Are Barnevelder Cockerel's Loud

[Lucas Smith]

Hi All
Now that I've decided on the birds I'm going to get and have four ordered
I would like to know if anyone has a Barnevelder Cockerel as the question i have is this: Are Barnevelder cockerel's a noisy rooster or are they sort of quiet?

I know some Roosters are loud and was hoping that this wasn't so for this breed

Cheers Lucas

 

[chooks4life]

In my experience, don't believe what the books say about the breeds' tendencies overly much; this is a general guide, but all it takes is a few generations for a bad breeder to ruin the good points of any breed. The strain, hence the most recent breeder, is the most relevant indication of what you will get. So while the breed may be noted as quiet or calm or flighty or loud, 'your mileage may vary' --- talk to the breeder about the boy you're buying, ask how loud his dad was.

With my roosters, I can hear the dad and the grand-dad in their voices in terms of pattern of crow, frequency of crow, decibels of crow, length of crow, etc. Even the tone of voice is inherited. It's a very reliable identifying trait. How his dad and granddad crow is the most relevant info regarding his crow.

(While you're at it, if you choose to ask, it's relevant to inquire about whether or not the breeder keeps roosters who attack humans, or how they deal with that; if they do keep roosters who attack, I would not be their customer, because this breeds true more often than not, too. I'd rather not be maimed for life by a chicken, but plenty of people put up with it, and thus breed roosters who harm people as a matter of course and even sometimes go on to kill children, etc).

Hens also pass on all their idiosyncracies of voice to their daughters --- if you have a rooster who crows all night, don't breed him! Same for a hen who likes to repeat the alarm call incessantly when there is nothing wrong; her daughters will do the same. Unfortunately excessively noisy roos and hens train other quieter roos and hens to do the same. Some chooks like to keep the whole flock screaming 24/7. They can be easily trained into it, much harder to train them out of it. Culling ended up being the way I solved it with some incorrigible individuals.

Best wishes with your flock.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Overall, I'd say they are not overly loud crowers. My barnevelder roosters have more of a deep sounding crow. I do have one juvenile that just started crowing and his is a bit high pitched right now, but it will settle down. (plus I have 9 of these juveniles and they are all trying out their crows)

My welsummer rooster is MUCH louder.

 

[chooks4life]

After breeding hundreds of roosters, I now cull or rehome for a bad crowing style. If he's too loud, too frequent, too prolonged, or reacts to other roosters by crowing immediately --- I won't breed him, because in my experience it will breed true. There are some quiet leghorn roosters but I have eradicated that breed from among my flock because the male were so loud, crowed nonstop, and liked to go off at every hour of the night. They inherit patterns of timing for crowing too, though they can learn from others who go off at the wrong hours. A roo who crows at night disturbs the whole flock, they show stress quickly. He is in effect declaring to all predators where they roost. My Welsummers were the quietest and most silent of all my roosters, but this is obviously something dependent on who the most recent ancestors were bred by, to what standards.

 

[Lucas Smith]

Thanks for the replies
I'll talk to the breeder and go and have a look
In the suburb i live in we are allowed to have roosters but i want to respect the neighbour's

Cheers all