Chicken Noise from 100 Ft Away

[Dreammaker]

Hi! We're about halfway finished with our coop and run. The coop itself is 6x5 and the attached run is 6x11 with an additional 5' under the coop. So, the footprint is 6x16'. It is approximately 100' from our neighbors' garage. So, probably 120-30' from their actual house. About 100' from their pool and deck. There's a stretch of tall trees, shrubs, etc about 10-15' wide along the property border, so when the trees have their leaves, it's basically invisible, but it may be partially visible in the winter. It's very attractive and inoffensive if I do say so myself. We are planning for 6-8 birds.

Do you think 100' away will be enough to make the noise pretty minimal and inoffensive for them? They are very nice folks, so I don't anticipate a problem. But I'm just curious what I can expect for noise at that distance.

Any recommendations on quiet birds that tolerate confinement well?

Thanks!

 

[MomJones]

Most of the popular breeds are fairly quiet. Maybe avoid roosters though. I've had Brahmas for a couple of years now and they don't make any noise except the quiet little chirpy sounds. I have had a couple of Ameraucanas that could screech like you wouldn't believe. Enjoy your chickens!

 

[nuthatched]

My rooster was the quietest chicken I had, my wyandottes and rocks were all noisy mudsuckers and would carry on with their egg songs....I never heard my australorps bu they were on the bottom of the pecking order. usually heavier birds (brahma,orpington, cochin etc) are quieter but that's not a rule.

 

[Dreammaker]

Most of the popular breeds are fairly quiet. Maybe avoid roosters though.

Thank you for your response! No roosters, which will help greatly. I will keep Brahmas in mind. I love quiet little chicken cooing and purring . I have heard other similar feedback about Ameraucanas/Easter Eggers, so will probably avoid them.

 

[Dreammaker]

I never heard my australorps bu they were on the bottom of the pecking order. usually heavier birds (brahma,orpington, cochin etc) are quieter but that's not a rule.

Interesting about your rooster! Thanks for your feedback. It's looking like some nice, friendly, quiet, heavy birds might be the way to go.

Are yours similarly spaced from your neighbors as my birds will be? This goes for MomJones and anyone else too.

 

[FloorCandy]

My neighbors 3 houses down have chickens. They have a bunch of different types, I’m not sure which or maybe all are the noisy ones, but they moan a lot. I don’t care, we have woods behind us and baby hawks are screaming and birds are calling so who cares? Apparently their next door neighbor cares. They had roosters that I could hear from my basement, windows closed, like the tv on high volume. The hens I can hear from my living room sometimes even with windows closed. The pen is about 100ft from my house, 2 yards between us. The next door neighbors made them get rid of the roosters and complain a lot about the noisy hens. That same complainer vacuums her window frames once a week at 5 am, which I find much more loud and offensive than the poultry have ever been. I suggest speaking with the neighbor, so you don’t get attached and have to get rid of your chickens. Also look into more quiet breeds of chickens, I’ve heard smaller roosters have more shrill crows, and big boys have deep voices that don’t travel as far, but Ive never had any. The neighbor had small roosters of some sort, as all the chickens Ive seen there are pretty small.

 

[Dreammaker]

The pen is about 100ft from my house, 2 yards between us. The next door neighbors made them get rid of the roosters and complain a lot about the noisy hens.

Yikes... Definitely want to avoid this. There's no yards between us, just that wooded area I described. I wonder how many chickens they had that produced so much noise? I'm hoping 6 or so heavy, "quiet" girls won't be trouble. I hear dogs from at least 200' and landscapers pretty much all day in the neighborhood and it's not a nuisance to me. My 4 and 2 year olds probably make more of a ruckus.

 

[3KillerBs]

When I had the in-town flock I deliberately positioned the coop in a line between my heat pump and the neighbors' heat pump -- white noise masking.

Shrubbery makes a good noise mask and occasional gifts of fresh eggs often keep neighborly relations positive.

 

[MomJones]

Interesting about your rooster! Thanks for your feedback. It's looking like some nice, friendly, quiet, heavy birds might be the way to go.

Are yours similarly spaced from your neighbors as my birds will be? This goes for MomJones and anyone else too.

We're in the country so neighbors are about an acre away.

 

[MomJones]

When I had the in-town flock I deliberately positioned the coop in a line between my heat pump and the neighbors' heat pump -- white noise masking.

Shrubbery makes a good noise mask and occasional gifts of fresh eggs often keep neighborly relations positive.

Yes! Gifts of fresh eggs are a great way to make friends.