Hello, dear readers! It is common for a poultry farmer to hear loud singing in the morning. Even people who are far from poultry farming are familiar with this bird feature. Why do roosters crow in the morning?

Morning singing is what everyone associates with cockerels. No wonder in ancient times they served as alarm clocks and even to tell the time! However, few people ask why this happens.

In order not to torment your curiosity, we reveal the main secrets of the morning roosters crowing!

What do farmers think about this?

A survey was once conducted regarding the causes of rooster crow in the morning. Some farmers were confused and did not know what to answer, others laughed it off, saying that these are feathered friends who greet them and wish good morning. Only a few people from the circle of poultry farmers were able to give an accurate answer and scientific explanation to this funny phenomenon.

Chickens, however, like all other types of living creatures, are designed in a special way - they are not just a “factory” for the production of eggs and meat. There are many more processes that occur in their body and mind. Therefore, they have a very interesting way of life, hierarchy, there are a lot of features, behavioral patterns and character traits that are not even always amenable to scientific explanation.

Why do roosters still crow in the morning?

We will now look at science's answer to this interesting question. Why do roosters crow in the morning? To date, scientists have accumulated and analyzed a sufficient amount of information regarding behavioral characteristics roosters, instincts, biorhythms, the structure of their thinking.

Therefore, science identifies several reasons for such an interesting phenomenon as the morning singing of cockerels. Let's look at the main reasons.

Internal, biological clock

Many people have heard the term “biological clock”. That is, in the body of all living beings there is a certain mechanism that is responsible for biorhythms, the implementation of various recovery processes, sleep and wakefulness, and other important functions. To date, science has not fully explored the phenomenon of the biological clock, but roosters have helped advance the study of this feature.

Almost all poultry keepers know that their feathered residents are very sensitive to light - they wake up when the sun rises and go to bed when it gets dark. affects the process of oviposition, restoration of plumage, regeneration processes in the body.

That is why, with early age It is extremely important to observe the light regime for the feathered flock. However, the reaction to light is not the only mechanism for controlling body functions. There's something else.

Japanese scientist and researcher Tokashi Yoshimura devoted more than one year of his life to studying the mechanism of the biological clock. Since there is still debate in scientific circles about this phenomenon, Tokashi decided to prove to the whole world that the internal clock is not a myth, and even show how it works. It was the cockerels that helped the scientist in this matter.

Why do roosters crow in the morning? During the research, experiments were carried out that were important to confirm the theoretical part. An experimental group of roosters was placed in artificially created conditions, where dawn was artificially simulated at different hours.

However, the cockerels continued to sing at their usual time, and not when they observed artificial, gradually increasing intensity, lighting. That is, it's in Once again became proof of the existence of a biological clock mechanism in roosters.

Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that the morning crowing of cockerels is the result of a well-functioning internal mechanism of the biological clock.

Hierarchy in the bird world

There are a number of very interesting points in the chicken world - in their society there is a strict, well-functioning hierarchical ladder. The chicken coop is a separate kingdom, with a feathered “king” who was not just born dominant, with a full set of qualities necessary for the “leader”.

The Rooster, who has taken on the responsibility of being a leader, must prove more than once that he is worthy of his title. Therefore, feathered leaders have their own ways of doing this, and singing is one of them.

Roosters are territorial birds with a highly developed sense of smell. They cannot simply give up their positions and leave the post of “chief”. It is for this reason that from the first hour of the morning and throughout the day they satisfy their need to confirm their dominant status.

With their hourly singing with a special timbre, volume and duration, roosters assert their dominance in the chicken kingdom. That is, a rooster with early morning and until late at night he needs to be sure that he is the only respected and dominant leader in his family.

But, there is one more feature. If a dominant rooster suddenly hears the answer of the same dominant “king,” it doesn’t matter whether it’s a voice from a neighboring chicken coop or from his own flock, he will not calm down.

If the dominant singing is heard beyond the reach of the leader, vocal altercations can continue for a long time. If someone from his entourage dares to outsing the head of the family, a serious conflict may begin, even leading to bloody injuries.

