Help my neighbor said my chickens are being loud :(

[Hammer325]

My suggestion, as far as noise ordinance is concerned, the neighbor would have to call most times code enforcement but sometimes police and they would have to find it in violation of the ordinance. Then they would give you a warning to get it under control, they would not arrest right of the bat. Secondly most noise ordinances are for after hours normally. after 10-11 at night which no chicken is making noise that late.
I wouldn't worry about it until authorities tell you that you have to.

 

[countryladyNH]

Hi you all, I have had my 6 hens for about 8 months. I got a call tonight from my neighbor (who up to till the last few months hasn’t minded them) her house is about 70 ft from my coop. The issue is the “egg song”. I have one hen that has a pretty awful egg song, and she is a loud mouth. When she starts to go, they all start to holler.

I can have chickens as long as they aren’t a “nuisance”. So now my anxiety is ramping up! How do I get them to quiet down? Is there a way I can get them to lay at a better time they would be shut in the coop? Idk they have weird egg laying schedules. Sometimes in the AM some times at noon today at 4:00/5 at night when everyone is home trying to enjoy dinner

We had one girl like that too. When she was younger, oh my gosh, she would scream and scream! It would go on and on. Luckily we live where no one was complaining. As she got a little older, that stopped. Before I would give the gal away, I would bring her in the house as soon as the screeching starts. Wrap her in a towel and just hold her for a bit; give her a treat. I think distracting her at that time might work. It's worth a try!

 

[Spartan22]

I agree with Hammer about noise time ordinance, my chickens doesn’t make noise in the dark unless something spook them. In Michigan and Ohio, it gets dark at 4:30 ish-5 pm this time of the year. The neighbors must have their windows open in the winter to hear clucking hens.

 

[Dan Schlemmer]

Hi you all, I have had my 6 hens for about 8 months. I got a call tonight from my neighbor (who up to till the last few months hasn’t minded them) her house is about 70 ft from my coop. The issue is the “egg song”. I have one hen that has a pretty awful egg song, and she is a loud mouth. When she starts to go, they all start to holler.

I can have chickens as long as they aren’t a “nuisance”. So now my anxiety is ramping up! How do I get them to quiet down? Is there a way I can get them to lay at a better time they would be shut in the coop? Idk they have weird egg laying schedules. Sometimes in the AM some times at noon today at 4:00/5 at night when everyone is home trying to enjoy dinner

Not sure what time you let the hens out of the coop everyday ( I usually wait until about 9am-10 am) but encouraging them to be morning layers Before you open up the coop is not an impossible task. I bought a cheap $5 electrical timer at the local store. Set your timer for the light to come on a few hours before sunrise and turn itself off at sunrise. By the light coming on the chickens are tricked into thinking it’s daylight outside and begin their daily routine inside the coop including making you a delicious egg. This process truly does encourage morning laying....thus the egg song is performed while your coop is still closed up !!

 

[3KillerBs]

give her a treat.

I have to disagree with this.

Never reward animals or children for unwanted behavior.

 

[kathorson]

Start with giving your neighbors fresh eggs to win them over. If that doesn’t work, I agree with the previous post of rehoming the loud chicken.

 

[Scissors65]

Thanks guys, yes we do have a noise ordinance, I live on the edge of a small rural city.

We are allowed 6 hens no roosters and they can’t be a “nuisance” (free ranging/or making lots of racket etc). The neighbor doesn’t mind when they cluck. But she hears one of them start screaming (egg song ) and then the others join. I’m hoping to plant some more shrubs as a sound barrier, and maybe put up some wind chimes or something to drown them out.

The egg song lasts one minute. Hardly a nuisance according to most noise ordinance. Look up your laws according to your area, explain to your neighbor your working on it. I hear dogs bark in my area for hours and according to our laws here, the noise has to be a constant noise, not on and off.

 

[Gflight]

The best thing is communication with the neighbor. The minor annoyance can probably be mitigated by showing your concern for their feelings.

 

[odchooks]

So we have two chickens in a big city and the legality of our chickens is questionable but enforced only by neighbor complaints. They also love to do a loud egg song.. but I noticed if I run out there and talk to them they immediately stop and if I’m in the yard already-they skip the egg song. I think maybe they are doing it to let their rooster know (me -these are lap chickens).. Not sure if this works for all chickens or just ours. Also I am guessing that with more than 2 this might be difficult to manage. But if you hear a ruckus you could run out and try it? Good luck!

 

[leslielbk]

I bet you didn't know you'd get all these responses! But I can't resist jumping on the bandwagon. Bring her eggs, and explain the egg song. Tell her you're going to try to keep them quiet so they don't bother her. Apologize profusely. Tell her you'll build sound barrier walls and if it doesn't help to please let you know. Try to keep her happy. Get her on your side. Try bringing Miss noisypants in the house for a while. They do all lay at different times, and I don't know if it's worth it to try to get them to coordinate. Something cute you might do is put an arrow on the inside of the carton you give her pointing to the egg and write "this one came from Miss Noisypants".