It seems she actually remembers one of my much earlier posts where I stated that a NO ROOSTER promise had been made prior to me getting our chickens back in March. That NO ROOSTER promise was originally extracted from me because my husband is very sensitive about his sleep. He just knew, despite never having had one before, that owning a rooster would mean bad news for any hope of him ever sleeping past dawn again.
Until now, though, I haven't been ready to respond to Twinville's queries, mostly because the two proprietors of Critter Farm have been trying to "work out" the, um, situation.
Let me just say - in my defense - that this NO ROOSTER promise was made before I ever knew just how cool roosters really were. And, more to the point, said promise was made before that generic idea of a rooster became who we know today as Roopert:
and Pip:
In my heart of hearts, I actually hoped and believed that once Jim had spent time with the chickens that he would fall in love with ALL of the chickens, like I had. This love would allow him to overlook the small aspect of Roopert's (and occasionally Pip's) crowing. It helped my cause that, in the beginning, the crowing was very cute. It was even cuter that Roopert seemed to be on a 10:00am and 6:00pm crowing schedule. "This can work", I kept saying to myself.
Alas, this is no more. Roopert is now a 5:15am on the button rooster. And this really upsets Jim.
So I sweetly ran out and bought my guy a box of these:
but he says they hurt his ears.
Ever anxious to please, I rushed back out and obtained a package of these:
You'll notice that this box hasn't even been opened. Jim made it clear shortly after I brought these home that this really wasn't the solution he was looking for.
So, here's where Roopert has spent the last couple of nights:
This crate is in our lower garage, a separate building from our house, and a good 100 feet from our bedroom.
This hasn't stopped Roopert from crowing:
but it does make him a bit cranky the next day.
Better him than my husband, though. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.
It's not fair. If you've ever seen The Life of Brian, I'm that guy hanging from the wall saying "Oh, what I wouldn't GIVE to be spat at in the face!"
ReplyDeleteI'd love to have a rooster wake me up at the crack of dawn. As it is, I can't stomach the thought of an alarm clock. More than one has ended up in bits on the floor for shoving their technological noisemaker into my all-natural unconsciousness. But a rooster... that's another thing entirely.
The only problem now is that I know that not all (or, probably "all not") agree with me. That would cause me stress and, thus, take all the fun out of it. Score one for living in the country.
Ya gotta give him points for not holding you (and Roopert and Pip) to The Promise with a rusty ax. Men who are woken up against their will are not to be trusted.
You can cover the door with light weight black fabric when the weather cools and hope he'll crow a little later. If he thinks it's still dark out he might sleep longer. It's probably too hot out to hold in any more heat right now though.
ReplyDeleteCompromise is difficult isn't it. We've have some doozies. I probably wasn't supposed to laugh at the ear plugs but...
I'm laughing now Danni but I could be in trouble soon!!! They say Guineas are the noisiest birds going and they are all loud!!! My hubby loves them now but we will see! Good thing we are up by 5:30 anyway!!! I hope they sleep well at night!
ReplyDeleteLOL!! Good solution :)
ReplyDeleteYou should have just called me! I had the exact same promise to my hubby as you did yours. Along came Tuesday and totally dorked that promise. He was such a cute fuzzy chick, then a friendly teenage roo with the silliest crow. Now, he's a a full grown, crow all day, crow at 4 am sort of dude. He doesn't just crow once either, he crows at least 15 times before he takes a break for the next crowing session.
ReplyDeleteI did the same thing you did---dog crate, located FAR away from the bedroom. Worked like a charm. We are all happy (and sleeping all night) and Tuesday gets to stay.
Have you decide which roo gets to stay and which one to rehome?
Gotta tell you, I just don't get it. How can someone just not enjoy the sound of a roo? You need to send the hubby on a little vacation my way. I currently have 16 roos, a few noisy ducks and some turks coming into their gobbles. After a few days here, he wouldn't even notice rupert anymore!! :)
ReplyDeleteGotta tell you, I just don't get it. How can someone just not enjoy the sound of a roo? You need to send the hubby on a little vacation my way. I currently have 16 roos, a few noisy ducks and some turks coming into their gobbles. After a few days here, he wouldn't even notice rupert anymore!! :)
ReplyDeleteWow, you have such beautiful roosters, and Roopert sounds so cool when he crows!
