CONSTANT clucking for months on end

[hingham]

I desperately need help. This site has been so helpful to me in my 2 year experience with my chickens. I have not joined or posted until now. My 2 year old, dominique hen "Bruin" started clucking/screetching about 5 months ago after being attacked by a hawk. she was not injured physically, but mentally. The clucking has gotten worse; LOUD and CONSTANT, night/day, even while roosting and when I hold her and things are calm. We + neighbors are at wits end. I do not beleive this is "broody" as it has literally been months. She does not lay eggs or go into the egg box. She is normal + healthy in every other way. Sounds like a very loud, very nervous warning, not painful, not happy, not normal. We have stuck it out for many months and only gotten worse. She is my favorite hen, but even my patience is wearing thin. HELP

 

[ellend]

Does she do this in the DARK? If your henhouse has a light in it, turn it off. Poor girl. Poor you and neighbors! I doubt this would work, but try putting chamomile in her water. If you can separate her water from the other hens', as an UNTESTED remedy, St. John's Wort is an herb used by human for centuries for anxiety. If it comes to a matter of her life, you could try seeing if anybody you know would donate a pill of an SSRI medication; Prozac, cymbalta, zoloft...and try just a shaving of that. A tiny shaving of valium, twice daily for two weeks, might give her the time she needs to get rid of the anxiety pattern and substitute a more normal one. These things are, of course, NOT tested on chickens, and therefor cannot be considered safe. If the noise level would mean her demise anyway, though, it may well be worth a try if you are willing to keep it up in order to have her.

I am NOT a vet, and these suggestions are only what I would try as a last resort for my pet. (I also would try, before the human meds, Rescue Remedy drops--because they're mild herbal--but they haven't done much for my dog, and cost about $9.00 a bottle. Maybe somebody you know has some for their dogs, and would let you test it on her?)

Maybe a little dark hood over her head at night, removed in the morning at a suitable time for your neighbors' sleep needs?

 

[ellend]

5 months of this behavior is a long time; it may well be so deeply set that even meds would have a hard time changing it.

 

[hingham]

yes she does this in the dark. all night. it is a "little bit" quieter, but it is loud enough that I not only sleep with windows closed, but the fan on. she can only go maybe 5 minutes without starting again. do you think this is an anxiety problem and not anything physical? I am convinced it is anxiety. thank you for the chamomile idea. I will try anything at this point before resorting to giving her up.

 

[hingham]

thank you for your reply. has anyone heard of this before? is this unusual?

 

[laurah5]

I realize this is an old post, but we have been experiencing something very similar. One of our hens, Paige, started clucking halfway through her molt and hasn't stopped since. This has been going on for 2 months. She makes this noise all day and night, with only a few breaks. The interesting thing is she always turns her head to the right when she is clucking. I have tried antibiotics, cold medication (for birds), aspirin (in case it's pain), and anti-anxiety medication (herbal). Nothing has made a difference. I'm wondering if it's neurological but can't find anything online. I've had chickens for 30 years and I'm stumped. What was Bruin's outcome?