The Raven Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 (edited) Hi I'm looking for chickens/ducks for sale and have found some cockerels near me - I live in a town (not a big one) and know nothing about crowing I have not bought them yet - just wondering if i should. I have researched and am still researching ducks and hens, but can find lottle or nothing about Cockerels. I love the crowing sound, but i'm not sure about my neighbours. One i don't care about, but the others are a family with two toddlers. Lovely people. Just how often would a cockrel crow each day? once or twice or once every 5 minutes? I'm not fussed about eggs, The cockerels near me are appenzeller spitzhaubens - not sure if the breed makes much difference. The noise is the only thing bothering me...is there anything you can do to make a cockrel quiet down? thanks. Edited August 13, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinnamon Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Well,they crow all day,from 3.30 am in the height of summer. Also,it is a LOT louder than you might imagine. Lastly,you can't really just keep cockerels,as they will fight,so if you are looking to keep chickens,you could have one with your flock,but not really any more than that,& not just boys exclusively. I should also say that they are territorial & can become aggressive over time,as I know to my cost Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Cockerals tend to crow sometime in the early morning (like anytime after as soon as its light, so 4.00am or ealier in summer) and on and off during the day. Loudness can vary from breed to breed and bird to bird. Smaller birds tend to be shriller, which can be more piercing. There isn't much you can do about it, other than put the cockeral in a cockeral box at night (a smallish box with good ventilation - the idea is that they shouldn't be able to throw their heads back to crow) and/or bring the cockeral in at night to a more soundproofed environment. I adore my cockeral, but in all honesty I would never recommend one in a town situation, or even with close neighbours unless you are sure they are OK about it. The noise is intrusive, and cockeral owners don't really have a leg to stand on if someone gets a noise abatement notice taken out against them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Unfortunately I can only echo Cinnamon's comments about noise and agressiveness Some are obviously better than others and some are as soft as butter but all are noisy! You can minimise the noise by setting them far from the house, buying a good solid coop and keeping the birds shut in till well after dawn but there will be daytime noise and quite a bit of it If you are only planning a few chooks I wouldnt take on a cockerel, they really need quite a few wives to keep them happy, pairs and trios often end up with the females looking very threadbare and sometimes injured You could get all males if they were bought up together but sooner or later they will start to fight amongst themselves and have crowing contests and if you ever add a female to them it would be explosive If you want a small flock and unless you want to breed I would always recommend just females. Just say to yourself that you have managed X amount of years without chickens so far so a bit longer while you find the right birds for you will not harm you! the Poultryni forum have some EIRE members I believe so that may be a good place to look as they have a 'for sale' section Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Raven Posted August 13, 2011 Author Share Posted August 13, 2011 Thanks topic no loger needed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
