A little too loud and proud

[the1much]

when 1 of my hens lay,, there is ALWAYS 1 or 2 more hens "egging" her on,, very LOUDLY,, and when she has it,, i have 4 roo's that join in the celebration. i can tell from 2 miles away EVERY time an egg gets laid.

 

[Chicabee19]

Is it even possible to distract them with a special treat?

 

[rizq]

I wish one of our EE hens would only "sing" for an hour or two. She is the noisiest chicken I have ever seen. She is worse than all 6 of our mature rooster PUT TOGETHER!

She cackles and sqwaks ALL DAY ... almost. She is quiet while in the nest box. If you stand near by you can hear her making a strange purring noise.

Fortunately our property is unrestricted. But I think I will have to bring the lower neighbors some eggs as that pen is probably too close to their always open windows.

Hopefully your hen quiets down as laying becomes old news to her and you don't get found out!

 

[UrbanChickenFamily]

My reds are really loud and even my little Silkies (when they lay) have been loud. Not every single one of our hens has laid yet, so I'm hoping once they all experience it, they'll settle down. Like you, we're undercover also and try our best to hide the fact that we have chickens. Most of our neighbors would be totally cool with it, but we have two that are pains and would bust us immediately if they knew. Disguising this behavior is almost impossible (although we are having some trees cut down and have discovered the chainsaw does cover the bragging/surprised noises). We do bribe our neighbors on either side with fresh eggs.

Like one of the other poster's said, I'm into denial! Now, if only I could get my three biggest reds to stop calling out to us every time we walk outside. We=food to them...shouldn't it be the other way around??? Just kidding!

 

[CourageousChic]

My goodness, so much information!

Soundproofing the laying area sounds wise - actually having a "laying area" besides a milk crate would probably be a good idea. Our chicken tractor is very minimalist because of the mild weather here in FL.

Bribery doesn't work, bringing her inside does. She actually sat on my husband's lap while he took a nap yesterday

Today she was a little quieter, so hopefully this is something she'll outgrow, though I'm worried for when the others start. Esp. the Maran, she's a little strange.

Our neighbors know, and are in on the deal, but also are from Russia and Atlanta and have never been anywhere close to actual chickens before, so I hope they won't change their minds. Perhaps I'll try denial too? Surely she's not as loud as the neighbor's macaw.

~Kate

 

[Three Cedars Silkies]

Our silkie roos are the worst cheerleaders on the farm!! They hang around the nesting boxes in the morning and start cheering the minute any of the hens get on the nest and don't stop until the last egg is layed for the day. All our laying hens are SF...RIR, light brahma, EE, SSH, etc...

Sometimes I think the roos are jealous!

 

[Attack Chicken]

When mine are ready to lay they cluck at the back door and I let them in. They just go right on over to one of their nest boxes that is right under the table next to the couch and settle down. After about 10 minutes they do their loud lil clucks tell me to let them back out and they walk right out the door leaving a nice plump egg behind for me.

 

[Chickenaddict]

Mine are VERY noisy before they lay the egg and after. All want the same nesting box at the same time which isn't possible, even tho there are several nesting boxes they prefer just one. It gives me a headache sometimes its sooo loud and obnoxious. Sometimes i grab the noise maker at the time and put her in a box in the house with a pillow or blanket over it, check in an hour and voila! then on to the next one LOL. No way to stop it and to be honest my girls were never this noisy last year so they have gotten worse with age.

 

[rizq]

Quote:
ROFL My Hamburgs are like this. The next hen in line will pace outside the nest yelling at the current occupant to hurry it along and GET OUT!!

 

[holliewould]

Yeap seriously, I just leave. They let me know before their cycle and I'm sooo outta there. I go run errands or take a bike ride. So about twice a day I have to leave my neighborhood. It's not unusual for me to go to the post office on Sunday.