I live with nextdoor neighbors, on the other side of the fence & I am just about ready to through in the towel. I already have a cockerel that makes noise, but he's not the problem because he's half kept indoors, now one of the pullets has just started laying & she sits on the perch making this horrible loud noise "Ack,Ack!Ack!Ack!" It can probably be heard as far as the cockerel. This is a Cochin bantam making all this racket & she doesn't stop until she gets what she wants (food, rooster who has to be removed otherwise he crow too much, let out, me!). Which is 3 - 4 times a day. I am so sick of it, Everytime I solve one problem, another one rears it ugly head. I have no garden left. What was grass etc, is now just a wasteland after 2 months & I rent my home so I don't know what my landlord must think, though he kindly didn't say anything (He pops around every month on arrangement to collect the rent & is a very good landlord). We built a run & the birds won't go in a run without them all making loads more noise until they are let out. Every book I read & everything I researched said chickens are easy & quiet. Are they f*$!^! I have one bantam & 4 small EE's. Surely I shouldn't be having this much noise? I wish I'd done my research on BYC before I got the chickens, I didn't really know what breeds were what until after I joined 8 months ago & I've learn't much more from this site than any of the books I read. Everyone has been so helpful & supportive on this site I love these birds & I've already spoken to both neighbors either side who assured me it was fine, but that was before the pullet going "ACK!" repeatedly & I worry about the neighbors beyond our immediate ones to. I'm scared to insulate the shed the chickens are in as I deliberately unblocked an old window & wired it up so the birds could look out from their perch & have excellent ventilation (The shed keeps free of dust & ammonia very well indeed) & I don't want to make problems by sealing it up. I worry about the damp & ammonia in a sealed coop. My pullet was so quiet P.O.L, now she is so noisy & the she & the others sing the "Egg Song" together when she lays an egg. I keep the light on late to encourage laying in the afternoon etc so its not first thing in the morning. What do I do? What can I do? Its the "ACK!ACK!ACK!" Noise that's the major problem. She's been doing it the past week & laid 3 - 4 eggs. I spent 8 - 9 months tending to these chickens, I don't want to be forced to get rid of them. I've already killed a fair share of cockerels over the past year. I've been waiting for them to lay & now they are, I wish they would stop because of the noise levels.
Some birds are more vocal than others. Some are quite talkative all the time. I don't think I have ever had one that was quiet all of the time. The clucking and egg song are just part of their charm.
Its not the egg song I mind.... Its the "Ack, Ack AAAAAAACK!" She was at it again this morning & I dragged myself up & let her out to shut her up. It worked. Anybody ever tells me Pekin / Cochin bantams are quiet, I'm going to drown them in the local duck pond! She's just being demanding. She wants: * Food. * Attention. * Rooster. * Letting out. Will she shut up? Is it raging hormones? She was never this demanding before. Its such an annoying sound, the Rooster is quieter than she is. Also the pullets are only squabbling & making noise until I let the Rooster out with them in the afternoon. Then he charges up the garden & order is immediately restored. I could not cope without my little (well, ok, he's pretty big) second in command. I've been training him & I've noticed that he makes the hens follow the training he's had... He's a very good roo with the girls & became much more respectful of me after I started training him. It seems, like a dog, respect has to be earned with them.
