What are Your Thoughts on 'No Crow Rooster Collars?

I don't have a rooster at this time, partly because my boy Barry was getting too aggressive with me.  He might have been less aggressive with me if I had hatched him out myself.  Perhaps then we would have bonded.  But I got him and seven other babies when they were just 3 weeks old.  I don't think they were handled much before us.

However, the noise was the biggest factor for us.  We live in a rural area so roosters are allowed, and I do love the sound of a rooster crowing, just not at my bedroom window at 4:00 am!  We thought he was a she until he started developing a much bigger comb then his sister.  Then one morning I heard the craziest noise coming from the coop.  It sort of sounded like a mix between a prepubescent human boy trying to crow like a rooster, and a chicken with his nuts caught in a trap.  Okay, I know they don't have nuts hanging, but the sound wasn't pleasant either way.   It was kind of funny to hear -once I knew what he was trying to do.  It took him quite some time to perfect his crow.  He was successfully mating with my older hen and fertilizing her eggs long before he got that crowing thing down.

Then it became a problem.  He would crow just before the sun came up, then right after it came up, then when he was trying to woo the girls in hopes of mating, then after each mating session, then...you get the idea.  We would be awakened by his crowing at 4:00am and hear him crow at least another 20 times before 6:30 am, which is when we gave up all hope of sleeping through it and just got out of bed.

Unfortunately Barry had to go.


Today while I was reading the current issue of Backyard Poultry Magazine I discovered a product that might have helped us.  It's called the 'No Crow Rooster Collar'.  Have you heard about this product?  I am not sure how long they have been around but I think it is a neat idea.  The theory behind this product is that you prevent the rooster from crowing by reducing the amount of air he can build up in his throat to make the crowing sound.  This collar doesn't obstruct his normal breathing airway, or inhibit him from eating or drinking normally, it only prevents the throat from expanding to hold a pocket of air needed to make the crow sound.

I found this video on YouTube showing how it works.  The rooster's crow sounds kind of like a tracheotomy cough, but it's much quieter than a normal crow sound I guess.  Also, as you will see in the video, it does NOT inhibit him from performing his masculine duties!  The guy who made this video, made his own collar using an extra wide Velcro strip.  The official 'No Crow Rooster Collar' is prettier and they have already worked out the fitment issues, (and actual users tell me there is a big difference) but if you didn't want to spend the $14 for a official one from the NCRC company, you could try to make your own I guess. 

[Author's note: I don't mean to sound insensitive to people who have a tracheotomy, it is just that I have worked in the nursing field, so when I heard the crow in these videos, that is the sound that it reminded me of.  Also, I have been informed by one of my readers who uses the official No Crow Collar that the sound is actually a muted crow sound.]  

Here's another video of a different rooster wearing the official 'No Crow Rooster Collar'. 

Do you have roosters? Is their crowing a problem at your house? Have you tried this collar or some other device or method to stop crowing, or at least quiet the crowing noise?  I would love to hear you thoughts. Maybe once we get the new coop built away from our bedroom I might get another rooster.  I haven't decided about that yet, but knowing that such a product is available if the noise became a problem, kind of makes the thought of another rooster to fertilize my eggs a little tempting.



*This was an unpaid, unsolicited post merely 'mentioning' a product that I have not tried, I am just curious what my readers thoughts are about this or similar products .  There are no affiliate links in this post.  Please see my Full Disclosure here.

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

I would love it if you 'Liked' me on Facebook too!

Did this post stir something inside of you? If so, Please leave me a comment, I would love to know what you're thinking!!!

This post shared in the Clever Chicks Blog Hop.

I've been keeping a secret, but now I can share...

I've been keeping this under my hat so to speak, but now I can share it with you!

When I decided to start raising chickens again, the first thing I did was call the county planning & zoning department, because unlike decades ago when I had chickens before, there are now zoning laws in many places that prohibit raising livestock and specifically poultry.  I learned that on our 1 acre rural property I was only allowed to have 8 adult hens and NO roosters.  However there are other chicken keepers in our community with way more than 8 hens, and I hear the lovely sound of roosters crowing each morning so I know there are either outlaw chicken keepers or different rules for different folks around here...so I asked about this.  The zoning department person said that in our particular community, which is surrounded by livestock (mostly cattle) and hay fields, we have restrictions on the number of hens for lots that are under 1.6 acres (ours is 1.02).  So out of curiosity I asked, "If we owned the vacant lot next door that is over an acre, combined with ours it would be 2.32 acres, what would our poultry limit be?"  She looked up the property next door to verify the size and told me that if we owned both pieces of property then I would not have a limit on the number of hens, and I could have roosters too!

We were okay with only having 8 hens, and joked that if we wanted a rooster we would have to buy the property next door, making that one really expensive rooster!  But the idea of buying the property next door was not a new one.  We had considered it when we first bought our property because we wanted extra space.  However the people who owned that property wanted way too much for it, so we didn't give it any serious thought.

Then a few weeks ago the hubby was trying to figure out where he could build a new shop on our property.  We do have an acre, but part of it is up a hill so you can't really build there.  The long winding driveway getting up to our house takes up lots of space in the front of our property, leaving very little room for a shop.  We were discussing the placement one day when I suggested that we rethink the property next door.  If we could get it at a reasonable price perhaps we could build the shop on that section...and I could have roosters, and maybe a big garden next year, or more critters!  "Whoa!" my hubby said, "remember they wanted way more than it was worth last year?  I'm sure they haven't come down that much in a year."

The property next door.  It will need lots of clearing work to make it useable.

Well I went that moment and looked up their MLS listing.  It was still for sale and they had dropped the price just recently...by nearly half!  Now it was within range of us being able to buy it.  I did a little deeper searching and learned that the couple who owned it were now divorced, and not amicably so, plus the Mr, had a huge tax lien recently filed against his business a few months ago, so they might now be ready to negotiate on the price for a quick sale.  So we made an offer.

It was..........ACCEPTED!!!!  The property is now in escrow and should be closing very, very soon!  So my little Barry the Barred Rock Rooster can legally stay!  Hubby can build his shop, I can start my first compost pile, and maybe, just maybe, I can get some pygmy or dwarf goats in the coming year.  I have wanted to raise them for a very long time for their milk to make my own goat cheese...and because they are so darn Cute!

I want a couple of these! (Source)

I've wanted to share this news with you for a few weeks now, but didn't want to jinks things.  But now all of the escrow hurdles have been jumped and we are running for the finish line! Hooray!!

Keeper of 1 husband, 2 grandkids, 3 dogs,
3 cats, and 17 Chickens!

 

I would love it if you 'Liked' me on Facebook too!

Did this post stir something inside of you? If so, Please leave me a comment, I would love to know what you're thinking!!!