When do roosters start to crow?

[clembone]

I have been keeping chickens for 21 years (got them as soon as I moved out of town!).

I have noticed this pattern: If there is an adult rooster around, crowing, the little guys do not crow. Sometimes they do not crow until they are almost full grown.

However, if there is no one crowing, male chicks can start trying to crow as soon as they start getting hard feathers.

Hens crowing:
In addition, if there is no rooster, and it seems like no one is doing any crowing for a long time, one or more of the hens (usually, but not always the alpha), will take a crack at it. I concluded that hens who grew up around crowing expect some of that in the yard, and if no one else will do it, then they have to. My other theory is that they know any rooster around is likely to come to investigate who is crowing. Therefore, since they miss that good thing, the crowing hens were trying to call one in.

Chickens make a lot of strange noises, but one of the strangest is a hen crowing. After a bit of practice, some of them get pretty good at it, but it does not sound all that much like a real rooster.

 

[wolfinator]

I've got a Silkie rooster (Big Boy) who's about 3 1/2 and a unknown Bantam rooster (Dark One) who's 2 1/2, both always were housed together until last week. I've got in the pen next to them, 22 chickens all are 14 weeks old - 3 black Australorp roosters and 2 RIR roosters along with 17 pullets, the 3 Australorps are all crowing but my RIR's aren't yet. My 2 older boys barely had any problems until last week when all 3 Australorps started crowing (1 crowed at 10 weeks, other 2 at 13 weeks), I noticed they were fighting constantly and needed to be separated. Luckily I have a 3rd pen with 3 - 8 week old pullets that I was able to put Dark One into (he was the aggressor). It gets pretty noisy when all 5 decided to crow together, but it sounds beautiful and luckily neighbors love their crowing. There's several other small farms that have chickens with roosters too close by.

 

[adrikeen]

I have 14 week and 12 week Silkie roos. I knew the crowing was coming but since I've read it takes them longer to mature I was hoping I had a bit more time. It started with one last weekend, then another Monday, and another Tuesday. Long story short....I have 7 roos in my Florida room (because I can't keep them outside due to neighbors) (they are all awaiting rehoming) that decided this morning at 5:30 to have a crow off.

 

[Abriana]

My cockerels start to crow around fifteen to sixteen weeks.

 

[Banaynaychicken]

".... But I keep seeing here and there posts of as early as 3 weeks. Is that really possible?"

It is very uncommon, but it can happen, (and is quite funny to be honest)

ithappened with a set of seramas I adopted.

We got them at a week old, and about 4 weeks later, they were already using their squeaky little cockerel voices. ^^

 

[MrsAuberry00]

I have one who is about 17 weeks and he still hasn't even started to try.

 

[ImNotYogi]

Mine first started around 4 weeks. Easter egger and an awesome rooster

 

[RedDrgn]

I've got 6 RO cockerels right now, all just over 3 months, and not a single one has even attempted to crow (that my DH or I have yet heard), yet. Granted, up until 2 weeks ago, we did have a 4yo roo who handled the crowing, and there are also two other flocks in our area that we can just barely hear their roos, so ours may not be feeling particularly brazen enough to (as far as they know) to challenge an adult (yet).

 

[GitaBooks]

My sebright mix boy, Lil' Dude, showed off his sebright spirit and started crowing at 1-week!! He was still in the brooder and not even feathered and he hopped up on the side of the brooder and attempted a crow. Silly boy.

 

[chicklets81]

My adult cochin bantam roo started crowing at 14 weeks, and crows regularly (morning, and every hour or couple of hours until about 5 or 6 pm, then stops)

My black copper maran "baby" roo just started to crow last week at 7 weeks old. Crows in the morning, but no other time.

My Spitzhauben "teen" rooster is older, at 14 weeks old, tried crowing once one evening, but hasn't done it again.

My Barred Rock "teen" rooster, same age at 14 weeks, doesn't crow.

Maybe full blown crowing doesn't develop until they are fully mature, at 6 months? I saw a video once of a group of chicks in a cardboard brooder box, only a week old, with a male crowing! You can find it on youTube