Caring for “citizens of the bird kingdom”

The rooster, who has been awarded the title of leader in his territory, not only dominates and dominates, he also necessarily takes care of all his charges. There may be various other reasons for a rooster crowing, dictated by the need to take care of those he leads. Here are the most common care-related causes of crowing.

• With their singing in the morning and throughout the day, roosters invite their family to eat food. For example, if a rooster finds some kind of delicacy in the walking yard, he will definitely call his charges to share the meal.
• By singing, the cockerels show care, warning the flock from danger.
• Another time when cockerels crow is when they take roll call to make sure their charges are okay.
• Cockerels can sing in support of the hens during laying.

Depending on the situation, the roosters different cases can take care of their family. Protecting their charges is their task, which is “programmed” at the genetic level.

The most romantic reason for singing

Scientists have unraveled another rooster secret. Why do roosters crow in the morning? The power of their song attracts hens - their voice is one of the instruments with which they show their potential. By singing, the leaders attract the attention of the feathered ladies and at the same time give a signal to other cockerels so that they know and remember who is the boss and the strongest in the poultry yard.

Scientists examined the volume, timbre and duration of singing and came to the conclusion that all dominant males can sing louder and longer. Chickens may not be endowed with a perfect ear for music, but they recognize such things easily.

The scientific explanation for the phenomenon of rooster crow is based on territorial characteristics. The alpha male crows, notifying potential rivals that he is the master in this area and should not be disturbed. Other available conclusions are based on observations and experience of chicken farm owners and are speculative in nature, since they apply to a number of special cases, but do not fully explain the behavior of the bird.

When do they sing?

It has been proven that a rooster crows in the following cases:

• in case of “unauthorized” intrusion into the territory of an open range or into the premises of a chicken coop of strangers ( strangers, wild or domestic animals and birds);
• on the eve of upcoming weather changes;
• at dawn.

The male has many other sounds in his “vocabulary” that he uses in order to:

• warn chickens and offspring about the danger;
• invite them to share a meal;
• to pull down his fellow tribesmen who were “insolent,” from his point of view.

But these messages go unnoticed by people, since they are significantly inferior in pressure and volume to crowing.

Constant screams

Some particularly zealous individuals can crow around the clock with short breaks for food and sleep. This behavior can only be explained by some deviations genetic code. Experienced poultry farmers believe that these manifestations may be a consequence of breed costs.

It was noticed that on the territory of our country, uncontrollable screamers are most often found among breeds derived from the Yurlovka vociferous (the second part of the name explains everything), such as:

• Zagorsk salmon;
• Moscow black;
• Adler silver;
• May Day.

A comparative analysis of the propensity for curing of meat and egg breeds showed that the “leadership” belongs to the latter.

How to reduce vocal activity of a rooster

There are several effective methods to make a bird quieter:

1. 1. If the rooster constantly crows at night or wakes up his owners too early in the morning, you can try placing him at this time of day in a dark room with limited but sufficient space for air access. This will moderate the feathered ardor without affecting the behavior as a whole. It is important to remember that subsequently it must be released into bright light gradually; a sudden transition can cause stress in the bird.
2. 2. There is a strict hierarchy in the chicken coop. If there are several males, seniority belongs to only one. The alpha male enjoys primacy in mating and serving sound signal. During the morning roll call, the remaining roosters have the right to vote only after the leader. Any attacks on the authority of the alpha male are severely suppressed. If you add an older and more physically powerful rooster to a chicken coop with a frantic screamer, the problem will be solved very quickly.
3. 3. Another way to make the male behave more quietly is to make a collar from a piece of fabric tape with Velcro. An element with a double-sided working surface is suitable for these purposes. A piece larger than the diameter of the bird's neck is cut off. The plumage on the withers rises. The collar wraps loosely around the neck and is fastened with Velcro. The effect is that the rooster will not be able to take in enough air to crow loudly. He crows, but quietly, in a whisper.

