trputman
Chirping
Hi All-
A sequel to the dormant thread below, but this has now become such an issue that we're facing rehoming our hens because of their noise level:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/advice-on-very-noisy-dominique-hens.1513181/
These hens still can't pipe down. They are especially noisy in the morning, screaming and trumpetting. And when one is in the laying box, the other two will start up. You can get a sense of the typical noise level (and see a cat), filmed from inside our house, here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/972tdca9vuro9tc/IMG_4073.3gp?dl=0
We've tried just about everything we can think of to try to address this, including changing the feed, expanding their run, opening up access to the adjoining compost pit, varying their schedules, etc. But in the end, it's still unpredictable (they seem to go through noisy periods, as in the last week) and they may have learned that noise gets rewards, because these days the only thing that quiets them down in an emergency is being let out into the open yard or getting dry or fermented layer food (their version of a treat; or a cabbage). But we have really tried to avoid doing that when they are noisy to prevent reinforcing this behavior. I've also read that this breed are excellent foragers, so there may be a point where we just can't address boredom in our small space (we can't allow free ranging).
Basic notes for reference:
-Three year-old Dominique hens. They are good layers and friendly with each other and us.
-They have about 55 square feet of run space, including access to the side of an active compost pit, which I was hoping would keep them from getting bored. We let them out into our small yard whenever we can, and they love eating grass, looking for things, etc.
-We use vertical PVC feeders and waterers.
-They eat Scratch and Peck organic layer pellets with grub protein (which we shifted to when we realized that on the usual S&P dry ration they would just eat a single seed type and waste the rest, effeci, plus a cup of fermented organic layer feed every day, which they love.
Thanks for any thoughts!
-Tyler
A sequel to the dormant thread below, but this has now become such an issue that we're facing rehoming our hens because of their noise level:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/advice-on-very-noisy-dominique-hens.1513181/
These hens still can't pipe down. They are especially noisy in the morning, screaming and trumpetting. And when one is in the laying box, the other two will start up. You can get a sense of the typical noise level (and see a cat), filmed from inside our house, here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/972tdca9vuro9tc/IMG_4073.3gp?dl=0
We've tried just about everything we can think of to try to address this, including changing the feed, expanding their run, opening up access to the adjoining compost pit, varying their schedules, etc. But in the end, it's still unpredictable (they seem to go through noisy periods, as in the last week) and they may have learned that noise gets rewards, because these days the only thing that quiets them down in an emergency is being let out into the open yard or getting dry or fermented layer food (their version of a treat; or a cabbage). But we have really tried to avoid doing that when they are noisy to prevent reinforcing this behavior. I've also read that this breed are excellent foragers, so there may be a point where we just can't address boredom in our small space (we can't allow free ranging).
Basic notes for reference:
-Three year-old Dominique hens. They are good layers and friendly with each other and us.
-They have about 55 square feet of run space, including access to the side of an active compost pit, which I was hoping would keep them from getting bored. We let them out into our small yard whenever we can, and they love eating grass, looking for things, etc.
-We use vertical PVC feeders and waterers.
-They eat Scratch and Peck organic layer pellets with grub protein (which we shifted to when we realized that on the usual S&P dry ration they would just eat a single seed type and waste the rest, effeci, plus a cup of fermented organic layer feed every day, which they love.
Thanks for any thoughts!
-Tyler
