Learn Everything About Rooster Crying From Our Friendly Neighborhood Henhouse!

The sound of a cockadoodledoo is one that virtually everyone is familiar with.
Roosters are territorial birds that make their presence known with a blaring crow. But why, pray tell, do they crow?

We'll go over some of the possible motivations for a rooster's crowing, but it's also possible that he does it just for fun.

Reasons roosters crow, proper crowing procedure, and more are discussed in this article.

If you want to know why roosters crow, just ask.

Morning Crying of the Crowds

For a long time, it was widely believed that roosters crowed because of the dawn.

There hasn't been much study of why roosters crow so early in the morning, but many do so even before sunrise.

To "shed some light on those assumptions," researchers Takashi Yoshimura and Tsuyoshi Shimmura published a paper in March 2013.

Internally, roosters have a mean circadian rhythm clock of 23 hours, they discovered. It's time to crow; give it 8 hours and begin at the predetermined time. This sheds light on why roosters often begin crowing a few minutes before sunrise.

The chief rooster will start the crowing, and the other roosters will follow suit. With multiple roosters, the commotion is sure to increase.

Because we, like the rooster, are just beginning to emerge from a night of sleep, we tend to pay special attention to the rooster's crowing in the early morning.

To be honest, it's probably bothersome because we'd rather stay in bed for a while longer.

Declaring their territory

In case you were wondering, our gorgeous chickens' ancestors originated in places like Myanmar, Thailand, India, the East Indies, and China.

Most of these birds were discovered in jungles and thick forests, where they would be nearly invisible to the naked eye and even to other birds.

It is possible for a rooster to crow to let other birds know that he has set up housekeeping in his area, which the hens should leave alone. They were probably communicating with one another via calls to let the other flocks know they were safe.

It is common to hear them crowing to and fro with one another. Since roosters have such a keen ear, they can tell if a rival flock and rooster are receding or approaching based on the frequency of their crowing.

Because of how sensitive their ears are, they can pinpoint the exact location of an audible source with remarkable accuracy.

Raising his profile likely prevented some rooster fights from breaking out between competitors. They are willing to fight, but they have no interest in doing so. There is a high chance of getting hurt, dying, or losing.

In the wild, a wounded chicken would be easy pickings for a predator.

Noises in the Night

As anyone with roosters can attest, they often crow late into the night as well. To what end, then,

Nobody knows for sure, but one possible explanation is that they heard something outside the coop and decided to warn everyone inside.

It's also possible that a car headlight or other powerful light beam woke them up and made them aware of something out of the ordinary.

Some roosters will crow in response to the sound of an approaching vehicle or tractor, possibly as a warning for the vehicle or tractor to stay away from their territory.

Crowing and mating

Roosters are known to crow after a successful mating, but nobody likes a gossip, right? Perhaps it's a crow with a message: "I'm the best there is." ”

Morning testosterone surge in the rooster is thought to be the trigger for the daily crowing ritual.

As of right now, it's just a theory, but it has some promising elements. Both early in the day and late at night are peak sexual times for a rooster.

There are two peak times of day when crowing is most commonly heard:

When the hen has finished laying an egg, some roosters will crow. We can only speculate, but maybe he's just trying to let the other farmers know that his hens are fertile, and therefore so is he.

Amongst roosters, there is fierce rivalry.

There's also the theory that it's a contest between different breeds of roosters.
This is another viable suggestion.

At the farm, I keep nine roosters. Some of them are isolated from the flock so they don't know who the head rooster is.

Every rooster in the flock will take a turn crowing until everyone is crowing. The yard's dominant rooster always sounds off last, as if he must have the final say.

He also visits the rooster pens in an attempt to provoke the caged birds into a brawl. The fact that they can't harm him in any way makes it seem unfair.

For the purpose of settling a score, they react appropriately. It's unclear if this is typical, so it may just be a quirk of certain roosters.

Manners for Crowds

There is a specific order in which crowing should occur if more than one rooster is present.

Roosters can't crow until the top one does. The pecking order of the roosters then determines who will crow next, and so on, until all of them have finished proclaiming their presence.

The chief rooster has the authority to firmly correct any bird that crows out of turn. In the event that the head rooster is sick, old, or frail, a challenge from a younger rooster will be issued, and a fight will break out.

A single victor claims all The outcast might stick around with the flock, but he might feel too embarrassed to participate.

When the natural pecking order is respected, rooster flocks can coexist peacefully in the wild. There will be a shift as these bachelor parties disperse and the roosters form new flocks.

Anyone with more than one rooster can attest to the fact that they all crow in their own unique way. You can tell which bird is crowing by its distinctive variation on the crow.

Is the Crow of a Rooster Hearable?

Every once in a while, a rooster will crow for no apparent reason at all. There are other instances in which he crows for no apparent reason (at least, none that we humans are aware of).

He could be doing it out of boredom, curiosity about whether or not there are any stray roosters in the area, or simply because he enjoys the activity. It is his backyard, after all.

A rooster's crow isn't that audible, to be honest. It has a decibel level around 90, which is comparable to a barking dog. It's not the dog, at least not in my book.

There is no such thing as a rooster that doesn't crow; however, roosters often get a bad rap for being too loud. The opposite is true.

They tend to crow very early in the morning, which can be annoying if you don't like waking up that early.

My boys can make as much noise as they want because I'm fortunate enough to live in the country, but things are different in a city or a small town.

You can read our article about roosters crowing for more information.

Summary

And there you have it: a plethora of hypotheses as to the motivations behind rooster crowing, some of which have been experimentally confirmed, others of which have merit, and still others of which warrant additional study.

The central theme of this article is talking to one another. Roosters can't mimic other birds' songs, so they rely on the ubiquitous crow to get their message across.

The sounds of crows can vary slightly from morning to afternoon to evening. He does a lot of things with it. He wakes everyone up, watches over his domain, herds the sheep, and takes action when danger arises.

As to why roosters crow, what do you suppose the reason is? Leave a comment telling us what you think...

When a rooster crows too loudly, here's what to do.