Horribly loud hen

[blinkk]

Our hens used to be lovely and made the most appealing noises. They still do- but in the past 3-4 month one hen has gotten horribly loud. It's not a normal cluck/bwak sound. It's a very loud, strange sound. It's like she's yelling.

My fiancee thinks she's got a mental problem (that's how bad it is!) He's been on farms before and claims he's never heard a chicken get this loud. He's talking about giving her the axe which kind of kills me inside.

What can I try to quiet this bird down? Is it normal for hens to be yelling all waking hours of the day? I looked her over and she's physically healthy as far as I can tell.

I want to patch up the fence and give them more room to wander. I hope that will help.

 

[Veer67]

Is she the flock leader? Your hen could be taking the role of a rooster if there are no roosters in your flock.

 

[blinkk]

Is she the flock leader? Your hen could be taking the role of a rooster if there are no roosters in your flock.

She's second in command, although the first and second have been fighting a lot. Maybe she recently got bumped up to first without me realizing it?

Interesting that they'll take the role of rooster. I didn't know they did that.

 

[chippysmom327]

Maybe she's just that really loud obnoxious lady in public events! Some girls are just a lot more loud and will complain and yell and talk about everything and other hens are really quiet.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

It could be she is simply an obnoxious personality...I had one like that and re-homed it to a farm.

I want to patch up the fence and give them more room to wander. I hope that will help.

However, I think you've probably hit on an answer there....you may have them overly crowded and bored.

If my hens are noisy, I go look to see what is going on, and invariably something is. I've learned to listen to them and correct whatever it is...the water bucket overturned, the gate wasn't opened and they are tired of being penned up. I've learned to anticipate what upsets them and have adapted so that I keep their lives pretty happy and they reward me by being quiet content hens.

However, some days...they are simply noisy and I never figure it out. That's being a chicken.

Lady of McCamley

 

[nan4848]

I have a really loud, obnoxious BO. My husband wants to axe her. She is top hen, and if she can find something to jump up on for a platform, she literally screams. A rooster would be less annoying. Nothing we've tried seems to stop her. She just knows she's being picked on. I have a dog kennel in my husband's work shop that I stick her in while I'm at work of if she's particularly noisy, so as not to have a nasty neighbor call the city on us.

I hate to get rid of her. She's an excellent layer and a really sweet hen, but the noise is stressful.