По утрам петух кричит очень рано.

По утрам means in the mornings / every morning / mornings in general. It describes a repeated, habitual time.

• утром = in the morning (often one specific morning, or just the time of day in a general statement)
• по утрам = in the mornings, with a stronger sense of repetition

So:

• Утром петух кричит очень рано = In the morning, the rooster crows very early
• По утрам петух кричит очень рано = In the mornings, the rooster crows very early

In this sentence, по утрам is used because the idea is habitual.

Утрам is dative plural.

The expression по утрам uses the preposition по, which in this kind of time expression takes the dative plural:

• по утрам = in the mornings
• по вечерам = in the evenings
• по ночам = at night / nights
• по выходным = on weekends

The singular noun is утро. Its dative plural form is утрам.

So this is a fixed and very common pattern for repeated times.

Петух is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence — the one doing the action.

• петух = rooster
• петух кричит = the rooster crows / cries out

Russian often leaves nouns in the nominative when they are the subject, just like English uses the basic form for the subject.

Yes, кричать literally means to shout, to cry out, or to scream. But in Russian, it is also commonly used for the sound a rooster makes.

So:

• петух кричит = the rooster crows

English uses a special verb, to crow, but Russian usually does not. It uses the ordinary verb кричать.

This is very natural Russian.

Кричит is:

• 3rd person singular
• present tense
• from the verb кричать
• imperfective

It agrees with петух, which is singular:

• я кричу = I shout
• ты кричишь = you shout
• он / она / петух кричит = he / she / the rooster shouts

In this sentence, the present tense expresses a habitual action, not just something happening right now.

In Russian, the present tense is very commonly used for things that happen regularly or as a general fact.

So петух кричит очень рано can mean:

• the rooster crows very early
• the rooster usually crows very early

This is just like English present simple:

• He works every day
• Roosters crow early

So there is nothing unusual here — Russian present tense often covers habitual meaning.

Очень рано means very early.

• рано = early
• очень = very

Here, рано is an adverb, because it describes how early the action happens.

So:

• кричит рано = crows early
• кричит очень рано = crows very early

This works much like English word order: very + early.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral version here is:

• По утрам петух кричит очень рано.

But you could also hear:

• Петух по утрам кричит очень рано.
• Петух очень рано кричит по утрам.
• Очень рано по утрам петух кричит.

These versions are all possible, but they shift the emphasis slightly.

The original sentence sounds natural and neutral:

• first the time frame: по утрам
• then the subject: петух
• then the verb and description: кричит очень рано

They are similar, but not exactly identical.

• по утрам = in the mornings, mornings in general
• каждое утро = every morning, more explicit and direct

Compare:

• По утрам петух кричит очень рано.
• Каждое утро петух кричит очень рано.

Both are correct.
But по утрам sounds a bit more like a general routine or characteristic pattern, while каждое утро emphasizes every single morning.

Russian has no articles, so there is no direct equivalent of a or the.

That means петух can mean:

• a rooster
• the rooster

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, English naturally uses the rooster, but Russian simply says петух.

It can be understood either way, depending on context.

On its own, По утрам петух кричит очень рано most naturally sounds like:

• a rooster in a familiar setting, such as the rooster on a farm
• or a general observation about the rooster being discussed

If Russian wanted to clearly mean roosters in general, it might also use the plural:

• По утрам петухи кричат очень рано. = Roosters crow very early in the mornings.

So the singular here usually points to one rooster, or to a rooster as a typical representative.

Yes, it can, but the emphasis changes.

For example:

• Петух рано кричит.
• Петух очень рано кричит.

These are possible, but the original order:

• Петух кричит очень рано

is more neutral and smooth.

Russian often allows adverbs in different positions, but the most natural place depends on rhythm and emphasis. In this sentence, putting очень рано after the verb sounds very standard.