Help, my hens won't be quiet!

[paperchains]

Hello there, we have only had our hens for a few months. We have 2 Brown Nicks as we were told how quiet they are which is great for us, we live
in a set of terrace houses and did not want to disturb the neighbours. Trouble is, every morning we are woken up to exceptionally loud clucking and this
continues all day!

I have never seen a predator and we keep them fed & watered. We give them millworm and sweet corn as treats, clean out their coop regularly and add
cider vinegar to their water.

If they keep up this racket I know one of the neighbours will complain and we may have to get rid of them. They are both still laying and have done throughout the winter, pretty much get two eggs a day.

HELP! I don't want unhappy hens

Thanks,
Nikki

PS - We also have a kitten and they do nag each other a bit. However, the cat doesn't have a catflap yet so we let her out when we get up in the morning. The chickens are clucking and screeching an hour before we let the cat out!

 

[mstricer]

I don't know what Brown Nicks is. Is it common in their breed to cluck a lot. I have different breeds that are talkative and others not so much. Do a search on the breed and see if it is a talkative breed. Hope it helps Michele

 

[dawg53]

Most chickens "announce" when they've laid an egg, noisy which is normal. Perhaps you need to distract them. Hang a head of cabbage in the pen. They'll peck at it most of the day and tear it apart. As far as the neighbors go, offer them fresh eggs. You might be surprised and they will want more eggs. The more eggs they want means more chickens for you!

 

[Oregon Blues]

That's right. Chickens make a lot of noise.

 

[Lute]

I have RIR chicks, BS pullets and a NHR pullet. They only really make noise when they're cold. What temperature are your chickens at?

 

[Hyline]

Apart from an egg song or a predator squawk, my girls are quiet all the time! I have brown hybrid layers. If it's a very noisy 'bawk bawk bawk bawk bu-CLUCK bawk bawk bawk' type of noise they may be feeling threatened by your cat. My chickens chase cats lol! And they make no secret of the fact, very loud cluck chasing!!

Try some toys in the coop - a mirror is great at chicken level, a doggie treat ball filled with grain they can roll around the floor (and is also highly amusing to watch!) cabbages hung from the roof or roosts, and a pile of hay in the run keeps them amused for hours

 

[mandelyn]

It varies by chicken, and not always by breed. All 3 of my Marans are quiet, don't say a word about laying an egg, except the youngest who talks about it a little. The Welsummer is a screaming banshee over an egg or a hawk fly-over. The Lakenvelder talks about eggs before, during, and after. The Hamburg clucks but doesn't cackle.

The ducks have nominated a spokesduck, she let's out a super loud QUACK when she hears me. That of course sets off the Welsummer alarm, accompanied by the Hamburg cluck-cluck.

Pullets are terrible about it. Usually grown hens settle down.

 

[centrarchid]

I keep a number of flocks repressenting a range of social mixes. Roosters are part of mix most of time. Roosters obviously crow a lot and do so regardless of who they run with. Hens with roosters are usually quite except immediately before and after producing an egg, and when concerned about a predator. Hens with chicks a lot but that can only be heard from short range.
Hens not associated with roosters make the most racket. The sounds they make are not as loud as crowing but it is more consistent.

 

[paperchains]

Thanks for all your comments - some more helpful than others!

Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough in the original thread but this is a new thing. We bought our chickens when they were 16 weeks old and we've had them 6 months. This has started recently, in the last three weeks.

They've have "announced" most days, which is a gentle, quite sweet 30 sec clucking. Now, however, they go off for 40 minutes in a screeching, wailing type clucking, whether or not they have laid an egg.

They've got toys in their run - a cd strung up high and a ball which they kick and knock around to get mash/corn from. We hang a cabbage up too so they get some exercise.

We let them out an hour in the morning before we go to work and when we get home for as long as they want. They are out all day most weekends.

I can't understand what has changed. Any more suggestions welcome!

Nikki

 

[paperchains]

I'm not sure what temperature they are at but they are outside in a coop. They didn't do this when it was snowing and if anything, the weather has started to get warmer. Perhaps it may be windy, or more rainy?

Perhaps they are too wet, it has been rainy recently?

Thanks,
Nikki