
- Some owners dip their screamers in water after each scream. This may help some. But, most likely, very short-term. And for a bird, living in constant stress and fear is not the best option.
- Sometimes you come across such an invention - a special collar for a rooster. The principle of operation of this “collar” is that the bird cannot take a deep breath to scream, so the sound is quiet and shorter.
The rooster is silent and does not crow
If your rooster was crowing and suddenly stopped for some reason, this is more a cause for concern than for joy. Most likely he got sick. Yes, birds can catch a cold and get sick. Take a closer look at your pet: is he breathing normally? Isn't it wheezing? Is there an unpleasant odor coming from the beak when breathing? Has the comb turned pale? Is there any discharge from the beak or eyes? He may have a respiratory disease.
If you have the described signs, you should contact your veterinarian, who will prescribe medicine and antibiotics.
The bird could also choke. Or, for example, the crop became blocked due to hay. In any case, it is worth carefully examining it and, if necessary, taking measures for treatment.
How do roosters crow in different countries?
Or rather, what sounds do residents of different countries hear.
- In England this sound is written as "cock-a-doodle-doo";
- In Germany – “ki-ke-ri-ki”;
- In Japan – “ko-ke-kok-koh”;
- Well, in Russia we have the “cu-ka-re-ku”.
There are no silent roosters. You shouldn't even think about it. This is their way of communicating with the herd, with you, with the outside world. All you can do is just try to reduce the intensity of this noise.
Isolation won't help either - as we now know, the internal circadian clock will definitely tell you when to “declare dawn.”
But it’s better to just love these birds and try to make friends with them. If your attempts are sincere, then soon friendship and trust will appear between you and the bird.
Signal of intimidation
The cockcrow itself is a signal for a potential rival, a way to indicate the owner of the territory.
In their natural habitat, all animals have their own specific area where they feed and reproduce. Protecting him and protecting themselves is a task set before them by nature itself. Brutal battles, injuries received in them, and even more so the death of males fighting for their territory have a bad effect on the population and are harmful to the species. Roosters, known bullies, can resolve these issues without bloodshed - simply by intimidating those around them with loud crowing.
The first crow is heard already at dawn - as soon as the rooster wakes up, he hurries to declare himself and his territorial rights to others. This is determined by the biological clock, daily rhythm and characteristics of the central nervous system of the bird. However, this does not answer the question of how roosters determine time. The most common version today is based on the location of the stars.
In his book “The World of Our Senses,” Lev Ekonomov says that zoologists’ attempts to connect the crowing of roosters with the location of the stars led to surprising conclusions. It turned out that the first roosters begin to crow as soon as Canopus (a star from the constellation Carina) lights up in the sky, and when it disappears beyond the horizon, the second roosters start crowing.
The reasons why the third roosters crow is still an unclear fact, as is how these birds manage to navigate by the stars while sitting in a closed chicken coop.
How to reduce voice activity?
Crowing is normal behavior for a healthy and contented bird. However, breeders are often not satisfied with a male that is too vocal and immediately wants to discourage the bird from crowing frequently and loudly. There is a method for this that is based on the natural instincts of the rooster. An older and stronger individual is placed with a leader who is too vocal. They must spend at least a month together and then the older male will suppress the authority of the screamer by discouraging him from declaring his power too loudly. Also, when a rooster begins to crow frequently and loudly, you should make sure that he is not a vocal breed. If the breeder is not ready to spend days to the accompaniment of loud chicken singing, then such breeds should be abandoned immediately.
When do they sing?
It has been proven that a rooster crows in the following cases:
- in case of “unauthorized” intrusion into the territory of an open range or into the premises of a chicken coop by strangers (strangers, wild or domestic animals and birds);
- on the eve of upcoming weather changes;
- at dawn.
The male has many other sounds in his “vocabulary” that he uses in order to:
- warn chickens and offspring about the danger;
- invite them to share a meal;
- to pull down his fellow tribesmen who were “insolent,” from his point of view.
But these messages go unnoticed by people, since they are significantly inferior in pressure and volume to crowing.
