# Decrowing a roo



## victory

Okay, I really hope to get a serious answer, and perhaps find some one who has actually done it!...We tried a couple of years ago, to decrow my friends roo . She lives in the city, and her neighbors are awful...but she really wants a roo. I know they were born to crow, to manage the girls, etc and I personally love the sound of a crowing roo. I said I tried, we were harvesting roos that day, along with some rabbits, and I had seen a web site that showed how to. I am a vet tech, and have done/assisted with many surgeries, so decided why not give er a go??
Well, I killed the poor beast, he was gonna die anyways, but I was really hoping to be successful. 
So...does anyone on here know how to do it? Yes, I know it sounds ridiculous, but I must ask...:teehee:

Thanks much!


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## WstTxLady

Honestly they only way I know of/heard of is no more roo. Not sure if any way that would be humane enough to the poor guy to work.


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## mariaricarto

How about making the rooster a capon, does that stop crowing?


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## victory

so how in the sam blazes do ya make a roo a capon??


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## mariaricarto

Sam Blazes says to make an incision in the side and hook the testicles. There is probably a you tube of it.


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## KSALguy

a capon is a castrated rooster, not good for anything other than to eat, he wont crow wont breed will even start looking like a hen if let to live, the only real safe and sure way to "decrow" a rooster is to put it in freezer camp, poultry dont handle anasthisia well, the surgery would involve removeing the voice box/vocal cords, and there is no room for error, i have heard of only a SMALL SMALL group who have tried it, and only an even SMALLER number successfully by takeing the bird to an avian vet and shelling out some big $$$, the thing is one of these "successful" surgerys wound up trying to crow again after a while, only one who checked in later so idk what happend to the rest,


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## Kshobbit

I had to go without a rooster while living in town and having my hens in an enclosure in the garage. They will manage just fine. Unless your friend plans on setting the eggs, a rooster is not needed. I personally like a crowing rooster and love the good roos that look out for and protect his hens. 
For some reason a crowing rooster drives some city folks off the deep end.


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## lambs.are.cute

I know why. One crowing rooster is kind of cute. Two is slightly less cute. Three plus are just annoying. 

I have a neighbor who has about 10 roosters (she's too soft hearted to kill them) of various sizes and ages. Starting about 4 am they get into crowing contests. This continues until 7 am or until someone throws enough rocks at them. This isn't one or two crows it's an all out battle. They crow, scream, fight going right through other animal pens and generally causing chaos. By 5:30 we have hens squacking, roosters crowing and fighting, ducks and geese quacking, sheep baaing, horses neighing, cows mooing, dogs going ballistic, and sometimes a pig squealing. And it all starts with those stupid roosters. This happens even when the animals are out on summer pasture and don't need fed. The morning war continues summer and winter every day :grit:. Sadly only one has died so far - was batteling next to my horse and she scored a direct hit.


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## Cyngbaeld

Sounds like my place except for the fighting. I won't put up with that. I have lots more than 10 roosters though.


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## mariaricarto

If I'm asleep I don't hear the roosters. If I hear them, it's time to get up, many things to get done around the farm! Nature's alarm clock.


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## oregon woodsmok

Debarking a dog is several hundred dollars and involves anesthetic. I imagine it would be the same for a rooster and that's a lot of money to keep a rooster that could still turn aggressive and have to be re-homed to freezer camp.


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## trbizwiz

borrow a roo from a friend when you need fertilized eggs. You should be able to get by for 2 weeks with out getting kicked out. If not take your hens to be bred.


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## taterwayne

LOL I have been thinking this same thought,my wife is a nurse,so when she's off she likes peace and quiet.I am thinking about getting a shock collar for a small dog and see if I can break a roo with that.I don't think a de-barker would work,these work differently than a regular shock collar.


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## kara_leigh

I heard somewhere (can't remember if it was here or on a chicken forum) that you can put a band around a roos neck just right so it can't stretch its neck out to crow. Pretty much stops crowing altogether without doing anything permanent or damaging to the bird. I'll see if I can find it.


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## victory

kara_leigh said:


> I heard somewhere (can't remember if it was here or on a chicken forum) that you can put a band around a roos neck just right so it can't stretch its neck out to crow. Pretty much stops crowing altogether without doing anything permanent or damaging to the bird. I'll see if I can find it.


