Experiment in classical conditioning to make quieter chickens

[dainerra]

http://www.ksn.com/content/news/also/story/Boy-learning-to-live-with-BB-in-brain/n4slEKBd30Kiz6W71UMpYQ.cspx

I wanted to post this for all the people saying that a BB just leaves a little sting. If you look at this boy, all you see is a tiny red welt under his eye, no blood and the skin doesn't even appear to be broken. He was fine when he went to bed, woke up the next morning with a tingling arm/leg. Progressed rapidly into barely able to walk.

 

[Squirrelgirl88]

My hens are very quiet - until its egg time. I'm not sure how your practice would work to stop the egg song. You might stop egg production while stopping the noise. My neighbors live close enough to hear and it's been funny to hear each of them say that the chickens remind them of growing up on a farm, or going to an uncle's place to see chickens etc. IMHO give your neighbors a chance to learn to love having chickens around.

p.s. I too have a squirt gun, but only for control of one very mean rooster. He charges me and gets a squirt. I felt that was much more humane than the fry pan.

 

[matimeo]

I'm good with the eggs song because that rarely if ever happens at 6:00am, but the mindless squawking at dawn grates on my nerves a little.

As far as updates go, I'm finding that in the short term the squirting is quieting them some but only as long as I stand there with the squirt gun. They seem to just have something they need to get out of their system every morning. I don't know if they're just planning their day or scheduling the nest box (Alice: OK Ginger, you didn't lay yesterday, so you can go first. Coco: No, I'm biggest so I get to go first. Rose: you guys cut it out! I'm going first. I've got a double yolker coming! Me: Hey, I've got an idea, why don't you use the other nest box that has been sitting vacant for a year instead of insisting on all using the same one, even if it means piling on top of each other inside of it?!). We don't see the neighbors very often but my wife is going to try to speak with them. I figure better to apologize in advance than have the code inspector show up (even though we're legal but I still don't want to be a jerk neighbor).

I'm trying to dream up an idea for an automatic treat dispenser that might work to quiet them down in the mornings.

 

[RedDrgn]

You said that the primary reason for your efforts here is to placate the neighbors. What I'm wondering is whether you have actually talked to your neighbors about all of this or not? I mean, are they actually being bothered and have they complained to you about it?

If they have, then are you actually breaking any local ordinances by having your chickens and did you consider talking to the neighbors PRIOR to getting chickens?

If they haven't complained and you're just trying to be proactive, then maybe it's time to take the initiative to talk to them and find out where they stand before it becomes a problem, because training a chicken not to be a chicken just isn't going to work unless you're sitting out there at 3am with your super-soaker every single day of the week.

Also, if it's just one chicken that's causing all of the ruckus, then maybe consider looking into re-homing just that one.

 

[sanfordmom]

Really....classical conditioning! Chickens make noise, but not as much as kids or dogs, (i have both). Maybe you could speak to your neighbors or consider reducing the number of birds you keep. There has to be something triggering their noisy response. I use treats in the AM to keep them happy and not calling for me while I am busy getting everyone out of the house for school/work.

 

[Pele]

This is a really interesting thread! And I have to admit that I would be adverse to trying negative reinforcement on my chickens (I love that they love me), I don't see this as any different than bapping a dog on the nose with a newspaper, or spritzing a mis-behaving cat.

I agree with those here who have mentioned looking into quiet breeds. I am a suburban chicken owner as well, and I found out through research that the most commonly kept breeds of chicken are loud loud LOUD! RIRs and Leghorns are known for yelling a lot. After doing more research, I found that Red SLs are high production birds, but are also relatively quiet.

Still, chickens are loud social creatures, and I have noticed that mine raise a ruckus in the morning when they want to have attention. They just know that I'll be out to collect eggs, and hope they can convince me to give them treats. So far I've resisted, but I too worry about neighbors. I think I'll try throwing them some scratch to shoosh them, since others here have said it works.

 

[misty skye]

LOL I just hope i never offend you or talk to much !

Ill be running for cover.

 

[tarragon]

Okay, let me see if I've got this straight. You want to shut up the chickens so they don't annoy your neighbor. A neighbor that you rarely ever see, a neighbor who has not complained about the chickens.

And you decide the best way to do that, once other methods have not worked, is to shoot them in the butt with a bb gun, which may or may not hurt them. It doesn't hurt you to get shot, but you aren't actually a chicken, so we can't be sure how it feels to them.

And in your absence, you leave this task of very carefully shooting the chickens so as not to harm them in the capable hands of your wife, who is such a crack marksman she doesn't know how to turn off the safety on the gun.

And come to find out, it's not the neighbor after all. It's that the "mindless squawking at dawn" gets on your nerves.

Two solutions: Banish the chickens, for the crime of sounding like, well, chickens. I'm sure someone will take them.

Get a fan for your bedroom so you don't have to listen to the mindless squawking of your beloved target chickens.

 

[matimeo]

Quote:
Yeah, that about sums it up, although with sort of a more negative take than I would have used and it does leave out a bit of the history of what's already been tried, etc.
For the record, my wife is actually a really good shot with the ol' BB gun. I'm not sure why she didn't remember the part about the safety.

 

[danischi24]

Some chickens are noisier than others like some people. Get quiet chickens & don't feed treats in the morning or it might start things up with the new birds.