Every rooster, without exception, says cock-a-doodle-doo. Today I want to explain how they make that sound and why they crow at such strange hours. (Right, Gri-chan? Everyone’s so noisy today!)
How the sound is made
A rooster’s lungs hold a lot of air. He takes a huge breath, puffs his chest out, and then pushes the cock-a-doodle-doo out. The crow comes from a different place than a chicken’s ordinary voice. Because it takes swollen lungs and a swollen throat, a rooster can only crow when he’s healthy and has energy to spare.
People picture roosters crowing in the morning, but they crow at all sorts of times; it’s noon right now and they’re at it. Basically a crow means “I’m here!” They say it when an enemy or another rooster shows up, when they win a fight, or when they want to gather their hens. When resting, they stay quiet.
Crowing in the middle of the night
Roosters always crow about an hour before sunrise, but that doesn’t explain crowing at midnight. I read about a study suggesting that chickens’ ancestors came from Asian countries like the Philippines or Indonesia, and a crow at, say, 10 p.m. matched about 5 a.m., an hour before sunrise, in the ancestors’ homeland. So their body clock says “it’s morning!” even though it’s too dark to do anything.
Another study grouped roosters of similar age and build in fours, ranked them by fights, and found the winners crowed first. But I have never heard Heart, our strongest rooster, crow between sunset and morning. Being boss in a real flock takes more than fighting: brains, a plan for escaping danger, and the hens’ approval. Heart probably has little fighting-breed blood, yet he’s the strongest because he watches out for everyone and the hens like him. I think the first to crow here is the most impatient one, while the real boss crows later, once he knows no danger is coming.
Hens that crow
Some hens crow, but it’s very rare. In my experience raising rooster chicks, the ones whose combs grow first, with male hormones kicking in early, start crowing first. Crowing hens often have big combs, big or broad bodies and other male-like features, so I think more male hormone makes crowing easier. Our hen Taiyo (busy laying an egg right now) looked so much like a rooster that I called her one for ages. After she finishes laying eggs, maybe in about three years, she may start crowing. Isn’t that interesting, Glico?
Around my apartment, roosters crow at 1, 2, 3 and 5 a.m. What time do your roosters crow? Thanks for watching Chicken Paradise Hawaii!