So You Think You Can Crow?

Here at Chicken Scratch we have (currently) 4 roosters-- a Welsummer named Copernicus, a  Black Copper Maran named Peter, and two Silkies named Albert and Henry.  Some are gifted singers, some are not.  Want to take a listen?

(Keep in mind, in these clips, you can't see any of them.  Every time I get close enough to film them, they stop crowing, so I try to be discreet)

Let's start with the prettiest crow, shall we?  This one is from Peter, who sounds like what I think a rooster "should" sound like, if there is such a thing as what a rooster should sound like.  He's got a beautiful voice.

Next up is Copernicus.  He's got a nice voice as well, though lower than Peter's.  His crow is short and to the point.  He was the first to crow here and sang all the time.  Now everyone's gotten into his act, and he's a little more subdued.

And that brings us to the ugly crowers--the Silkies.  We have two, both of whom we thought were girls because it took them SO LONG to crow, and seriously, how can you tell with Silkies anyway?  They look like little mops to me.  Then one day Henry (formerly Henrietta) stood in his coop and made an interesting sound.  I knew it wasn't Peter, and I knew it wasn't Perni, so I looked, and it was Henry.  What a strange noise he made--halfway though a crow and strangulation.  Unfortunately, he hasn't gotten much better, but he has gotten more generous.  He sings whenever the other boys sing.  No one likes to be left out, after all.

Sadly, Albert, who only started crowing last week (and was formerly called Susan), has a worse crow.  He didn't oblige me today, though. 

How about a quick side by side comparison?  Best to worst?  Here goes:

He tries, poor boy.  He really does.

(Oh, and it was just a fluke I got all these voices today, and totally unplanned.  It's about to rain here, and when the weather changes like that, all the boys have a lot to say to their girls by way of warning.  It was just lucky they all wanted to talk at the same time.)