I have 4 hens. They are plymouth rocks; 2 buff and 2 white. I was under the immpression that chickens are rather quiet animals. My girls are a little over 5 months old (born March 23,2016). They did start laying August 11, 2016 which was a surprise. I thought started at 6 months. I initially thought that was the cause of the noise. Have heard they are vocal before, during, and a little while after laying. But one of my girls, Coconut (the lead hen) has decided to be a very outspoken hen. She makes very loud honk/skwak sounds that are very annoying. I have neighbors close by on all sides and cant believe they havent complained. The other 3 girls are very quiet. They only make noise while laying and for a little while after. Does anyone have any ideas about how to quiet Coconut down. I am even contemplating finding her a new home. I just dont know what to do. What happens when you remove one hen from the flock? Especially the lead hen? Will another one just pick up where she left off and start to be loud? Any input is greatly appreciated! !!
Possibly the egg song? They get very excited and sing loud....If you get rid of her? You might as well get rid of them all...The egg song will happen to all your hens. The pecking order will change once you remove a hen..Might be fine? Might be ugly for a few days till they settle in to another pecking order... Try and enjoy the birds...Go chat with the people living close to you...See what they say first?
I was wondering about this too. One of my girls (Lousie) is very vocal - as in all day. Especailly if she sees me in the yard. It seems the only thing that quiets her down is some food or a visit. Most of my neighbors are farmers and it seems like their chickens are normally quiet. At first I thought she was stressed, but it seems like she is just chatty. BTW, this has been my first season with chickens after dreaming about it for a long time. We bought them young and in 2 months they started laying. The funny thing is that my wife seems to enjoy them much more than I thought possible. She actually took a lawn chair to their yard and hangs out with them. We had to do some wing clipping recently. Enoying all the good advice from the veterans here...
Quote: HAH!! Where did y'all get that impression??? Chickens are very vocal animals. They cluck, purr, growl, squawk, screech, complain and they love to sing the egg song: As far as I know, there is no way to train them not to be vocal, nor would I want too.
My Maude talks all the time. Even if I peek in at night, she'll vocalize. Not loud, just chatty. Rosie is a loner, always off by herself. The others are what I call normal, cooing and purring. Just like people.