ReplyDeleteI love the sound of a rooster, too, however I don't have one anywhere near me. But I just wanted to let Jim know that those wax earplugs are the best. I've used them many times (I split one in half to make a pair) and they really do block out sound AND are comfortable because they are so soft and pliable and "fit" nicely in one's ear. I hope he'll give'em a try.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it but here goes....I told you so:) I say that with love you know. I would love to have a Roo but hate the crowing at dawn. That's why you see so many on craigslist this time of year.
ReplyDeleteHope it works out. Either you love the crowing or you don't. My hubby would hate it too.
Roopert is so handsome! A fine rooster! It seems like your dog crate compromise is working for you, but I have to add that Jim just might get used to the morning crowing routine and eventually sleep right through it. I am a very light sleeper and my rooster's crowing woke me at first,but after awhile it just became part of the normal ambient noise of country life. I miss hearing my rooster (Frasier) crow. It added such charm to the farm.
ReplyDeleteYou made me laugh!! He sounds so good though! And he looks very pretty, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd I thought I had it bad with my 'complaining' hens in the morning! (they wake me at 6.15 right now)
Oh what fun to live on a farm ;-)
There's something sweet about not being in a (rooster-induced) plight all alone... Thanks for sharing the pain, Danni! :)
ReplyDeleteWe're gonna give your "Crate the Roo" trick tonight - wonder how all four of them will get along in there??? It is a big crate - we have a HUGE dog! LOL!
Love the video. Just some input - after having Harlan around for a week, I'm guessing Roopert is still coming into his own, vocally. Man, could that roo crow! I think the neighbor Roo is still missing him - his crowing seems to have stepped up a notch. We miss Harlan!
We have one rooster here and he starts crowing around 5 am too. We have him on the other side of the house and he wakes me up when the kids windows are up, my hubby enjoys it because he's up at the crack of dawn anyway. I just noticed your comment about the harvest list. I have no issues with that at all. I have seen similar lists on others blogs and that is where I came up with the idea.
ReplyDelete~Kim
at 14 weeks our rooster, Stew,is just beginning to exersise his crowing vocals... he is still cute.... we shall see!
ReplyDeleteI was for sure not going to get any Roos. But I keep reading about their antics and they are really pretty. Maybe....one?
ReplyDeleteI hope the crate continues to work for you.
I have never seen a more beautiful rooster than Rupert! He is wonderful to watch and listen to. All the stories we've heard about roosters attacking humans and other chickens do concern me, however. But if he doesn't become mean and can live peacefully with everyone including Pip, then he ought to stay where he is! Jim really should use the one product (ear plugs) made by the original silly putty people. Just think how much fun you could have together.....
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at your earplug solution. Our roosters are on the opposite side of the house from our bedroom, so no problems.
ReplyDeleteHowever, my parrot and husband have an on-going "love to hate ya" sort of feud (like little kids playing), and I hope your husband doesn't do the same thing mine does when the bird gets put in a cage, "Neener, neener, neener, she put you in jaaaaiilllll!" ;-)
Ok, now I feel guilty for being too persistant. I didn't want to place you against a wall, or anything, but as you know we've got two rooster chicks now, and I am following your roo journey with extreme curiosity and interest.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby hasn't said anything about having roosters and he doesn't mind all of the roosters that crow all throughout our valley...and even the very loud peacock that shrieks at all hours, usually at night.
He, like me, actually seems to like those 'farm sounds', and would miss them if they were gone.
But of course, all those 'farm sounds' aren't right outside our window. And as you know, our coop is less than 10 ft from our house.
Maybe our Polish roo, Sid Vicious will have a level-headed, civilized crow, like your Pip.
And I cannot imagine our little Silky Banty, Cotton, being able to belt out a crow as loud as Roopert's.
I do have a feeling that if we had a roo like Roopert, who digs down to the deepest part of his lungs for all the air in the universe for his amazingly impressive crows, my husband might have second thoughts.
But I just wanted to say thanks for sharing your rooster journey, along with the challenges and creative solutions.
I do hope it all works out for both Roopert, Pip...and your hubby.
Her certainly is a noisy one. That was a great idea to get him away from the house..
ReplyDeleteThe color coordination was the Vet's Mom didn't have anything to do with it. She has figured out pretty quickly how to try and run with it. We figure by the weekend she will have it mastered...
Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie
Wow Danni, that Roopert is really loud! I hope my boys don't reach that level of volume or I might not be keeping them either. As you know, I work nights. I keep a fan running in bedroom while I'm sleeping and that does a great job of drowning out any outside noises. Have you tried "white noise" or does that bother hubs too?
ReplyDelete