Why do roosters crow? It’s a question many have asked along with wondering what time of day roosters crow. In fact, not only will a rooster crow all day long, but he has distinct crows for different purposes.
Here’s a quick summary of how roosters talk, in case you were wondering why your own boy (or your neighbor’s) sings his song all day long.
Read more: You need to learn your state’s right-to-farm law. Here’s how.
Welcome, New Day!
Rooster crowing tends to start an hour prior to dawn and continue until the sun has fully risen above the horizon. As sunrise changes times throughout the seasons due to the earth’s proximity to the sun, so do the hours at which a rooster crows.
Research has shown that morning crows are induced not only by external stimuli—the sun’s rays coming up past the horizon—but also by the bird’s own internal circadian clock.
In other words, the rooster has evolved to instinctively crow as the sun rises. Why they do so is uncertain. Perhaps they feel they must alert everyone within hearing range that daybreak is about to occur.
Whatever the reason, it’s instinctual and not a learned response.
This Land Is My Land
Just as chickens have a complex social hierarchy or pecking order, they also stake out territorial claims. Any newcomer to their coop, to their pen, to their yard better be aware that they are entering that rooster’s territory.
A rooster will therefore belt out a territorial crow should he see any kind of movement anywhere he considers his property.
This includes:
- wild birds, rabbits, chipmunks and other native fauna
- anyone mowing a lawn anywhere within the bird’s sight or hearing range
- kids playing nearby
- package couriers and meter reader
- even you, walking in your own yard
If anyone in your vicinity owns a rooster, be prepared for an exchange of territorial claims to fill the air every day, all day.
Read more: But what if your rooster doesn’t crow? Here are 4 possible reasons for a quiet cockerel.
Chow Time
A rooster not only defends his land. He also cares for his hens. Part of that responsibility includes informing the girls whenever he comes across a tasty tidbit to eat.
This could be a fresh bunch of dandelion greens, some juicy grubs or even kitchen scraps tossed out to the flock as a treat.
A rooster’s chow-time crow is not as shrill as a territorial crow nor as long as a morning crow. But it definitely communicates its message clearly to the hens, who come running at the sound of their rooster’s call.
Shooting the Breeze
When you have more than one rooster, either in the same flock or in different, separated flocks, the boys get to talking. I’ve lost count of how often I’ve worked in the runs and heard the roosters hold some sort of conversation with each other.
Again, the vocalizations differ completely from the morning, territorial and chow-time crows. In this case, it seems as though the roosters are actually conversing and exchanging information with each other.
Whether this may be “I’ll stand watch over this human while you keep the girls on the other side of the run” or “Hey, you guys in the other runs, be ready because the human is messing around in the coop and she’ll be heading your way next” I’ll never know.
I have heard our roosters strike up a conversation without me in their midst. For all I know, they might be discussing the hens, talking about the weather, or complaining about how stupid the ducks are.
Danger!
There’s no mistaking the high-pitched shriek a rooster lets out when he perceives a threat to his flock. Even my kids have learned to tell that crow apart from our roosters’ other calls.
We usually end up running to the windows to check whether we need to grab a shotgun, baseball bat or other form of flock defense.
Fortunately, our roosters usually have everything under control. The girls have taken cover and the boys are puffed up, hopping up and down and from side to side, shrieking at whatever might be putting the flock at risk.
Often, it’s the carrion-eating turkey vultures which circle overhead throughout the spring and summer. Currently, it’s the sandhill cranes that pause in our yard as they migrate south. Every now and then, it’s a green heron or Canada goose.
They’ve pretty much determined that our family of fat groundhogs and our resident doe are not a threat. The few times a hawk has landed on one of our coop roofs, the cacophony continued long after I’d run outside, arms waving, to chase the bird of prey away.
Farewell, Daytime!
Yes, a rooster does indeed crow as the sun sets. This vocalization is not a strident call but more of a low, throaty warble. It’s almost as though roosters are sad to see the day end.
Whenever I hear that deep, melodic trill, I can rest assured that our hens understand it’s time to call it a day and head into the coop. The boys remain outside, warbling their farewell to the sun, before heading in themselves.
It’s almost plaintive and sorrowful in nature, almost as if they’ve forgotten that, in just a few hours, they’ll be loudly greeting the dawn once again.
This article about why do roosters crow was written for Chickens magazine. Click here to subscribe.
