Best chickens for city living- Silkies and cochins? need quiet birds!

[allmypeeps]

ok, I had to finally rehome my loud mouth sexlinks ad reds because the neighbors were being annoyed (the guy also complains that my cat meows- ???- so really, I should have just told him to find a new hobby than sitting at his window listening for noises from my yard...he doesnt seem to complain when the kids from his building are out till 2 am swearing and being loud in front our houses....also they are huge smokers and I have to keep my windows shut or my house fills with their 2nd hand smoke! anyway- slightly off topic- needing a good venting!!! Grr)

So I have 1 bird left- she was the 'quiet one' a light brahma, however.. she is friendly yet bites us constantly and I am sick of the bruises and pinches and drawing of blood. I curbed her behavior once, but I am getting sick of confronting her every time she does this -refuse to let her get away with it and 'win', yet I dont want to constantly dual with her so we are looking to rehome her where she can happily free range and be admired from a distance rather than as a 'pet'.

Which leads me to my question...I may be getting a young silkie and perhaps some bantam cochins...do you think this is a good choice? How loud are they when hey squawk and how frequently do they do it??? I have to appease the neighbors no matter how disrespectful or hyppocritical they are....

any suggestions???? And be nice- please don't tell me not to have chickens! Our house has been for sale forever now, and I have lived in the city for 9 years now and NEEDED some sanity- I am a country girl!!!! Two things I can't live w/out = my garden and my pets!!!!

 

[stanglover2001]

Well if your cat gets on his nerves I don't think you'll find a chicken quiet enough.... I hate that for you, I guess just try it out and if he continues to complain just ignore him

I hope someone else knows if they're quiet because I've not had bantams...

 

[allmypeeps]

Yes, I have recently adopted the "Why do I need to care attitude" Hence why I am NOT giving up chickens completely. I OWN my home- he rents in the apt builing next door. People come and go, move in/out...why should I care what they think if they aren't going to live there forever anyway! However, I get sick of the constant "I wanted to choke your chickens!" comment he always makes. I work only 1 day a week so I am constantly home and honestly the chickens never have a chance to make noise more than 30 seconds before I am out there tossing treats at them to hush them...The last chicken is QUIET...I'm only getting rid of her because of her temperment.

Anyway, thanks for your sympathies though, I think inevidably I WILL just do what I want! If he doesnt like it he can move!

 

[denasfarm]

Silkies are loud. My Silkies are the fussiest little Divas of All my breeds. They fuss and complain real loud if I am late feeding, or letting them out for the day.
They fuss if a wild bird lands in the yard and gripe at each other constantly. bock bock bock ALL DAY! They just gripe out loud to hear themselves gripe! and thats not counting the roosters trying to out crow each other! Heaven forbid someone lays an egg...EVERYONE of them helps announce that!
My Marans, Ameraucaunas, and Turkens are much much quieter birds!(Besides the Geese, now they are NOISY)
Silkies ARE Divas and everyone must know they are there and that they need you to pay attention to them, and only them, right NOW.
If you need something quiet I dont think a Silkie would fit the bill (or beak)

 

[stanglover2001]

Sounds like he just isn't a happy person and has to spread his venom to those that are easier targets... Don't let him bother you, he's just a bully pushing the buttons he knows irritate you the most... especially with comments about CHOKING your chickens!!

Sometimes I can't stand people

I hope you can find a solution to your problem and if not like you said he can move, you could always try the killing with kindness approach that some peeps on here mention by offering him some of the chicken eggs for free, but with silkies and such I doubt you'll get enough eggs because they're not known for being large producers

good luck!!!

 

[GardeNerd]

I had started two different polls back in the winter when another one of my neighbors was talking about getting chickens and wanted input on best quiet and best urban breeds. Here were the threads if you are looking for more breed input:

What is the best breed for the city?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=285701&p=2

What has been your quietest chicken breed?
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=276431

My only suggestion would be when you get new layers, to have just enough hens to feed your family eggs, but not enough to regularly share or sell. Less chickens means less noise with the egg song going off through out the day. I have 3 hens currently. They can be loud, but only when they want out in the morning or at egg time. I would guess, maybe a total of 10 to 15 minutes of sound out of them a day.

Best wishes deciding on a breed.

 

[watersoflethe]

i dont have cochins..
but from my birds one silkie is slightly on the quiet side and one silkie is extremely quiet...
my modern game bantam is pretty quiet.. so is my easter egger...
my barred rock is my loudest...

 

[max101]

Silkies are lovely birds but it is true
They are a bit on the drama queen side
The roos can out burst other breeds with cockle doodling I can tell you
Conchins are what we call Pekins in Australia
They are quieter birds
The roos sound more like an over rated gurgle lol
The girls dont fuss as much when egg laying and have a friendly personality
They are a joy to own
Just their good looks and soft manner may soften an aggressive person

 

[allmypeeps]

I only had 4 chickens, bearly enough to call a flock! But the sexlink and the araucana would just stand there and squawk- I'd toss them dandilions and clover and bread and apples and raid my fridge for pasta and rice....it wasnt often...but enough.

I didnt realize that about silkies being loud and fussy??!!! Every breed article lists them as quiet and bearing confinement well....Maybe together with other silkies they would generate a louder personality?? I think maybe with 2 cochins- also supposedly docile and quiet, the one silkie would act more like them...??

Welp, I am off to read the links GardeNerd provided.....

OKAY, from the looks of it- it just depends on the individual BIRD as I have seen varying contradicting answers!!!! Man, well, I really don't care if they squawk a little - I know NO bird will be silent all the time...I just want one that squawks at more at a number 1-3 on the ricter scale and not a 10 like what I had....As quiet as my standard light brahma was, when she DID happen to squawk you could hear it clear across the neighborhood...in fact my husband was driving home from work and had his truck windows down and pulled onto our street and thought to himself..."is THAT our chicken!?" then rushed home to shush her.

It's not the neighbor can complaine though, as liek I said I am home 99% of the time and hush them before they ever get the second "buggawk'' out.

 

[Bat Cave Silkies]

All I breed are Silkies, but I do have a small flock of "big girls" that provide us with eating eggs.

I have about 60 Silkies right now, so I believe I'm able to give a valid opinion. My Silkie roo's do crow frequently (as though participating in a contest), but their crow is much quieter that standard size roo's. My Silkie girls talk constantly amongst themselves, but it's a very quiet brr-brr-brr. Also, my Silkie girls' "I laid an egg" song is MUCH quieter than my big girls "I laid an egg" song.

My big girls consist of a Speckled Sussex, 2 Gold Comets, and a black Cochin bantam. The Cochin is definitely the squawkiest, loudest of them all. The Gold Comets are the quietest.

Hope this helps...