How far away can you hear hens?

[BayAreaMike408]

I recently moved and want to start raising backyard chickens again. I have a 1.5 acre property and I am wondering how far away neighbors would be able to hear them. No roosters- assume 4 standard size hens.

Would a distance of 200 feet be far enough away that they would have ZERO noise if in their backyard? If not, what would the safe distance be?

Thanks

 

[nuthatched]

From 200 feet, they'll still be heard but not too bad. It really involves what you're surrounding by.

 

[3KillerBs]

If your hens are legal and you're not doing something deliberately rude like putting the coop under their living room window then you shouldn't need to worry about the fact that your neighbors might hear them.

Kids, dogs, chickens, power tools, etc. -- living makes noise and people can't expect dead silence. To not have your radio drowning out their own, yes, but not silence.

 

[kmpcfp]

They will be heard. Unless you have a terrible neighbor, it (the noise) shouldn't be an issue unless you aren't legally supposed to have hens on your property.

 

[rosemarythyme]

200', yeah you can still hear them. If your properties are heavily planted/forested, it should be fairly minimal. I can hear some of my birds past the edge of my neighbor's 2 acre property, while I'm on 4 acres (with the coop about 100' from the border of the 2 acre property).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I used to live on 2 skinny acres and my parents lived on the 5 acres (square) next door to me. If I was in their house, visiting, I could not hear my hens at all. (Usually the TV was on and people were talking.) But if we were on their back patio, barbecuing, I could hear them, faintly but not annoyingly. They were just a background noise. Enjoy your chickens!

 

[janiedoe]

I have extremely noisy hens. We are on around 15 acres. I can hear mine from all over our property when they are laying. I have quite a few, and if one is cackling they are all cackling.
I would only consider keeping hens, if they are legal in your area.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Also have to say terrain and vegetation matter. Where we live now, surrounded on 3 sides by open pasture, people over a quarter of a mile from me have said they could hear my rooster. But on the other side, where it's wooded, I don't think he can be heard. We have a neighbor over there somewhere we can't see and we can't hear their dogs, either. So

 

[Aunt Angus]

I live on 3 acres, and my neighbors can hear them when they sing their egg songs.

Are you in San Jose/Santa Clara County What part? My hubby was raised there!

 

[aart]

Might depend on which way the wind is blowing.