Methods to Stop Roosters From Crowing

Roosters are territorial birds that crow to establish dominance over it. They often begin their dominance displays near dawn, although some roosters begin even earlier than that. Despite popular misconceptions, roosters do not only crow at dawn but as they are active in the daytime, they begin their crowing around dawn. While it is next to impossible to keep a rooster from crowing at all, there are some methods that may curb the annoying behavior, especially early in the morning.

  1. Separate Roosters

    • Because crowing is a display of dominance, keeping several roosters in a confined area will lead to increased crowing as they will all be trying to win dominance. Moving roosters away from one another could curb their dominance seeking and thereby reduce the amount of crowing.

    Keep Older Roosters

    • Younger roosters crow more frequently than older roosters due to increased levels of testosterone and other male hormones. If the age of the rooster is not important to its function, keeping older roosters and selling or relocating younger roosters could greatly decrease the amount of crowing.

    Cage Modifications

    • It is possible to fool a rooster into thinking it is still nighttime and thereby prevent the crack of dawn crowing by covering their cages with dark plastic or fabric. While the covering should not allow any light into the cage, it must allow air in or the roosters will die. While this method could stop roosters from crowing too early, it requires rounding them up and caging them each night and does nothing to prevent daytime crowing. Another cage modification that can discourage crowing, at least overnight, is putting the rooster in a low cage. Roosters need to stretch their whole body, including their neck, in order to crow. The cage should allow the rooster to stand comfortably but should be no higher than that. If the rooster cannot stretch out, it cannot crow.

    Artificial Light

    • Artificial light, which is often used in the winter months to combat the shorter days, can also curb early crowing. Use the artificial light to reset the roosters' internal clocks by keeping it on later at night. This is especially effective when used in conjunction with a darkened cage.

    Enrichment

    • Offering the rooster enrichment, or entertainment, can often distract it, which, in turn, prevents crowing. Ideas involving food include giving the roosters corn cobs, burying food scraps in hay or hanging a basket with holes in the coop and put lettuce in the basket. Any of these methods will surely keep the roosters busy for quite a while.

    Castration

    • A more permanent method of attempting to reduce crowing is by castration. Although it does not always work, it could reduce the frequency with which a rooster crows. If a rooster is being used for breeding, castration would defeat its purpose and it is illegal in many countries.