Are Ameraucana Roosters Loud? [When Do They Start Crowing?]

Some people enjoy the sound of a rooster crowing – these sounds of nature do not bother them. Others hate roosters crowing and complain it wakes them up too early. Ameraucana chicken keepers may feel that their roosters are especially loud, but is this true? Others may wonder when their young Ameraucana roosters are going to start crowing. Well, let’s find out. 

Ameraucana roosters are not any louder than other breeds. That said, specific individuals may have exceptionally loud crows. In addition, the flock structure can incite some Ameraucana roosters to extra effort when crowing. They usually start crowing between four to six months of age. 

Crowing is an interesting behavior that is limited to chickens. Other birds may produce songs, whistles, and tweets, but roosters are the only ones to make the cock-a-doodle-do crow. 

Are Ameraucana Roosters Louder Than Other Roosters?

Ameraucana roosters are not generally louder than roosters from other chicken breeds. However, there may be individuals who are exceptionally gifted crowers with the lung capacity of an elephant.

These Ameraucanas are the ones that cause chicken keepers to state boldly that Ameraucanas are loud roosters. Unfortunately, they are also the ones who have neighbors, and sometimes the owners threaten chicken massacre at five o’clock in the morning. 

When Do Ameraucana Roosters Start Crowing?

Ameraucana roosters begin crowing when they reach sexual maturity. However, this can vary quite a bit as the number of daylight hours, nutrition, and flock dynamics can affect the age a rooster matures sexually. 

Ameraucana roosters usually begin to crow between four and six months of age. However, precocious youngsters exposed to long summer days and good quality food may start as young as three months. 

Roosters that hatched late in summer or early fall will have most of their growth during shortened daylight hours. The shorter daylight hours may result in them only starting to crow the following spring or summer. 

Rooster chicks may hatch in a flock with a highly dominant rooster or several dominant roosters. These young roosters may delay crowing as their sexual maturity is suppressed until they are old enough and big enough to survive challenges from the dominant roosters. 

Good nutrition is always an important factor in growth and attaining sexual maturity. If Ameraucana roosters have poor nutrition, they may only crow later in life.

How Loud Do Roosters Crow?

There is a range in how loud roosters crow, but you may be surprised at the reached volumes. Roosters of all breeds usually produce crows between 90 dB (decibels) and slightly more than 130 dB. One rooster was measured as crowing at 143 dB. 

These volumes are extremely loud. They can be compared to standing fifteen meters away from an aircraft jet during take-off. The crow duration is relatively short, usually only three or four seconds. 

Some breeds are called long-crowing chickens. The roosters from these breeds crow for approximately sixty seconds. Fortunately, Ameraucana roosters are not known for being long crowing roosters – they stick to the short version that lasts a couple of seconds. 

Which Roosters Crow The Louder Than Ameraucanas?

There have not been any scientific studies on which breeds crow the loudest. However, chicken keepers mostly feel that giant breeds such as Jersey Giants and Brahmas crow the loudest. 

This makes sense as these chickens have bigger lungs and larger vocal cords to produce more significant volumes. 

Larger chicken breed roosters have a deeper pitch than smaller breed roosters. For example, Bantam roosters often have a shrill note to their crowing.

Why Don’t Ameraucana Roosters Deafen Themselves?

We know from medical investigations that sounds above 110 dB can cause permanent damage to the structures in our ears. It is why anyone working on the landing and take-off strips at airports wears ear protection. 

So how do roosters survive these ear-splitting noises they produce. Researchers used scans to assess what happens when a rooster crows. They found that special ear protection devices activate when the rooster opens its mouth fully and tips its head to crow. 

Therefore, the rooster’s position during crowing results in a quarter of its ear canal being completely closed. 

In addition, soft tissue covers half of the eardrum. Therefore, the rooster is not exposed to the full force of his powerful sound production. 

If humans are exposed to loud sounds, the sensitive hairs in the cochlea are permanently damaged, causing hearing loss. However, chickens can regrow these hairs if they are damaged. Their hearing is, therefore, less prone to permanent damage from noise exposure. 

Why Do Ameraucana Roosters Crow?

Like other breeds, Ameraucana roosters crow to communicate their presence and establish their territory. As a result, roosters will crow more if there are numerous roosters in the area. Multiple roosters in a flock also trigger more crowing. 

Ameraucana roosters crow in the morning to wake the flock and activate them for the day. It is also believed that roosters crowing just as the sun rises may scare off lingering nocturnal predators. 

The roosters will also crow when trying to impress hens for reproductive purposes. They also frequently crow when a hen has laid an egg and will begin clucking to announce her accomplishment.

How To Stop An Ameraucana Rooster From Crowing?

There are some inhumane methods of reducing crowing in roosters. These include surgically altering the rooster’s vocal cords. In addition, some people make their rooster wear an anti-crowing collar which reduces his airflow. These are unkind and not recommended. 

Keeping more than one rooster will lead to increased frequency and louder crowing. Boredom or keeping a rooster on its own will result in the rooster crowing. Chickens are social creatures and need the companionship of other chickens. 

Invest in toys for the chicken coop to reduce boredom and minimize crowing. There are several simple ideas for chicken toys that do not need to cost a lot. The idea is to keep rotating the toys so that the flock does not become used to them.

You can limit your Ameraucana rooster’s morning crowing by keeping him in a coop overnight with no windows or light access. This will restrict his crowing to more acceptable morning hours when you let him out into the run. 

Final Word

Ameraucana roosters are not especially loud as a breed. However, there may be individuals that have crowing superpowers. 

If your Ameraucana rooster’s crowing is a problem for you or your neighbors, try to manage the environment to reduce his crowing. 

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Sources

https://www.science.org/content/article/how-roosters-protect-themselves-their-own-deafening-crows