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.

My 13 Week Old Barred Rock Cockerel is Fertile and Working It!

My 13 week old Barred Rock cockerel is fertile!!!  I have witnessed him mounting my laying hen recently and he appeared to be getting the job done, if you know what I mean.  He has been trying to mate with my pullets, who are also 13 weeks old, but they just run from him.  My laying hen Big Red, who is 8 months old and has been laying for a few months, knows what she is expected to do, so she stops and squats for him.

Barry my Barred Rock cockerel at almost 12 weeks old.

I asked around to the more experienced chicken keepers and everyone kept telling me that he couldn't be fertile at only 13 weeks.  Leigh (aka Bulldogma) from Natural Chicken Keeping blog said she wasn't sure if it was possible for him to me fertile at only 13 weeks, but did say that the general rule is that if he has the 'gymnastics' down, then he is probably fertile.  She has chickens about this same age so she wanted to know the answer to this question as well.  She suggested that I collect my hens eggs for the next week and check them for the fertile 'bullseye' when I cracked them for breakfast.

I collected Big Reds eggs for the next 4 days.  Two were double yokers (she drops about 50% double yokers), and two were single yoked eggs.  I cracked them open and examined the yokes...all six yokes had the BULLSEYE!  Which means that Barry is definitely fertile and successfully mating with my laying hen Big Red!  Woo Hoo this is so exciting.

I tried to take some pictures but only had my cell phone handy and they are just not clear enough to see the ring in the picture, however in real-life the rings are very visible.  You can go to Natural Chicken Keeping blog to see what fertile and infertile yokes look like.  She has some very good photos for comparison.

Now to answer the nay-sayers who will say...

• "You must be off on his age and he is older than you think." I am 100% positive of his hatch date of April 16, 2013, which made him exactly 13 weeks of age when I witnessed him mating with my laying hen Big Red.  

• "You must have only thought it looked like a 'bullseye' on the yoke." I could clearly see the dot in the middle and the ring around that dot.  It was visible on all four of her eggs (6 yokes due to 2 double yokers).  I even cracked a few store-bought eggs and they only had the single dot.

• "You must have another rooster that is mating with her." Nope, I have Big Red my only laying hen, and all of my other chickens were from the same incubator hatch as Barry, all born on the same day.  He is the only rooster in the bunch.

To further test my accuracy on the fertility, I placed one of Big Reds eggs in the incubator that I already had running with some shipped eggs.  I candled the egg on Day 3 and saw an air pocket and veins.  I candled the egg again on Day 6 and I saw a 'growing' air pocket along with a little chicken embryo and movement!
 

Interestingly Barry has yet to crow in the morning...not even attempted to yet.  Guess he doesn't feel the need to boast about his man-hood when he is hatching out chicks with my laying hen.  I will keep you posted on the status of my growing little chick in the incubator.  She is due to hatch on August 8th.


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

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

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

This post has been shared on "From the Farm" Blog Hop.

Barry my Bossy-Pants Barred Rock "Cockerel"?

I have told you about my barred rock that I believe is a cockerel.   I have a barred rock female to compare him to and the differences are striking.  Besides his already large red comb and visible red wattle nubs, he stands more upright than she and he bosses everyone around.  He decides when it is time that everyone go inside the coop at night.  And he decides if anyone will go in the coop during the day.  Most of the hens don't pay him much attention but the new hen Big Red doesn't know any better...yet.

Barry will not let Big Red out of his sight.  It's like he is one of those obsessive boyfriends they warn you about.  He decides who goes in the coop during the daytime.  If Big Red goes in, he goes in and ushers her out.  If I throw out treats and she comes to get some he always wants the treat she picked.  I know chickens originated the term 'pecking order' but sometimes I wish she would just peck the poop out of him when he is bossing her around. 

Like I said, he tries to control the other hens too.  But because they have known him since the day his egg cracked open next to theirs in the incubator, they don't seem to take him so serious.  Big Red is new here so she thinks he must be the boss since he acts like one.  For now, she just complies with his wishes.  When he runs up to her outside she stops and hunkers down in the submissive hen position.  It's really kind of funny to watch because he couldn't mate with her at this stage if he wanted to because of the size difference.  As long as she is still getting plenty of food, treats, water, and time to lay an egg, I pretty much let him be.  But lately he has just been so occupied with keeping her in line.  Just look at these pictures.

Big Red goes in the coop in the late afternoon...

Since it was not Barry's idea, he goes in and ushers her out...

Barry looks out to see if she went all the way out off the ramp...

Big Red going down the ramp after Barry ushered her out...(of course she turned right around and hopped back in the big door and they repeated this all over again).

Barry chasing Big Red away from the fresh peaches I tossed (that everyone is eating)...(don't worry, she eventually got some because he got busy shooing the other ladies away from the peaches).

Barry is bossy with all of the hens, but seems to have his eye on Big Red right now.  Perhaps he thinks she is 'trainable'.  I thought about getting out my spray bottle and giving him a little training myself, but I see that although Big Red is submissive with Barry, she does her share of pushing around a few other chicks who are lower in the pecking order...poor Tiny, Alice, and Lucy are at the bottom.

What do you do to keep your roosters from being total tyrants?  Do you just leave them be, or do you intervene?  Barry is one of my favorites in the bunch.  Other than being a bossy-pants to everyone, he has a funny personality so I don't want to change that.   Right now at least, he knows that I am #1 in the pecking order...and I intend to keep it that way.

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!!!