Village life seems idyllic to many city dwellers - silence, fresh air, measured rhythm of existence, simple and understandable chores... The only question that metropolitan residents who come to the village to relax are sure to ask is why do roosters crow? It’s still dark outside, it’s incredibly early, sleep and sleep, and the loud “alarm clock” wakes you up over and over again. Out of habit and on vacation, these “songs” seem annoying and unnecessary.
Infectious bronchitis
The cause of the disease is a virus, which is particularly tenacious, but is easily destroyed under the influence of ultraviolet rays and disinfectants. A farm in which infectious bronchitis is detected can be a source of infection for surrounding poultry farms throughout the year. The mortality rate is quite high - more than 65%.
Roosters with infectious bronchitis experience the following symptoms:
- cough, difficulty breathing;
- mucous discharge from the nose;
- loss of appetite;
- diarrhea.
If infectious bronchitis is diagnosed in birds on a farm, they are subject to quarantine. The chicken coop should be systematically disinfected. This disease in chickens cannot be cured.
The meat of a diseased bird does not pose a danger to humans.
In order not to let such an insidious virus come to you, you need to observe quarantine measures when purchasing young animals. If the farm is large, then it would be useful to vaccinate birds against this disease.
Bronchopneumonia
Bronchopneumonia is one of the types of respiratory diseases in chickens, when roosters wheeze and do not crow. Its causes may be hypothermia of the bird or a virus transmitted from a sick bird to a healthy one.
This disease can be recognized by the following picture:
- a sharp decrease in activity;
- breathing is rapid;
- the bird begins to wheeze;
- Due to difficulty breathing, he breathes through his mouth.
Bronchopneumonia in chickens is treated with antibiotics. Terramycin, Penicillin, Norfloxacin are prescribed. After a week, the disease goes away with the help of antibiotics, and the bird can return to the chicken coop.
What to do if there are no signs of the listed diseases, but the rooster wheezes and does not crow? Most likely, the bird caught a cold. It will also require an antibiotic to treat it. You should give ¼ every other day. After 5-6 days, your pet will delight you with its singing.
Colibacillosis
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The cause of colibacillosis is E. coli, which causes damage to all internal organs. Symptoms of this disease:
- lack of appetite with severe thirst;
- temperature;
- hoarse difficulty breathing;
- indigestion.
With correct and timely diagnosis, colibacillosis is treated with antibiotics. Biomycin or terramycin is mixed into the feed. Plus sulfadimezin and multivitamins.
How to stop a rooster from crowing
We must remember that the rooster is a kind of running alarm clock. At night he sings constantly. This happens at night at one, two and four o'clock in the morning. Experts explain this by the bird’s internal biological clock.
Is it possible to make a rooster crow at night? The answer here is clear: no. Almost nothing can be done to stop a rooster from crowing at night.
Experiments by scientists indicate that a rooster in any situation under any conditions will crow at approximately the same time.
Someone is annoyed by the rooster's crow. Some are concerned about his absence. Let’s agree that it’s fun: “Crow” brings joy to life. And if the rooster is silent, then this is an alarming signal for the owner. We need to find out what the reason is and take action.
Hereditary poultry farmer, owner of a poultry farm, graduated from St. Petersburg State Agrarian University with honors, author of articles in specialized publications
Hierarchical ladder
It is important to understand not only why roosters crow, but also in what order they do so. In a poultry house, especially not the smallest one, there are usually several males. And they are strictly distributed according to leadership. This hierarchy clearly regulates the order of access to food and mating. And the main indicator of the ranking is the order of morning singing. Japanese biologists published a research report in the journal Scientific Reports, in which they indicated that the alpha rooster vocalizes first, the one following him second, etc. If the head of the flock dies or grows old, he is replaced by the next one on the list.
Why does a rooster stop crowing and trample hens?
There are several reasons why the rooster ceases to show his leadership qualities.
Shedding
Molting is a periodic change of feathers, usually occurring in autumn. During molting, egg production in laying hens decreases, and roosters may stop singing. Usually, changing plumage is relatively painless, since this is a natural process and its inhibition does not benefit the birds. In cockerels, molting begins somewhat earlier than in laying hens, and proceeds more intensely and faster . During such periods, males weaken, they need additional nutrition and protection from possible hypothermia.