Now that would be awesome!
I have seen a couple of things on the internet about decrowing, but not
banding...


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## TroutRiver

IMO any kind of surgery to remove vocal chords should not be done on ANY animal without anesthesia and/or pain killers, not even a rooster. 

The band idea is very interesting, I would be interested in hearing/learning more about that. Shock collar idea is also interesting. I'm not sure if chickens are smart enough for that... but worth a try.


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## bluedogsonly

Hey all,

I'm a vet in eastern OK and actually have refined a surgery to accomplish just that. It really seems to work well and I have it much safer than most people think. It is done under anesthesia because I'm modifying the trachea (syrinx) in his chest. Here is a video of a little roo of mine pre and post surgery. [ame]http://youtu.be/mqpCy1pMPVo[/ame]

If anybody might be interested or knows of someone fixing to lose their roo, give a holler. Thanks.

Dr. James


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## mekasmom

Kshobbit said:


> For some reason a crowing rooster drives some city folks off the deep end.


Some people are nuts. They worry and stress about things that are just so small.

I would not suggest anyone trying to "decrow" a rooster. God created them to crow. Trying to experiment on the sans anesthesia and medical license is cruel.


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## tailwagging

bluedogsonly said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I'm a vet in eastern OK and actually have refined a surgery to accomplish just that. It really seems to work well and I have it much safer than most people think. It is done under anesthesia because I'm modifying the trachea (syrinx) in his chest. Here is a video of a little roo of mine pre and post surgery. http://youtu.be/mqpCy1pMPVo
> 
> If anybody might be interested or knows of someone fixing to lose their roo, give a holler. Thanks.
> 
> Dr. James


did you trim the comb too?


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## notbutanapron

Hilariously, when I lived in town and up came a rooster, I used to put it inside in a box until 9am when the sound police were out of jurisdiction and then let it out. Lasted about 8 months before I had to move. Mostly because I had 15 chickens on a small town block at this point. XD


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## jennigrey

Our bantam mutt crows literally all hours of the day and night. Even crows when I stuff him in a sack or put him in a box. Completely unstopable. He thinks he's a pretty big deal, too.


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## uncle Will in In.

Put a band around his neck.. Tie a string to the band, and tie the other end to his foot. When he rares his head up to crow, the string will jerk his foot out from under him and he will fall on his rear end. When you don't see him getting up any more, try taking the string off, and see if he is cured of crowing.


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## lonelyfarmgirl

uncle Will in In. said:


> Put a band around his neck.. Tie a string to the band, and tie the other end to his foot. When he rares his head up to crow, the string will jerk his foot out from under him and he will fall on his rear end. When you don't see him getting up any more, try taking the string off, and see if he is cured of crowing.


interesting


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## MO_cows

At some point don't we have to admit we just can't have it all???? Roosters crow. If you can't have crowing you can't have roosters. Deal with it.


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## sdharlow

MO_cows said:


> At some point don't we have to admit we just can't have it all???? Roosters crow. If you can't have crowing you can't have roosters. Deal with it.


I wholeheartedly agree with MO_cows!! I had to put my last Roo in Freezer Camp today, because of his overly aggressive mating habits. My backyard is now WAY too quiet. Even though it was the right thing to do, I seriously miss hearing that triumphant call of LIFE already.

To be so darn Vain as to want to take away that Voice from an animal that was designed specifically for that purpose just so you can OWN IT is the most disgusting sacrilage of an animal that I have ever encountered!!!!!


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## Bettacreek

I hate to be the jerk, but de-crowing a rooster because it's going to die anyways is a bad excuse to torture an animal. Those serving to fill our bellies should be treated with some respect, otherwise you might as well just buy your food from the grocery store. Being a vet tech, you should know better than to mutilate an animal without pain killers of a sort.


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## Slatewiper

mekasmom said:


> Some people are nuts. They worry and stress about things that are just so small.
> 
> I would not suggest anyone trying to "decrow" a rooster. God created them to crow. Trying to experiment on the sans anesthesia and medical license is cruel.