Beginning poultry keepers should keep in mind that roosters from the same brood behave much calmer. They hardly show any sense of competition. They fight and scream much less than individuals of different tribes.

Roosters are birds known for being loud. Previously, every farmer's day began with the first crow of a rooster. Nowadays, the noise these birds create often becomes an annoying problem. Let's consider why roosters crow, what to do if the bird stops doing this, as well as methods for weaning a rooster from crowing.

Why do roosters crow?

To the question of why roosters crow, one can give a clear answer: for these birds, crowing is a way of communication and roll call. Moreover, there is a certain hierarchy among birds. The leader (alpha male) gives his voice first, and only after him do the other birds begin to crow. Interestingly, if the subordinate rooster starts crowing first, the leader will attack and often beat him to death. There are times when the kochets start screaming constantly. If your rooster crows all day, with short breaks for meals and sleep, this indicates negative mutations in the bird's genes. This may also depend on the breed. One of the loudest is May Day.

Kochet birds, like many other birds, have a biological clock, so their crowing also depends on the time of day.

Did you know? Roosters crow even when they are blind and deaf.

In the morning

Roosters crowing in early time associated with their natural instincts. It is at this time of day that their cry is longest and loudest. What time birds start calling does not depend on the time of sunrise and lighting, as it might seem at first glance. Kochet's voice follows the signal from their internal clock. This is how they show themselves as masters of their territory and communicate with each other.

Roosters are divided into first, second and third, depending on what time they start singing. The first and second scream at night, and the third raise their voices at 4 o'clock in the morning.

During the day

At night

The biorhythms of the Kochet make themselves felt even at night. The aforementioned first and second roosters begin to crow at one and three o'clock in the morning, respectively. At night, the likelihood of encountering a predator that preys on birds increases. For this reason, the kochet can scream at night.

At what age does a rooster begin to crow?

The first attempts to crow by a young cockerel can be heard at the age of two and a half months, when he is just learning to make himself known with this sound.
While learning, the cockerels sing every half hour. The number of crowing birds increases by three months of life; at 4–5 months most individuals begin to crow, and at the age of 6 months all cockerels are already crowing.

Important! If the bird is silent after six months, you need to contact a veterinarian.

What to do to stop a rooster from crowing

Frequent and loud bird calls can disturb farmers. And sometimes neighbors may complain about the annoying “crow”. There are several ways to get rid of this habit:

1. Add a male to the young rooster who will be older (about 3 years old) and stronger. Keep them together for a month. After this, the young betta will lose his authority as an alpha male and will stop crowing as often.
2. Use a special collar that fits around the bird's neck, preventing it from taking in enough air to scream loudly by blocking the larynx. With such a collar, the cockerel will begin to wheeze, but this will definitely help get rid of unwanted loudness.
3. Choose breeds of bettas that are less prone to loudness. The loudest breeds are: Adler Silver, Zagorsk Salmon, Moscow Black, Pervomaisky, Minorca and Leghorn.

It is important to understand that crowing is the norm for a healthy bird, so before getting birds, you should think about whether you can tolerate the loud cries of birds.

Did you know? A chicken can distinguish its owner from other people from a distance of 100 meters.

Why did the bird stop crowing?

You can get used to the loud cries of a rooster, but its silence is a reason to think about the health of the bird.
A cockerel may stop crowing for several reasons:

1. Infectious bronchitis- it's a disease respiratory organs, which, unfortunately, has no cure. However, the meat of a sick bird will not harm a person.
2. Bronchopneumonia- with this disease, the kochet begins to wheeze. The sick rooster is isolated, treated with antibiotics, and after a week is returned to the chicken coop.
3. Colibacillosis- the cause of the disease is E. coli. Amazes internal organs feathered Treated with antibiotics.
4. Shedding- the cockerel falls silent only for the period of molting, after which it begins to sing again.
5. Aging process- with age, birds begin to wheeze and may stop screaming altogether.
6. Changes in hormonal levels.

