screaming/screeching hen !?!?

[mudpaw]

One of my hens does this terrible screaming/screeching thing when she is upset in anyway (wants out of the run/wants treats/other). Her sister has done it a couple times while the other is already doing it, but none of my other hens do it. Why on earth is she doing this? I's SO SO SO loud, I may as well have a roo. I know she's a hen (she's laying). She's an EE if that has anything to do with it.

 

[Happy Chooks]

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Ah, okay. Mine screech when I come out of the house too. They know you have treats and they are telling the others the treat lady is coming!

 

[BarnyardPunch]

I have an EE hen like that and similar to you, live in a high density population area. She screams a lot for the sake of screaming, it seems. It is who she is, yes, but since I'd like to keep her, I'm trying to modify her behavior. First, I try not to feed her treats directly, rather leave things in the run and the coop when they're not looking. And they never, ever get treats or let out into the larger yard if they're being noisy.

And finally, when she's being super duper jerky, she gets sprayed with the hose. Not soaked, but splashed, and shuts her up for a long while. To note, I never do this for the actual "egg song," just for the nonsense demand bwaks. It'd be nice if this curbed her loudmouthed tendencies altogether. She's gotten a lot better, but still has her moments.

As for the egg songs and other ambient noise they make, as long as it's within construction hours, I've had to learn to not care as much. Dogs bark, cars go by continually, kids are screaming and the chickens just add their $.02 to the mix. Crack of dawn on a Sunday morning, on the other hand...

 

[elmo]

It could be their egg song. "Song" is a euphemism. The first time I heard one of mine sing their egg song, I was inside in the bathroom and I ran outside thinking that some predator must have one of my hens in their jaws. It isn't exactly melodious.

Does your hen puff herself up as she screeches? That's more indicative of broody irritability. Several of my hens are doing this right now, but only one is seriously sitting in a nestbox.

 

[Country Cluck]

I have an EE pullet that does the same thing. My husband can't stand her constant cackling scream, but it's just who she is. She just walks around part of the day doing that and my rooster just looks at her like "lady, seriously." I just figure she is like one of people that are really loud talkers and don't understand why people ru the other way when they start talking.

 

[Rocky Top Chick]

I have one just like yours. She screams all the time and follows me around. I think she is just a loud mouth !!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Is it when she's on the nest? She could be thinking of going broody, and she doesn't want to be bothered.

 

[mudpaw]

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no...never. This is when she is just walking around : /

 

[teach1rusl]

And as far as you know, it's nowhere NEAR laying time? Two of mine make a racket when they're near to heading inside to the nest box, or soon after laying an egg. Maybe she's just a loud mouth. Some people are that way...lol!!

 

[mudpaw]

I'm pretty much 99% sure she is not broody (I have a broody on eggs right now). She is usually screaming/cackling at me when she is far away from the coop( often as soon as I step out the door from the "people" house). She's a little pushier than my other hens (first to jump right in the food bowl and take over and chases pretty much everything non-chicken out of the yard). I guess she's just a loud-mouthed rascal LOL I'll probably have to re-home her though (I'm in the city in close quarters and have been told to keep my hens as quiet as possible or risk having to get rid of them). Any one want a hen ?