Why Do Roosters Crow All Day?

Here's what your rooster is saying when he crows.

By Bruce Ingram
Updated on July 10, 2024
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by Bruce Ingram

Why do roosters crow all day? Learn to decode the crow and what roosters communicate when they crow, from staying away from my hens to wanting chicken treats.

Some chicken enthusiasts don’t particularly care for roosters, especially their penchant for crowing at odd times throughout the day and night. But the reality is that your roo has much to communicate when he belts out his signature cock-a-doodle-do. Here are my lighthearted translations of what this often-jarring sound means, starting with the initial one of the new day.

The Human Just Turned On a Light in Their Coop. It Must Be Morning!

For a variety of reasons, I often arise hours before sunrise, and even if doing so is three or four hours before official sunrise, I can count on our two roosters, Friday and Tom, to launch into a crowing jag the very moment the bedroom light comes on. Their respective coops are about 50 yards behind our bedroom window, and they apparently can detect that little flicker of brightness from the bedside lamp.

Inside, roosters are a bubbling cauldron of testosterone, and every morning, Friday and Tom seemingly compete to see which one can awaken earliest and officially usher in the new day. I don’t know if the duo mistake my light for the first flicker of the rising sun, but if that initial crow is jolting to you, imagine what it’s like for the soundly sleeping hens roosted nearby.

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