I like chickens as much as anyone but I like my sleep even better. When roosters start crowing at 4 in the morning it gets a little hard to take. Your neighbors deserve a little consideration.


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## Bettacreek

Slatewiper said:


> I like chickens as much as anyone but I like my sleep even better. When roosters start crowing at 4 in the morning it gets a little hard to take. Your neighbors deserve a little consideration.


They do, but mutilating an animal isn't the way to go. Keep them locked up until a reasonable time, don't have a rooster in the first place, etc. I've got six loud mouths that start off by 3am. Never once have I considered resorting to torture and mutilation. They simply stay in a well-built room until I let them out. Can't hear them in there, no torture/mutilation and no neighbors poisoning them, lol.


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## Pony

MO_cows said:


> At some point don't we have to admit we just can't have it all???? Roosters crow. If you can't have crowing you can't have roosters. Deal with it.


Perzackly. You *can't* have it all. 

Life isn't fair. That's just the way it is.


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## LFRJ

MO_cows said:


> At some point don't we have to admit we just can't have it all???? Roosters crow. If you can't have crowing you can't have roosters. Deal with it.


Hear, hear!


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## Goat Servant

EREr ER Er ROO!!!!!!!!!


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## Slatewiper

Bettacreek said:


> They do, but mutilating an animal isn't the way to go. Keep them locked up until a reasonable time, don't have a rooster in the first place, etc. I've got six loud mouths that start off by 3am. Never once have I considered resorting to torture and mutilation. They simply stay in a well-built room until I let them out. Can't hear them in there, no torture/mutilation and no neighbors poisoning them, lol.



Yes you are correct. I should have made that distinction in my post. Mutilation is not the answer. Not having roosters is the answer some of the times.


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## bluedogsonly

tailwagging said:


> did you trim the comb too?


Yeah. The American Game Bantams are supposed to be dubbed.

When done properly and under anesthesia, these birds really seem to do fine. I figure most people interested in this would live in town and ended up with a "miss" with their batch of chicks. Then fell in love with the little pet roo and now must make decisions. Just letting people know there are options.

Thanks.

Dr. James


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## earthkitty

You asked for serious answers. Mine is she shouldn't have a rooster. She lives in town, and clearly is annoying her neighbors.

Roosters crow. Dogs bark. Cats sharpen their claws.

When people alter animals just for aesthetic purposes, or simply for their own needs, it gets on my nerves. And yes, I also realize that people get to do what they want with their own animals. However, I feel that being good caregivers means not inflicting pain or discomfort just because you feel like it.

I'm all for people in town having a few hens, I think everyone should. But there is no need to have a rooster in town, and in most cities it is illegal to do so.


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## Mulegirl

One thing we haven't gotten so far, Victory, is why she wants a rooster. What are her reasons? Is she really going to try raising chicks in the city? That doesn't seem like a good idea. Does she think roosters are fun to have around? If so, please disabuse her of the notion--if you don't need them for protection and fertilization, roosters are more trouble than they're worth in a close-quarters situation (I cannot even begin to tell you how glad I was when we got the last of ours stuck into the freezer this fall). And, really, getting any animal--rooster, dog, parrot--that you know will make noise and irritate your neighbors when you live in close proximity just seems like asking for trouble. If a person wants livestock as livestock, they really need to move out of the city.

Sorry, but this just seems to me as being similar to de-barking a dog. It's an attempt, through surgery (which _always_ has risks) to negate a normal behavior of the animal, usually for reasons of human convenience, and that simply is not right.


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## Speckle Rooster

*I would'nt even think about it.When that day comes I will get out of the chicken business and its just a hobby for me and I live in town also and have several roosters..*


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## Wendyinca

bluedogsonly said:


> Hey all,
> 
> I'm a vet in eastern OK and actually have refined a surgery to accomplish just that. It really seems to work well and I have it much safer than most people think. It is done under anesthesia because I'm modifying the trachea (syrinx) in his chest. Here is a video of a little roo of mine pre and post surgery. [ame]
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If anybody might be interested or knows of someone fixing to lose their roo, give a holler. Thanks.
> 
> Dr. James


trying to find dr James


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## Alice In TX/MO

Probably retired by now. OLD original post.


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