Normally, after complete renewal of feathers, roosters return to their duties. If this does not happen, the head of the chicken family must be shown to a veterinarian.
Aging
Due to aging and changes in the structure of the vocal cords, roosters' voice changes, singing becomes more like a wheeze. Such males become weaker, trample less chickens, and stop singing due to the fact that these actions take a lot of energy. The process is quite natural; the aging of a male, depending on the breed, occurs at about 4-5 years . Such birds require replacement with young ones, since, in addition to a decrease in external activity, the activity of germ cells also decreases.
Lifespan
In the wild, chickens can live an average of 13 years. But with proper care at home, the life expectancy of birds can reach 30 years. In practice, this rarely happens, since everyone makes mistakes in care, and the bird itself may be genetically weak or raised in conditions conducive to the occurrence of diseases.
It also all depends on the purpose of raising roosters. As a rule, this is a continuation of the chicken family. Therefore, roosters live as long as the period of active fertilization lasts. On average it is 4 years. As soon as the rooster becomes a weak male, he is sent along with the chickens to slaughter. Well, there’s nowhere to put it, it’s so useless, but it will still be useful. Normally, 1 male should fertilize 10 females.
Note! How many years roosters live depends on the quality of food, the temperature in the chicken coop and many other factors (a skilled poultry farmer should prevent fights between roosters, as they negatively affect the psyche of the animals).
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.
Security guard
The rooster will stand guard, carefully peering into the sky or trees, while the hens peck at food or take a dust bath.
Noticing something suspicious, the rooster sounds an alarm, warning the chickens of the danger. However, even the strongest and bravest rooster is unable to repel the attack of most predators, including dogs, foxes, coyotes, hawks and ferrets - most likely, he will be their first victim. Of course, by bravely attacking the enemy, he can give the hens time to escape, but for any animal this is a terrible death, and I don’t even want to think about such a fate for the roosters. Instead, I prefer a secure, enclosed pen for my chickens when I'm in the yard. In addition, our two dogs can protect the flock from predators much better than any rooster.
There is one more catch regarding males - a “good” rooster will most likely see an enemy in you and other family members, not to mention your friends or guests. For example, I get tired of having to carry a rake with me every time I go check eggs! To be honest, it's no laughing matter when a rooster attacks you. They are capable of shredding even durable denim, and strong blows from spurs can cause serious wounds. So if you have small children, think carefully before getting a rooster.
Results
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.
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Chickens can communicate
People think that chickens communicate with each other simply by clicking and clucking, but in fact, it is the language of communication. Researchers have described over thirty different meanings of bird “conversation,” including “it’s time for me to get laid,” “come quickly, everyone is here, there’s a lot of food!”, as well as the call of partners during the mating season and a signal about the approach of predators. Mother hens can quietly communicate with embryos that are still in the egg. And a few days before birth, chicks can already respond to their mother with certain sounds expressing pleasure or anxiety, if the mother herself is calm or anxious.
Later, while walking with the brood, the quonka constantly teaches the chicks, making various sounds warning of danger, or calling them to peck something, and the babies quickly respond to the call, hiding under their mother or gathering in a group near the food.
Why does the rooster crow
Each rooster has its own unique cuckoo, the sounds of which can be heard up to 2 km. The owner of the chicken coop publishes it first. This is out of rank for the young cockerels; they sing after him. Males at the top level of the hierarchy declare with loud crowing their territory and the presence of a subordinate harem - laying hens.
In the morning
When the rooster and hens were wild, the male would lure the female to him for mating with his booming cuckoo. In order not to be harmed by predatory animals, he did this early in the morning, when they went to rest.
With a cry, the wild kochet marked the boundaries of its territory. No other males encroached on her. Intimidation of rivals reduced the number of battles for the zone of influence, which contributed to the spread of the species. Domesticated birds continue the traditions of their wild ancestors. Their morning singing spreads far, waking up the surrounding residents.
How to stop a rooster from crowing?
A person cannot wean a bird from a habit that is inherent in nature. Scientists have proven that roosters have an internal circadian clock. This explains the fact that a loud cuckoo-cuckoo is heard exactly at dawn in a dark, windowless chicken coop. The owner cannot turn off the live alarm clock, but can adjust the volume and frequency of the cock's trills.
