Desperate! Why did no one tell me this about chickens?

[WoodlandWoman]

I'm sorry you've had so much conflict in your household over this. That can be really miserable. Any species that normally is allowed freedom and then is suddenly locked up can produce a lot of unpleasant vocalizations. It could just as easily happen with a dog, cat, parrot or human. Between the conflict over the yard, confinement and the new noise, you certainly have your share of irritations and then some. I do think you have some options.

If you don't want to have chickens, that's certainly one option. You could always try posting in the buy/sell/trade/give away section, if you haven't already, to rehome your chickens.

If you do want to have chickens and your SO is pretty much making the decisions about the chickens, then I think you need to have your SO decide exactly what is going to be allowed for your chickens and stick to it. People and pets do best with a certain amount of routine.

You need to decide if they are going to be allowed out of the run at all. If they are, then what time of day and for how long. I would suggest once a day, at the end of the day, if you are going to do this. That way, they will naturally return to the pen when it's time to roost. During the day, they could have treats to give them something to do. A tray of growing grass, some type of produce that is in one large piece, that they have to peck apart, possibly hanging, something like that. Basically a diversion that they can look forward to, that keeps them busy for some of the time. A dust bath, if they don't already have one. Over time, they should settle down, once you are consistent and they know what the schedule is.

If you or your SO is unwilling to go through this process, even for a short time, you also have the option of rehoming these chickens and starting over with different chickens, that do not have free ranging expectations.

Can I ask what the chickens were doing that was ruining the yard? I do know the variety of things chickens are capable of doing, I was just wondering if it was a particular problem that started the trouble at your house.

I see that while I was typing this, the suggestion to rehome the SO came up. OK, that was my first thought, but I was too polite to say it. As long as you guys brought it up, though...

 

[Poison Ivy]

Mine only squawk when they are getting ready to lay a egg. I guess I'm lucky they don't create a racket. Because they are closer to my parents house then mine! You could give them treats and such to keep them busy.

 

[ruth]

Hi Biretta - yours is the perfect example of why I tell people who think their chickens are just as happy locked in their coop & run all day as chickens that free range all day and that they don't know the difference. "Well they may not know the difference until you show them the difference." That's why I tell anyone to NEVER let them out if they don't intend to or can't stick to it because, believe me, they know the difference and if they are so happy locked in their run, then why do they squawk and pace in front of door demanding to be let out? We have 8 acres, most of which is heavily wooded and I let my chickens out each morning because they are pacing in front of gate by the time I get up. They free range over an area approximately 2 acres surrounding the perimeter of their coop/run, and gradually go farther and farther. They come home each evening at sunset and hang out by run till last rays of seeable light have left the sky and then they go into run and put themselves to bed in coop. From what I can see, this is a more natural way of life for them and they seem happiest for it. I've even started letting my two week old Buff Orps free range - of course I let them free range in the large run (30' x 60') but they too seem to have so much fun and if I don't let them out of their baby pen they too pace back and forth and peep the loudest peeps non-stop till I let them out. Then, boy what fun, they fly, they run, they chase each other, they have dirt baths. In fact they carry on so much that the older girls will come back and watch them through the fence like it's some kind of chicken show.

Point of long story is - now that you've let them out they want that freedom and are not going to be happy locked up all day. Try to talk to SO and explain it to him that it is just not natural to lock up a bird, designed to forage, all day long.

 

[Gracefulspice]

Mabey you can try to slowly decrease the free range time. It would be less stressful for them and you. Cut out 10 to 15 min every other day or so. (Ex: Mon to Wed allow out at 2 and Thur to Sat allow out a 2:10. Sun to Tues allow out at 2:20 and so on. Even try a week in between time changes. Mabey after a few weeks you'll have them down to 1 or 2 hours a day before sunset and with less complaining. I agree to give them lots to do in the run. Mabey a chicken jungle gym? Extra plants to tear apart. Dust bathing pool. Different treats through out the day. Mine come out at approx 3:30 everyday and range till sunset. Approx 8:00 right now. But as soon as they seem me anytime before that they too carry on. But not as loudly as you said yours are. Thanks Goodness.
Good Luck.

 

[biretta]

Thank you all for your input. They were "ruining the yard" by scratching dirt onto the lawn, choking out the grass, pooping on the patio, but also wandering out to the front yard and to the neighbor's yard. This could be easily remedied by putting up fences but he says he doesn't want fences all over (actually they were temporary "fences" of chicken wire I just stood on end) and doesn't want his life centered around chickens. Then we recently got new siding on the house, his house mind you, and the chicken restrictions tightened even more. So if I did let them out, I was constantly shooing them from this place and that. Not fun for me or the chickens. So the straw that broke the camel's back was the protesting that came from not being let out several times a day. So I guess now I understand how some people keep their chickens in tiny coops without this same problem: they never get the taste of freedom to begin with. Luckily and sadly, I found someone to take them. I'll have to wait at least 1 1/2 years till we move to the 10 acre lot we're buying. It'll be a long 1 1/2 years.
Thanks for the helpful suggestions.

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, as soon as they taste freedom, they will never go back!!! I have to let mine out as soon as sun rises and they put themselves back at night.

 

[serendipity22]

I can only imagine what my chickens would do to me if they weren't let out of their pen. Can you envision Alfred Hitchcock's 'The Birds'! Argggg, my eyes!!

 

[SpottedCrow]

To be an adult for one of the few times in my life.

If your SO is so controlling like this about a bunch of chickens, what will he be like with kids that will make a bigger mess, yell louder and cost more? Jes sayin' to give you something to think about.
I can only freerange my birds when I'm at home because the lazy neighbours can't be motivated enough to walk their German Shorthaired Pointer. Their idea of walking him is to let him out, then honk the horn until he comes, which most times he doesn't. Then they go up and down the street honking the horn...
Some birds also can't stand to be confined. Obelisk, my Leghorn, will pace and bik and tap at the window until she gets let out. Slifer my Brahma was fine and would lay at my feet for the whole day if I let her.
This is a good link for birds that might fit your confinement needs.
http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/dual.html
Also Bantams usually make less noise and mess than Standards.

 

[speckledhen]

SPOTTED CROW said:

If your SO is so controlling like this about a bunch of chickens, what will he be like with kids that will make a bigger mess, yell louder and cost more? Jes sayin' to give you something to think about.

Agreed. Some people are too uptight to own chickens and sounds like your person is one of them. I say dump him and keep the chickens. After all, they make you breakfast every day, LOL.​

 

[biretta]

Hehe. I actually did use the kid analogy, to which he responded "kids are different, these are chickens." I personally think the same issue would recur. He's actually not controlling generally speaking, but is definitely picky when it comes to tidyness in and out of the house. That's the main contention point, as I am not a neat freak. Clean, but not neat. I guess it will be different when the chickens are not right in our backyard.