Important!If you are unsure of the reason why your rooster has stopped singing, be sure to contact your veterinarian. If found infection, this will help prevent infection of other inhabitants of the chicken coop.

What does crowing mean according to folk signs?

It has long been believed that this bird can predict trouble. There are many folk signs associated with crowing.
Let's consider why a cockerel can crow, according to popular beliefs:

1. If a bird screams very loudly and hits the windows, a fire may soon occur in the house.
2. The cockerel lost his voice - to the illness of loved ones.
3. If during dinner a Kochet runs into the house and jumps on the table, it means the death of one of the family members.
4. A bird shaking its head for no reason means trouble.
5. Waking up to the cry of a kochet in the morning means good luck and a good day.
6. Kochet is bathing in dust - it will rain.
7. Molting was considered a warning about good and warm weather.
8. A rooster crow in broad daylight means unexpected changes in the owner’s life.

Video: Why roosters crow in the morning

I know that chickens and roosters are found literally all over the world. That the homeland of these birds is India. That in ancient times the rooster was considered a totem animal: they composed fairy tales, riddles, and nursery rhymes about it. For example, “Cockerel, cockerel, golden comb, why do you get up early and don’t let Petya sleep?” Or this riddle: he will be born twice, never baptized, but the devil is afraid of him. Again I have a question - why?

I concluded that my knowledge is not enough to answer the questions posed. Therefore, I used the following research methods:

1. read scientific and educational literature, accessed the Internet;

2. monitored the behavior of the rooster in the chicken coop;

3. carried out the experiment;

4. asked adults: parents, teachers, librarian.

From scientific literature, I learned that roosters crow not just for beauty. They predict the weather with their singing:

1. Roosters begin to crow immediately after sunset - the weather will change.

2. If the kochet sings after 10 pm, the night will be quiet and good.

3. When the rooster crows before 9 pm, it is a sign that the weather will change and it will rain soon.

But I observed a rooster crowing repeatedly before 9 o'clock in February, that is, in winter. I asked the teacher what his singing meant? He suggested that in winter, the crowing of a rooster at this time indicates the onset of an imminent thaw.

So I concluded that the rooster’s crow does not always start the first hour of the day.

From the Internet I learned the following information: primitive people saw the rooster as a mysterious messenger of supernatural forces, the deity of the sun. What representatives evil spirits the rooster recognizes without much difficulty. If he sang before midnight, it means he saw the unclean and wants to drive him away. This is how he protects the home from evil spirits.

I could not answer the question whether the rooster is associated with evil spirits. I didn't see her. My parents, teacher, and librarian, with whom I talked, did not see her either.

Most likely, this singing is a weather forecast. I read in the encyclopedia that the crowing of a rooster at night is interpreted in different ways. Georgians believe that it serves as a harbinger of a change in weather for the worse. In the Arkhangelsk province such singing foreshadows good weather. If night singing is heard in winter, when severe frosts, the cold will decrease.

Since the rooster is considered the deity of the sun, it probably gives the command to sing? To answer this question, I conducted an observation: I watched the crowing of a rooster in cloudy weather. Then I conducted an experiment: I covered the window in the chicken coop with a dark curtain.

Conclusion: my rooster always crowed in the same way and at the same time - at 4 o'clock in the morning.

The question remains: why does the first rooster crow occur at dawn at approximately the same time? I also found the answer to it on the Internet: it turns out that a person hears the crow of a rooster at a distance of two kilometers. Crowing is a challenge to other roosters, to which they respond. It is quite natural that, upon waking up, the owner of the chicken coop hurries to notify the world of his rights. The awakening of chickens, like other animals, at a certain time is associated with the so-called biological clock. We are talking about complex circadian rhythms based on an active central nervous system - from the brain stem to the cerebral hemispheres.

CONCLUSION

Having studied the literature, conducted an experiment, and found information on the Internet, I come to the conclusion that my hypothesis is not correct. The rooster's command to crow is given by its biological clock - complex circadian rhythms based on the active central nervous system: from the brain stem to the cerebral hemispheres.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WORK

I learned a lot about such a familiar animal; that his singing has a very calming effect on laying hens. It would be nice to use the crow of a rooster in alarm clocks instead of any sharp ringing. Or at school, a rooster crow could be used as a bell or an invitation to lunch. You can check and make observations.

