Extremely LOUD hens constant clucking is going to get me turned in to AC

[bhaugh]

My two older hens squawk ALL DAY LONG and it's causing problems in my house. I dont want to be turned in to AC because I do live in an urban area. The hens are housed with two pullets in a 7x13 run that is kept clean and well ventilated. They have food all the time and the water is clean. They didn't use to squawk like this when they were by themselves but as soon as I added the two pullets, it has become pretty bad.

Any suggestions before I have to place them? My son is ready to kill them and instead of liking them, he is beginning to really hate them. My son was raised around a gazillion animals as I have a rescue so he is used to noise. These two are just driving him insane. . I really like one of the hens, the other I don't really care for. She has her good days, but unfortunately she has too many bad. Can I place just one?

Barb

 

[Cindy in PA]

Chickens make noise. I know some of their noises can be annoying, but that is the way it is. I have never met a silent chicken in my 20 years of chicken keeping. Much less annoying than a barking dog. Hope you find a solution, but they are going to make noise!

 

[Studio2770]

Do you mean clucking? Like bawk bawk bagawk! They should stop quickly. If I want to silence mine, I throw some treats on the ground and it does the trick.

 

[mrchickenpoop]

Mine does that too but she usually stops after two minutes.

 

[nickyblase]

I was worried about the same thing (I live in a neighborhood, and have a very b*tchy neighbor). Low and behold, she did end up calling animal control, complaining of "barnyard noises." The ACO was almost apologetic when he came to the house. Came to look at the chickens (who were of course, completely silent when he was there, lol), commented on how nice of a coop they had, and left.

That got me to thinking though - how can I minimize the noise? So I make sure to put in lots of leafy weeds and kitchen scraps of fruits & veggies, or some chicken scratch. That seems to keep them plenty distracted. Not sure if this will work for yours, but keeping them occupied has definitely helped me.

 

[centrarchid]

This is a looking for a rooster issue.

 

[bhaugh]

The sound is not the clucking my other hens make. Its the squawking and it's non stop. Ive had to squirt her with the water bottle but I feel bad for doing it. She is back on hiatis from laying again so Ive decided to place her. She isn't broody just won't lay. Maybe she is looking for a boyfriend but she won't find it here. She has started going after my pullets again and is pulling their feathers out. I got on her tonight while I was standing in the run and she went after one. She found out that as rooster mom, I wont tolerate it.

I posted over in the Vegas area so maybe someone will like her for her breed and not care that she squawks or lays poorly. Maybe with a roo, she will lay better.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

Barb