Males often bawler if they are worried about their family. This should be taken into account when choosing a location for the chicken coop. It is better to build it away from the fence, car parking, or family recreation area. Trees and shrubs planted along the perimeter of the rooster kingdom effectively reduce noise and bird calls.
In the literature there are descriptions of cruel methods of training kochets. One option is to use a special collar. It is used to regulate the volume of sounds by squeezing the larynx. The second option is to dip the cockerel's head in water. They should not be used. It's cruel and ineffective. Hens lay eggs better if the family is led by a healthy, confident male, rather than a bird that is under constant stress.
To stop the night crowing, you need to inspect the chicken coop. Plan and carry out repair work:
- seal holes;
- dig a net around the perimeter of the chicken coop;
- pour the floor with concrete.
After such reconstruction, small predators will not be able to get inside the room, the rooster will be silent at night.
If there are a lot of young roosters in the chicken coop that are constantly screaming, then it is very easy to calm them down. We need to place an alpha male with them. He must be older than the screamers and much stronger physically. In about a month, the young kochet will calm down and be cured of his annoying, stupid loudness.
Solution methods
So, before solving our problem, and in order to wean birds from pecking eggs, we should find out the reason. To do this, we need to secure the nest, for example, place it with an egg collector and see what led to this behavior. If it is not possible to change nests, then you will have to check the boxes every three hours and see which of the hens is the promoter of pecking. Sometimes it helps to simply remove the bad guy from the general herd.
Proper nutrition
So, if your chickens start pecking eggs, you need to immediately review their diet. Do they provide enough protein and minerals? Perhaps it’s worth replacing some component? The introduction of animal feed into the diet helps solve the problem. For example, it is good to give bone meal, fish meal, and dairy products. You can feed legumes and vegetables rich in protein.
Be sure to place a separate feeder with gravel or coarse sand on the walking area, if there is none. Crumble the chalk and shell rock into a small trough. If your chickens willingly peck at this mixture, then we have found out the reason correctly. Often, giving such substances does not change the problem, so you can resort to stronger methods. These include pharmaceutical drugs and some medicinal herbs.
Pharmacy drugs
Special pharmacy-purchased preparations help wean chickens from pecking their eggs or each other. Often, manifestations of pecking and cannibalism are associated with the same reasons, so you can take the same drug. Such remedies are not particularly popular, few people still know about them, but in special difficult cases they help. For example, this includes Biovetin, Methionine.
Why did the rooster stop crowing?
Don't enjoy the morning silence. If the usual peek-a-boo does not spread throughout the neighborhood, the owner of the chicken coop should be wary. A rooster stops crowing for various reasons. Some require you to see a veterinarian.
Change of plumage
Poultry molts every year, and migratory birds are no exception. When changing a feather, physiological changes occur in the body. They affect the behavior of the bird. There are changes in plumage:
Due to molting, the rooster is not replaced. After its completion, he continues to sing and perform his functions as an alpha male.
Depressive state
Just like humans, pet birds are also susceptible to depression. A young male can fall into it if his alpha male pecks and does not allow him to sing. Signs of depression:
- change in behavior (aggression, depression);
- loss of appetite;
- doesn't crow.
Depression occurs in a cockerel if the hens do not let him near them. This happens when a new, recently purchased chicken is added to the chicken coop.
Aging and breed characteristics
The old kochet's voice is not clear. Singing is more like wheezing. By about 4 years of age, a cow of any breed is slaughtered. He becomes weaker and tramples less chickens. The eggs he fertilizes hatch into chickens. Loudness depends on the breed. The meat and egg varieties are calmer. The loudest egg breeds are the loudest.
Who are capons
These are roosters that are indifferent to females because they are castrated. The operation is performed by surgeons at a veterinary clinic when the male chick is 3-4 weeks old. This is done at the behest of the poultry farmer, who wanted to raise a large individual with unusually tender and tasty meat, which becomes so thanks to the even distribution of fat between the fibers as the bird grows.
Externally and in behavior, capons differ from full-fledged roosters in that after removal of the testes, their development follows the female type:
- the mane characteristic of males does not grow;
- the comb and earrings are barely pronounced, pale in color;
- the skeleton is thin;
- the back half of the body is heavy;
- tail plumage is scanty.