This knowledge will be useful to me in lessons about the world around me, and I will share it with the children.

- a creature of almost divine origin and therefore was considered a sacred animal, the consumption of which was strictly prohibited. It was believed that the rooster was somehow connected with the great deity, the Sun, and proclaimed the coming of a new day according to his will. But centuries later, the role faded into the background, and they stopped revering him long ago, but the question of whether he was the one remained. It turns out that everything is very banal and he has several reasons for this. Firstly, the rooster is a bird with a very arrogant character and, by giving a “battle cry”, he seems to be throwing a challenge to the surrounding roosters, to which they, of course, immediately respond. It is known that roosters They hear each other at a fairly large distance, thanks to this they can understand what territory is occupied by the rooster whose cry they hear. It is more than unreasonable to invade someone else's territory. One has only to remember the famous cock-fights and it will become clear that they are fighting roosters not for life, but for death. Therefore, the cry of a rooster is a common territorial acoustic signal among birds (especially wild ones). In addition, with its loud and sonorous crowing, the rooster attracts hens. Scientists have discovered that each such call is unique and each such individual has a cry that is unique to other relatives. So we can say that crowing, different roosters compete with each other in vocal abilities, and the prize is very, very valuable - and recognition of the hens. If you have ever been on vacation and woke up with a rooster crowing, you have probably noticed that the rooster always crows strictly according to schedule (the deviation in time can be quite insignificant ). Of course, a rooster, like many other animals, and, of course, a person, in accordance with certain biorhythms. These biorhythms, affecting the central nervous system, induce the animal to certain actions - sleep, wakefulness or eating. There are biorhythms associated with the time of year, and in this case we're talking about about biorhythms. So the rooster, having woken up, as expected at a certain time, as the owner of the territory, with his loud crowing, awakens not only the chicken coop and the owners who want to sleep longer, but also the surrounding territories, confirming once again its inalienable right to its territory, which has not been taken away by other relatives. .

Tip 2: How do roosters determine when to crow in the morning?

Every day at the same time, the crow of a rooster is heard in farms and villages. Researchers are still trying to find out what wakes up these restless birds at such an early hour. And each new zoologist answers this question in his own way, and each finds new evidence to support his arguments.

The crowing of a rooster has always served as a way for people to keep track of time; the first roosters played the role of a modern alarm clock, giving their owners a signal to wake up. It was their cry that the peasants were waiting for, so that they could cross themselves and set off on the road.

The second roosters announced that it was time for the peasant women to milk the cows, knead dough for bread and begin their other household duties. And already under the crowing of the third roosters, the rest of the village woke up, getting down to their daily work.

Signal of intimidation

Brutal battles, injuries received in them, and even more so the death of males fighting for their territory have a bad effect on the population and are harmful to the species. Roosters, known bullies, can resolve these issues without bloodshed - simply by intimidating those around them with loud crowing.

The first crow is heard already at dawn - as soon as he wakes up, he hurries to declare himself and his territorial rights to others. This is determined by the biological clock, circadian rhythm and characteristics of the central nervous system birds. However, this does not answer the question of how roosters determine time. The most common version today is based on the location of the stars.

In his book “The World of Our Senses,” Lev Ekonomov says that zoologists’ attempts to crow roosters with the location of the stars led to surprising conclusions. It turned out that the first roosters begin to crow as soon as Canopus (a star from the constellation Carina) lights up in the sky, and when it disappears beyond the horizon, the second roosters start crowing.

The reasons for the third roosters are still an unclear fact, as is how these birds manage to navigate by the stars while sitting in a closed chicken coop.

Attention of scientists

Morning roosters are distributed as follows:
- the first roosters - at the first hour of the night;
- second roosters - crowing at the second hour;
- third roosters crow at four o'clock in the morning.