Chickens won't stop squawking loudly for no apparent reason

[lillyjones]

Hi all. I am extremely perplexed about some of my chickens. Two of them (a silkie and a BO) keep patrolling the yard and squawking loudly. I put them back into the coop and they get even louder. I am a city owner and I am starting to get seriously worried about my neighbors getting upset. I've tried calming them down with treats, petting, etc but nothing. Any idea whats up or how to stop it? They are about 5 months old (and none are laying yet)  /img/smilies/sad.png

I

 

[lillyjones]

Hi all. I am extremely perplexed about some of my chickens. Two of them (a silkie and a BO) keep patrolling the yard and squawking loudly. I put them back into the coop and they get even louder. I am a city owner and I am starting to get seriously worried about my neighbors getting upset. I've tried calming them down with treats, petting, etc but nothing. Any idea whats up or how to stop it? They are about 5 months old (and none are laying yet)  /img/smilies/sad.png

If u have more than one chicken maybe in your garden they loose them and can't see them so they get stressed and squwark for them to come back that what happened with my 3 chickens sometime

 

[Flachickman]

Hi all, my 2 BSL's have completed their first year of laying and the average egg is 2.5 oz. I am very pleased ....that being said ,they squawk like the were parrots, or crows or a combination of both and it sometimes goes on for 30 minutes or more. As previous contributors have said, when I walk outside they stop and pace rapidly up and down the pen. Usually it happens when one is in the egg box . I give then some grapes or strawberries just to distract them for a while. It is loud and annoying, but I can't sit outside with them all day. Oh yes ,when they are out of the coop free ranging they are quiet as rabbits.

 

[ironwingOne]

I know there is a collar that you can put on a roo that will make it so he isn't so loud when crowing..... I wonder if it would be at all helpful on a hen....

 

[Dogsma]

When our ladies start singing, our Polish Rooster will join in. OMG what a noise. lol

 

[Beriel79]

I have a 2 yo Polish hen who does this. IT IS SO LOUD and its an obnoxious squak like she's yelling. It goes on ALL DAY. I work from home sometimes and if the windows are open it really makes me insane. She survived a hawk attack last winter and she had a large in jury to her neck. I'm wondering if she's in pain? Anyone else have an injured bird do this?
I have thought about rehoming her so I don't irritate my neighbors for much longer.

 

[Jillyjill]

I too am living residential with chickens and fought very hard to change the bylaws to have and keep them in our area. And now I too have these loud chickens who started out quiet for a while and have now become the loudest things ever! I am worried that my good natured neighbours willtire of the noise. Any suggestions for keeping them a little more hushed?

 

[Mechman0124]

Our city ordinances were revised a couple years ago, allowing up to 7 chickens within the city limits. When we bought our chicks, we had asked for 6 but the guy at Tractor Supply was kind enough to stuff 8 of them into the box and not charge us for the extra 2. I think maybe he thought that we would lose a couple because we were self-admitted first-timers. All 8 grew up healthy and strong and several have started laying perfect brown eggs this past week or so.

Unfortunately one of them as turned into a squawker. For the last 3 weeks (or more really), she's started up around 7:00 am and squawks a single loud squawk at 30 second to 1 minutes intervals, taking a break only to eat, drink, or lay/sing egg song. I'm pretty sure she's the alpha, occasionally pecking at other chickens and bossing everyone around. I've got good neighbors and felt really bad about all the noise we were subjecting them to. As a family, we decided to take care of the situation... so.. I did some reading up on the subject and...

We just got done harvesting our first chicken this afternoon.
She's chilling in a nice seasoned brine in the fridge and we've got some King Ranch Chicken planned for her.
My oldest son and niece were excited to help with the process, plucking feathers after the scalding and peeling the feet and gizzard. We even found an egg, ready to lay, while we were cleaning her. She has less meat on her than I had hoped but we'll boil the bones and giblets and make a nice Leek Soup out of her too. Her feathers and entrails are buried in the center of the compost and we'll be growing some nice garden veggies from the leftovers.

The peace and quiet is great, I can tell she'll be tasty, and we're not in violation of ordinances any more. I feel a little bad but it really had to be done. I'll update if anything changes but for now, all is quiet on the coop front!

 

[momto5ladies]

I'm no expert here but wanted to add my thoughts... my neighbors have really loud chickens, I hear them all the time and I LOVE it! While it is true that we have to be mindful of our neighbors, it never hurts to check with them as they might find it nice to be able to hear the chickens.

 

[junebuggena]

The squawking is actually pretty normal for point of lay pullets. Imagine going into labor and not even knowing you were pregnant in the first place. You would be freaking out a bit, too. Remember, they've never laid before. They have no idea what is happening in their bodies. And you can't exactly sit them down and explain puberty and sexual maturity. It's just something they have to go through, and get used to. And that takes time. Eventually, most settle down after they get used to laying.